Sam Rohrer senses average Americans have grave concerns about rapid and aggressive changes coming from the federal government.

The state representative from Berks County said that, as a result of that concern, a growing number of his constituents are calling on legislators to re-examine the relationship between the state and federal governments.

Rohrer has joined politicians from nearly half of the states in the union to introduce resolutions in their various state houses reaffirming state legislatures' right to invoke the 10th Amendment of the Constitution, giving them powers not delegated to the federal government.

The resolutions would merely reaffirm what has been in the U.S. Constitution for more than 200 years. But it's a detail many people might not know, and in times like these, it is an aspect of the Constitution that Rohrer and others think is worth reinforcing.

"(Citizens) do not like what's happening and coming out of Washington, and they don't believe that what's being done is anything more than throwing fuel on the fire," Rohrer said.

Rohrer, along with state Sen. Mike Folmer of Lebanon, whose district includes northwest Lancaster County, will hold a rally promoting the 10th Amendment at noon on Monday in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

Legislators from other states that have introduced similar resolutions will be on hand to talk about the state rights movement.

Rohrer's resolution — HR 95 — is set to be introduced in the House, while Folmer's companion bill will be presented in the Senate.

The 10th Amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Rohrer said he started looking at the possibility of introducing a 10th Amendment resolution last summer during conversations with legislators from other states over the REAL ID Act of 2005, which calls for biometric information to be included in all state drivers licenses.

When the legislators started comparing notes, Rohrer said, they found a problem of an "overarching federal government" that was creating laws without properly looking at the affects on states.

Rohrer said many federal government actions have caused a backlash in the public, with large constituencies complaining of unfunded mandates or unrealistic expectations in programs.

He pointed to resistance to the No Child Left Behind Act in education, the REAL ID Act in homeland security and an agenda to push socialized medicine in the recently passed Stimulus Bill.

Rohrer said complaints about federal programs are not restricted to Democrats or Republicans and using the 10th Amendment is a first step to rectify problems.

"A great many people are now becoming aware that there is a place to go (with grievances), and the 10th Amendment is it," Rohrer said.

"There's a re-awakening that's occurring across this state and across this country."

Rohrer said his appreciation of what he called "freedom issues" started before he became a legislator in 1992, as he studied Constitutional law and the "underpinnings of freedom, capitalism and free enterprise."

He said he has researched the processes that the Founders went through when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and that many of the freedoms they won tend to be forgotten because citizens took too much for granted.

"The ideas that have given us the America as we know it are ideas that we don't won't to give up," Rohrer said. "As we see the challenges of the day unfold, I think it's giving people reason to say, 'Wait a minute now — what's really important here,' and they're beginning to ask fundamental questions."

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