A number of states have passed or are considering laws to at least partially nullify (render void and inoperative) federal laws they believe to be unconstitutional extensions of federal power. State laws “legalizing” recreational marijuana use are an example of attempts to at least partially nullify federal laws. Other nullification efforts address, for example, the federal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), gun control laws, and federal abortion laws. Although states do have some power to resist federal laws, most constitutional law authorities and the relevant Supreme Court decisions.
When confronting federal laws they believe to be unconstitutional, should states have the right to pass their own laws that would nullify those federal laws? Explain.