Over the years, proponents of Puerto Rico’s “commonwealth” relationship with the United States have proposed a range of “developed,” “enhanced,” or “perfected” versions of this “commonwealth.” The details of such an arrangement have varied significantly from one version to the next, but one overriding common part of “commonwealth” scenarios is that Puerto Rico would have the discretion to cherry pick which federal laws would apply within its borders and which laws would not.
The legal reality is that Puerto Rico is subject to all federal laws, as are every other U.S. state and territory.
Federal law and state law
Federal laws are those that apply to all parts of the nation. The Constitution is considered the supreme law of the land, which supersedes any other local laws. Under the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states are free to make laws about anything which is not covered by the Constitution, such as educational policies, languages spoken, specific labor laws, and rules guiding family, adoption, and marriage. Laws on these subjects typically are made by the states and apply only in the states where they were passed.
However, it is a federal law that same-sex couples are allowed to marry and that their marriages will be legally recognized in all states. So no state or territory has the freedom to make a state law that is in conflict with this federal law.
Puerto Rico laws
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. Federal laws apply to Puerto Rico. There have been some cases in which Puerto Rico has tried to make laws that differ from federal laws. For example, Puerto Rico outlawed the death penalty and tried to keep cockfighting legal after it had been forbidden by federal law.
These attempts have not succeeded. In fairness, states have also made similar attempts to bypass federal laws, with equal lack of success.
What’s different for Puerto Rico
The position of Puerto Rico relative to federal laws is different from that of the states, however, because Puerto Rico has no formal voice in the creation of federal laws. States have senators and Members of Congress who can vote for or against the enactment of specific federal laws. Puerto Rico has one non-voting representative in Congress. That means that Puerto Rico effectively has no formal say in the federal laws which govern the Island.
The End of Cockfighting in Puerto Rico?
The case of cockfighting provides an example. While Louisiana was the last state to ban cockfighting, and is an example of a state where the local culture supported the sport, Puerto Rico had centuries of devotion to the game and was entirely unwilling to give it up. In 2018, Congress passed a law making the sport illegal throughout the United States. In defiance, the Puerto Rican governor at the time passed a law declaring cockfighting legal in Puerto Rico.
The resident commissioner spoke movingly in Congress about the economic value of the sport in Puerto Rico and the territory government asked for a transitional period to adjust. Nonetheless, as soon as federal law forbade cockfighting, it was illegal in Puerto Rico.
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