As one would expect, I oppose this bill. The regions, if bullied around by the federal government (in the most extreme circumstances) deserve the right to nullify federal laws that directly target them, and secession as a last option. This bill was done in haste when secession was being tossed around as an idea.
Except nullification is illegal and unconstitutional under the ruling StatesRights v. Atlasia and in order for that to be legal you would need to actually change the constitution to allow that power.
This bill was put forward because I was personally quite suprised to see that secession was not considered treasonous under the current definition within the Consildated Criminal Justice Act. I also worked on this a good amount withe Torie and myself editing and revising the bill multiple times to ensure that it was both concise and specific.
This is just pretty idiotic and would never happen. While some of us oppose the regional system in its entirity I don't think there is anyone, besides maybe some Southeasterners like yourself, that want to try to control other regions. The regions right now work as a title factory for certain Atlasians and their friends and really as not much else. To think that the regions, some of which cannot even hold elections on time or in a valid manner, could ever have such wide ranging objectives is ludicrous.
The reality of this statement is that it's a vailed attack on the Northeast and it's supposed "influence". Really the Northeast is, if anything, one of the most diverse regions in Atlasia and it's representation, currently, is pretty scarce, one Senator, Verily. Even during the old District system the Northeast usually had two or three Senators from within it's boundaries.
Plus I have never gotten the idea of trying to represent your region and I was a regional Senator for over a year. Each region isn't all that distinct and the small distinctions are mostly due to either the left-right makeup of each region or the party structure of the region, both of which are connected.
Well that couldn't happen. We have this thing about ex-post facto laws being illegal in a little document we like to call the Second Atlasian Constitution. Unless the RPP now wants to change that too.
I also find it odd that all these people are defending something that I, originally, helped campaign to bring back to Atlasia, the regional Senate seat. In many ways all these new people defending the regions makes me think about how I used to be quite a federalist, of course back then the regions were actually slightly useful. It's intriguing to see that the people who are most in favour of decreased federalism are the "elder statesmen".
I wonder whether we should use this as an opportunity to review Criminal Law here in a wider sense.
I can only encourage you to make a start, then.
I have to completely agree. This was just a solution to one major loophole that I saw in the Consolidated Criminal Justice Act. I'd be interested to hear a wider review of Criminal Law from you, Al.