Topeka, Kan. - Patricia Lightner, Republican candidate for Congress in the 3rd District of Kansas, reaffirmed her strong support for a resolution currently making it way through the Kansas Legislature. SCR 1615, sponsored by Senator Mary Pilcher Cook and co-sponsored by over half the State Senate, reaffirms Kansas sovereignty rights under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Lightner, whose name is included on the petition from hundreds of Kansans who support the resolution, said that the federal government has been encroaching too much on powers that should be left to the states and to the people.

"Across a myriad of issues, our nation's leaders have for too long been ignoring the Tenth Amendment. With the health care bills currently making their way through Congress, it is time for Kansas to put up a stop sign and make it very clear where we stand as a state. State sovereignty must be respected -- and it is for that reason I fully support SCR 1615," said Lightner.

Lightner said she also will be joining hundreds of other Kansas in Topeka on Friday morning for a rally being held in conjunction with a Judiciary Committee hearing on the resolution.

"I'm excited to be joining my fellow Kansans in support of our rights under the United States Constitution. Senator Pilcher Cook and other sponsors of this resolution deserve our strong support in this important endeavor," she said.

Lightner added that the people of the 3rd District deserve someone in Congress who will listen and have the courage to stand up for the rights of Kansans.

"The people are speaking - and they deserve to know where their federal candidates stand on this foundational issue for our state and our country. I stand with them."