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In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the Tenth Amendment. The enumerated powers that are listed in the Constitution include exclusive federal powers, as well as concurrent powers that are shared with the states, and all of those powers are contrasted with the reserved powers—also called states' rights—that only the states possess.[1][2] Since the 1940s, the term "states' rights" has often been considered a loaded term or dog whistle because of its use in opposition to federally-mandated racial desegregation[3] and, more recently, same-sex marriage and reproductive rights.[4][5]
- ^ Gardbaum, Stephen. "Congress's Power to Pre-Empt the States", Pepperdine Law Review, Vol. 33, p. 39 (2005).
- ^ Bardes, Barbara et al. American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials (Cengage Learning, 2008).
- ^ Herbert, Bob (October 6, 2005). "Impossible, Ridiculous, Repugnant". The New York Times.
- ^ Craver, Jack (March 31, 2013). "New GOP line on gay marriage: It's about states' rights". The Capital Times. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ Abrams, Abigail (January 1, 2020). "Here's How Conservatives Are Using Civil Rights Law to Restrict Abortion". Time. Retrieved November 9, 2021.