CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Delegate Marshall Wilson, I-Berkeley, today said a bill he introduced recently will protect and ensure that the United States and West Virginia Constitutions remain the supreme law of the land.
House Bill 4622 would prohibit the establishment of a constitution or legal system superior or parallel to the West Virginia Constitution and state code. If passed, any attempt to establish a constitution or legal system apart from state law would be considered ineffectual and punishable as treason against the state.
“My intent is to ensure the primacy of the U.S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land because the principles enshrined in the Constitution are the structure that guarantees the Natural Rights and Liberties of each individual American citizen,” Delegate Wilson said.
According to the West Virginia Constitution, “… it is the high and solemn duty of the several departments of government, created by this (West Virginia) constitution, to guard and protect the people of this state from all encroachments upon the rights so reserved.”
“The establishment of a superior or parallel constitutional or legal system would confound the operation of our Constitution, our Laws, and our Government and inevitably supplant the institutions that guard our Rights and Liberties,” Delegate Wilson said. “Because I want my children to raise their children in a free, just, secure, and prosperous society, I must defend the U.S. Constitution as it defends my children’s Natural Rights and Liberties.”
The bill was introduced Jan. 31 and referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
