State Laws

State Laws are sets of rules and regulations that are given by the a state, protected by the states constitution, enforced by the state police, and followed by the citizens. State law remains specific for each state and the constitution for every state differs as well. In the United States, government is divided into national, state, and local governments. This breakdown of power keeps influence from a far to a minimum. Each sector is used as a checks and balances of other. For example, the constitution of the United States is to be followed, however when a citizen of a given state the most important constitution to follow is that of the state. This is not to say that the United States Constitution should not be followed, this only ensures that the state law is the top priority. It would be impossible for national legislatures to keep a hold on every citizen in every country. It would be even harder for the national government to make the entire nation follow one set of laws rather than individual state laws. Now, within a states Constitution, state laws must still follow the framework of the United States constitution, and not interfere with a persons right to life, liberty, and property.

State laws can also differ from that of the national law. Take the state of Massachusetts for example, the state has a universal health care mandate for all citizens. Although taxes are higher in the Massachusetts, state laws demand that the state fit the bill if a person does not have health insurance from an employer. This state law is a popular one in the state, and prevents many illnesses from starting among its citizens. The United States as a whole however does not have a universal health care system for all its citizens. This decision is left up to the state, as is the budget and what to fit into it. Massachusetts state law also allows gay marriage, a controversial law at best. Most state laws in the other fifty states do not allow this type of a union to happen. The United States as a whole does not allow this union to happen. This type of decision can be made by a state, and cannot be prohibited by the national government. Massachusetts also passed state law that allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The state also limited the consequences for this to the form of a citation rather than jail time or community service. This stipulations to these marijuana state laws is that the person cannot be found with more than an ounce of the controlled substance. Again, here state law differs from that of national law, in which the use, possession, and distribution of this substance is completely illegal. Another advantage a state like Massachusetts has, is that it is a commonwealth. In a commonwealth state like Massachusetts, it is easier to make decisions based on the public good. The excuse for making and approving such liberal state laws can be that it is for the common good of the people and their happiness, what is after all the purpose of a commonwealth. The state law premise is one that allows for many different decisions to be made based on a smaller group of people. The chain of command set up in the United States has helped keep control of all citizens. People in different regions require different laws to keep the community civilized, and that’s where laws given by state serves a purpose.