JACKSON, Miss. –  Mississippi defied the union during the Civil War and civil rights era, and at least two lawmakers think it is time to do so again.
Republican state Reps. Gary Chism and Jeff Smith, both of Columbus, filed a bill this month to form the Joint Legislative Committee on the Neutralization of Federal Laws.
Chism said Thursday that the tea party-backed measure is a response to President Barack Obama's federal health care overhaul and proposals to curb gun violence.
"Certainly, the Obamacare started this," Chism told The Associated Press, referring to the health care plan, "but then gun show loopholes that the president wanted after Newtown really put an exclamation on that -- that we need to do something to stand up for the Tenth Amendment."
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says powers not specifically reserved for the federal government are reserved for the states.