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by nwiswell 521 days ago
> * Having written all that, I will add that "government" above means the US Federal government, not all the other ones. State, local, have a lot of latitude to make whatever laws they want, unless a federal law specifically prohibits it.

This is not entirely correct. In general many elements of the Constitution are incorporated and apply at all levels of government. It even outranks state constitutions where the two conflict.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_of_the_Bill_of_R...
1 comments
parineum 521 days ago
In other words, states have a lot of latitude to make whatever laws they want, unless a federal law specifically prohibits it?
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nwiswell 521 days ago
No, in other words, states and local governments are also bound by the Constitution in many of the the same ways that the federal government is.

The major difference is the Tenth Amendment, which sets the states apart by specifying that any powers not "delegated to" the federal government are reserved exclusively for the states. (In practice courts have found many "implied powers" that are not explicitly enumerated).

Federal laws are distinct from the Constitution.

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cgriswald 521 days ago
No, those aren't other words for the GP's statement.

The Constitution, its Amendments, and decisions of the Supreme Court are not 'federal laws'.

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