Key Takeaways
- The Texas legislature voted positively to add the right to use digital assets as “an agreed medium of exchange” to the Texas Bill of Rights.
- If opposed by the federal government, it could spark a nationwide precedent to add the use of digital assets to the United States’ Bill of Rights.
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The state of Texas has taken a historic step in the voting in a change that includes the ownership, retention and use of cryptocurrencies in his state’s Bill of Rights, marking a major step towards the adoption of the digital-asset. This new addition is called House Joint Resolution 146 (HJR146) and was supported by the Texas state legislature on May 10 and May 11, PAST with 139 votes and two votes against. The official bill states:
“The right of people to own, hold, and use a mutually agreed upon medium of exchange, including cash, coin, bullion, digital currency, or privately issued scrip, if the sale and contracting for goods and services shall not be infringed.”
The Texas Bill of Rights mirrors the Bill of Rights in the United States, aimed at protecting human rights such as freedom of religion, speech and others stated in the US Bill of Rights. Texas’, however, includes additions such as human rights to own guns and protection from prison for debt.
Tom Glass, founding memeber of the Texas Constitutional Enforcement group, took to Twitter to announce the next steps on HJR146:
The purpose of adding this to the Texas Bill of Rights was to make a case in the federal judiciary to invoke the 9th Amendment to the US Constitution which states that there are other natural rights besides those in the first 8 change. If recognized in Texas, the feds must be under…
– Tom Glass (@tomglass) May 11, 2023
The upcoming House vote on HJR 146 marks an important step toward strengthening the right of Texans to use digital currencies within their state. If the amendment is successfully added as an amendment and gains popular support, it could set a precedent for other states to follow because of the 9th Amendment, as the tweet above explains.
The 9th Amendment to the US Bill of Rights state that “the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or impair others held by the people,” which essentially puts in writing that rights not enumerated in other amendments exist . If the Federal courts decide to oppose this decision, the 9th Amendment will help strengthen the mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies throughout the United States.
