> So the Framers decided that the sovereign states don't have to wait for Congress to act if they are in imminent danger of invasion but they have to beg permission of the Supreme Court and wait for their ruling before they are allowed to defend themselves or not. Genius! This is why people with no education really should refrain from trying to interpret things they don't understand. That's not how the law works, at all. Not in any western country. Courts are after the fact, not prior to the fact. The states don't have to ask for permission to do anything. Neither do you. You can walk out your door and shoot somebody, just like a state could decide it's being "invaded" and take military action. There's nothing stopping you and nothing stopping them. The issue is the consequences that follow. The United States government could legally order them to stop, or compel them by military force to stop. And yes, the Constitution is clear in this instance. You are ignorant of the underlying legal principles which leads you to lend your interpretation to legal language, but somehow you're not aware that it's just your interpretation.