The
relationship between federal and state laws in the U.S. is surprisingly
complicated. Sometimes state and federal laws clash. Sometimes the federal government has
to persuade state governments to enact certain laws. Rarely is the relationship as simple as federal trumps state. In many ways it’s a good system. The
U.S. is geographically and culturally quite diverse, and the federal system we
have helps ensure that the cultural and political norms of one region don’t
overshadow the norms of another. However, as it’s a system that was created by
people, it’s not perfect. There is one aspect to our system that I wish was
more national instead of federal, and that is with regards to civil rights.
