But somehow we and the country survived. Relying on the basic tenets of freedom as set forth by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, we got through the tough times, the nation held together, and we often thrived as a result of the struggles and worries.
However, there are some very disturbing trends going on in America today, trends that have the real potential for tearing apart the nation. A lot of the friction and conflict comes from an overreaching and overbearing Federal political class that is trying to impose its will on state governments and individual citizens, restricting or blowing away state rights and individual rights.
These Federal political impositions include the imposition of Obama Care and its mandating of health insurance purchases by every American. The secret collection of citizens’ personal electronic communications (email, text messages, social media posts, etc.) without warrant or due process of law. The indefinite detention of Americans with judicial review and hearings. The designation for assassination of Americans without trial by peers.
The Patriot Act, NDAA, Bluffton, Utah data collection center, the shredding of the Second Amendment, etc. The tentacles and restrictions continue to get longer and longer coming out of Washington and the greater and greater resistance from those that reside outside of the Beltway. Read the following reports and then decide if we are in for civil discussion of the issues, civil disturbances, or civil war.
1) Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and the Kansas state government recently put in place a legal a protection for Kansas citizens relative to any attempts by the Federal government to nullify Second Amendment rights.
According to "The Second Amendment Protection Act," as the legislation is called, the Second Amendment is locked in as understood in 1861. The year that Kansas entered the Union. Any Federal law that is viewed as a violation of the 2nd Amendment in that year will be viewed as a violation in 2013.
Moreover, such a Federal law would then be considered "null, void, and unenforceable in the state of Kansas:”
The Second Amendment of the United States reserves to the people, individually, the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time Kansas was admitted to statehood in 1861, and the guaranty of that right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Kansas and the United States as of the time the compact with the United States was adopted and agreed upon by Kansas in 1859 and the United States in 1861.
So what could happen if the Federal government passes a law and a state government(s) say never mind? Do we end up in civil discourse, civil disobedience, or civil war?
2) March 20, 2013, the Michigan state government and governor, followed the lead of Kansas, and told the Federal government in no uncertain terms that Michigan would oppose any Federal government attempts to register or ban any type of currently legal firearm or accessory in the state of Michigan.
The stand and statement was marked by a gathering in the state capital that included Republican and Democratic members of the Michigan House of Representatives and Senators, county sheriffs from around the state of Michigan, several gun rights organizations and hundreds of Michigan citizens. Two states now saying hands off our guns and our Second Amendment rights, in defiance of the Feds.
3) In early March, 2013, the state government in Michigan took another stand against the overreach of the Federal government when the state Senate voted 37-0 to pass the Liberty Preservation Act, that set out the state’s stand against the NDAA Federal law that applies the law of war and indefinite detention to anyone, including citizens, on U.S. soil. This piece of Federal legislation was one of the most obnoxious insults to freedom that the Federal government has passed in recent history.
Components of this legislation include the following:
- The most anti-freedom aspects of the NDAA are sections 1021 and 1022, which allow the arrest, detention, and/or transport to foreign prisons of anyone the Federal government “suspects” is a terrorist.
- Those imprisoned under the hazy definition of suspects can be denied trial, access to an attorney, and the ability to even advise someone they have detained.
- To enforce NDAA, the Federal government will need assistance from the states, assistance that is unlikely to come from at least the state of Michigan. This Senate bill announces the strong determination of the people of Michigan to determine that the NDAA is unconstitutional.
4) In late February, 2013, Texas took a big step to telling the Federal government to bug out when it comes to imposing Second Amendment restrictions in the state. Legislation in the Texas State legislature, attempts to stop Texas law enforcement officials from confiscating so-called “assault weapons” and high capacity magazines, items that some in the Federal political class want to ban.. This Texas legislation is called the Firearm Protection Act.
This bill would create a Class A misdemeanor for any police officer enforcing any new Federal gun regulations. It would also empower the state attorney general to sue anyone who seeks to enforce new Federal gun regulations. The primary sponsor of the legislation put out a press release on the bill: “The ‘Firearms Protection Act’ or HB 1076 would make any Federal law banning semi-automatic firearms or limiting the size of gun magazines unenforceable within the state’s boundaries. Any municipality, county, or special district trying to enforce a Federal gun ban could face monetary holdings by the state and misdemeanor charges under this proposal.”
This could get nasty. What happens when an Federal ATF agent or someone from Homeland Security tries to take away a gun from a Texan? Do they get arrested by state law enforcement officers and brought to trial in a state court? Major, major, and scary, questions.
5) In early February, the state of Colorado’s started hearings and examination of a proposed to oppose and stop certain provisions of the NDAA law. This proposed legislation, which is reputed to be similar to the same effort in Washington state, oppose the inclusion of U.S. citizens in the NDAA’s definition of “covered persons,” i.e. suspected terrorists, who can be indefinitely detained by the military without charge or trial.
The proposed bill declares Colorado is not a “battlefield” subject to the “laws of war” and prohibits the detention, capture, or use of deadly force against any person in Colorado without charge or trial, as protected under the U.S. Constitution.
More NDAA resistance. More anti-Second Amendment resistance. Many states have already opted out of the Federal government’s Obama Care health insurance exchanges. Interesting times.
The big question is whether or not there is a leader or leaders in this country that will step up and temper the growing friction and divisions in this country and get us all into a with civil discourse frame of mind and respect before civil discourse devolves into civil disobedience and at that point who knows what happens. As I said in my opening remarks, not quite sure in my lifetime we have been this close to this potential for open conflict.
Tomorrow, we will follow up with other examples of citizens and state and local government telling the Federal government to get its tentacles out of our lives, our wallets, our families, and our Constitution. Until then, please review the following link which takes you to a previous post in this blog, a post where we first identified the fissures that have only gotten wider since then:
http://loathemygovernment.blogspot.com/2010/06/not-so-united-states-of-america-will.html
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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