But in all my days and all the crises of this country that I have lived through, at none of those times has the nation seemed so close to exploding at the seams. Politicians would rather destroy than lead. They would rather satisfy their own goals than the needs of the country. They would rather energize their bases than resolve the real problems that affect us all.
The end product of this leadership void is that many states and citizens are deciding to openly oppose, ignore, or fight against the many mandates and overreaches of the Federal government. This opposition takes many forms against many injustices and reductions in freedom, ranging from affronts to the second Amendment, the unfolding disaster that is Obama Care, the suspension of human and legal rights by NDAA, and other insults to freedom. The review of these struggles and opposition continues below:
1) On February 7, 2013, the California Sheriffs Association weighed on the Second Amendment debate by sending a letter to Vice President Joe Biden. This would appear to be another group of Americans that have a better handle on what is happening in the real world than Washington politicians.
Their letter had an interesting twist on the whole issue Their view is that guns are not the underlying root cause of violence, it is this country’s mishandling of mental illness and mentally ill citizens. They think that the solution to reducing violence is not to ban assault weapons but to have better treatment of the mentally ill. Instead, we currently have a revolving door policy of putting criminals that haven’t had proper mental health rehabilitation back out into the public and we as a nation need to take more measures to stop the mentally ill from purchasing firearms: “Additional treatment resources and placement options for substance abusers, the mentally ill, and family members who need help must be provided before an act of violence, an arrest, or suicide occurs.”
The sheriffs get it, Washington does not.
2) In February, action was underway in Indiana and South Carolina by state Senates to nullify parts of the NDAA. In Indiana, state senator Jim Banks pointed out that the sections of the National Defense Authorization Act violated the U.S. Constitution, specifically Sections 1021 and 1022 that allow for the indefinite detainment of American citizens without due process. The committee reviewing the proposed legislation to nullify was unanimous in their approval of the legislation.
Likewise in South Carolina, legislation development was underway seeking to nullify the “indefinite detention” provisions of the NDAA. The bill was filed last fall by state senator Tom Davis who called Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA “a direct threat to the liberty, security, and well-being of the people of South Carolina.”
As we said yesterday, what if the Federal government passed a law that no one obeyed? Seems like Indiana and South Carolina have now lined up behind that proposition regarding NDAA.
3) Earlier this year, an Arizona state senate committee approved legislation that would oppose many of the gun control measures that Obama and others in the Washington political class are trying to get approved. The proposed Arizona legislation would prevent enforcement of any new Federal laws affecting semi-automatic firearms or high-capacity magazines.
It would also make any Federal official trying to enforce such laws guilty of a felony and it allows the state Attorney General to defend anyone prosecuted for violating Federal gun laws if the gun was made in Arizona, among other provisions. Other, similar measures were being pressed forward in both houses of the Arizona state government.
4) CBS DC news reported earlier this year that the Wyoming house voted in favor of legislation that would try to block the Federal government from restricting assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the state. It had recently amended the bill to specify that Federal officials who tried to enforce any ban would be subject to state misdemeanor charges instead of felony charges.
5) The Tenth Amendment center reported earlier this year that the state of Montana had voted via voter referendum to nullify parts of Obama Care regardless of what Washington does. The “Montana Health Care Freedom Act” has the following major tenets:
The state or Federal government MAY NOT:
(a) mandate or require a person or entity to purchase health insurance coverage as defined in 33-22-140; or
(b) impose a penalty, tax, fee, or fine of any type if a person or entity declines to purchase health insurance coverage.
So it is not only gun control and the NDAA that people are rebelling at, the voters in Montana expressed their rejection of Obama Care rules and did so defiantly, 66% vs. 34%.
6) Earlier this year, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said on a radio program that going to jail may be an effective way to protest a mandate tied to Obama Care, a mandate that requires employers to provide contraceptive coverage even if it conflicts where their moral and religious beliefs. The Republican candidate for governor said civil disobedience is one way to attack the Federal health care law's requirement.
“Civil disobedience,” interesting choice of words since it is part of yesterday’s and today’s post titles.
7) Indiana is also getting into the ignore Washington act when state politicians put forth the following short piece of legislation stating that anyone trying to enforce Obama Care in Indiana would be guilty of a state class D felony under state senate bill 0230:
Applicability of Federal law in Indiana. Provides that any federal act, order, law, rule, regulation, or statute found by the general assembly to be inconsistent with the power granted to the federal government in the Constitution of the United States is void in Indiana.
Provides that a resident of Indiana has a cause of action to enjoin the enforcement or implementation or the attempted enforcement or implementation of a federal act, order, law, rule, regulation, or statute declared void by the general assembly. Provides that a plaintiff who prevails in such an action is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally implements or enforces, or attempts to implement or enforce, a federal law that is declared void by the general assembly commits a Class D felony.
Finds that the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 are inconsistent with the power granted to the federal government in the Constitution of the United States.
8) But the disagreements are not just with the Federal government. According to an NPR report from March 22, 2013, forty counties in upstate New York have passed resolutions condemning New York state's tough new gun laws, pushed quickly through the state government in the wake of Newtown. So here the beef is between the state government and forty county governments.
A similar conflict is brewing in Colorado. The Denver Post reported in early April that more than half the 62 sheriffs in Colorado are preparing a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of broad gun-control laws the Colorado state government passed in March. In conjunction with that passage, consider the quote of state senator Greg Brophy: "I'm telling you right now: I will not obey this law. [regarding the part of the law limiting magazine sizes] I will willfully and purposefully and civilly disobey this law."
There are those words again, “civilly disobey.” And these examples of turmoil are within local governing entities.
I am not sure any of these efforts would stand up in a court of law. I am not sure any of these efforts, besides the Montana referendum, ever became law. But they do give you the sense of what is going on in the country. Overreaching and the destruction of state and personal rights by the Washington political class is meeting local and state level resistance like nothing I have ever witnessed in this country.
When different levels of political institutions tell each other to get lost and when different levels of law enforcement institutions tell each other to get lost and when large swaths of citizens tell the Federal government and the politicians who operate it to get lost, there is a possibility of civil discourse, disobedience or worst going down.
And if you thought that civil discourse was likely, that true leadership and understanding from our national level politicians was possible, you are probably daydreaming. Consider what one of these so-called leaders recently had to say to those citizens and state and local government entities who dared to disagree with him on the Second Amendment. In a New York city radio interview in early April, anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg threw out the following insult to gun owners and their families:
“Number two, I would argue if you want to sell your gun to your son, maybe you have a problem in your family.”
Truly not a way to start a civil discourse, insult gun owner families. But this lack of civil discourse is to be expected from the political class. Do not agree with Obama Care? You must be a racist, according to any number of politicians in Congress. Do not agree with an Obama policy? You must be a “knuckle dragging Neanderthal, according to a Congressman. Do not agree that we should find out what actually happened in Benghazi? You are a conspiracy nut, “what does it matter” and “we need to move one.” according to a former and current Secretary of State.
Tough to have a civil discourse when the so-called leaders are insulting your family, calling you names, and telling your to shut up. And when civil discourse fails, the next step is civil disobedience followed by…..
Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:
www.loathemygovernment.com
It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.
Please visit the following sites for freedom:
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.cato.org/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://realpolichick.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08j0sYUOb5w
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