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Oath Keepers
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Following is copied from the OathKeepers Web site
(6/24/2009) for educational purposes and discussion.
OATH KEEPERS: Orders We Will Not
Obey.
"The time is now near at
hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be,
Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call
their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and
destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no
human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions
will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this
army" - Gen. George Washington, to his troops before the battle of
Long Island
Such
a time is near at hand again. The fate of unborn millions will now
depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this Army - and
this Marine Corps, This Air Force, This Navy and the National Guard
units of these sovereign states.
Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of currently serving military,
reserves, National Guard, peace officers, and veterans who swore an oath
to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and
domestic … and meant it.
Our oath is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and that oath
will be kept. We won’t
“just follow orders."
Below is our declaration of orders we will NOT obey because we will
consider them unconstitutional (and thus unlawful) and immoral violations
of the natural rights of the people. Such orders would be acts of war
against the American people by their own government, and thus acts of
treason. We will not make war against our own people. We will not commit
treason. We will defend the Republic.
Declaration
of Orders We Will NOT Obey
Recognizing that we each
swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies,
foreign and domestic, and affirming that we are guardians of the Republic,
of the principles in our Declaration of Independence, and of the rights of
our people, we affirm and declare the following:
1.
We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people.
The attempt to disarm the people on April 19, 1775 was the spark of
open conflict
in the American Revolution. That vile attempt was an act of war, and the
American people fought back in justified, righteous self-defense of their
natural rights. Any such order today would also be an act of war against
the American people, and thus an act of treason. We will not make war on
our own people, and we will not commit treason by obeying any such
treasonous
order.
Nor will we assist, or support any such
attempt to disarm the people by other government entities, either state or
federal.
![[standyourground.jpg]](oathkeeersstandyourground.jpg)
In
addition, we affirm that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to
preserve the military power of the people so that they will, in the last
resort, have effective final recourse to arms and to the God of Hosts in
the face of tyranny. Accordingly, we oppose any and all further
infringements on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. In
particular we oppose a renewal of the misnamed “assault-weapons” ban
or the enactment of H.R. 45 (which would register and track gun owners
like convicted pedophiles).
2. We will NOT obey any order to conduct
warrantless searches of the American people, their homes, vehicles,
papers, or effects - such as warrantless house-to house searches for
weapons or persons.
One of the causes of
the American Revolution was the use of “writs of assistance,” which
were essentially warrantless searches because there was no requirement of
a showing of probable cause to a judge, and the first fiery embers of
American resistance were born in opposition to those infamous writs. The
Founders considered all warrantless searches to be unreasonable and
egregious. It was to prevent a repeat of such violations of the right of
the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects that
the Fourth Amendment was written.
We expect that sweeping warrantless searches of homes and vehicles, under
some pretext, will be the means used to attempt to disarm the people.
3. We will NOT obey any
order to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to
subject them to trial by military tribunal.
One
of the causes of the American Revolution was the denial of the right to
jury trial, the use of admiralty courts (military tribunals) instead, and
the application of the laws of war to the colonists. After that
experience, and being well aware of the infamous Star Chamber in English
history, the Founders ensured that the international laws of war would
apply only to foreign enemies, not to
the American people. Thus, the Article III Treason Clause establishes the
only constitutional form of trial for an American, not serving in the
military, who is accused of making war on his own nation. Such a trial for
treason must be before a civilian jury, not a tribunal.
The
international laws of war do not trump our Bill of Rights. We reject as
illegitimate any such claimed power, as did the Supreme Court in Ex Parte
Milligan (1865). Any
attempt to apply the laws of war to American civilians, under any pretext,
such as against domestic “militia” groups the government brands
“domestic terrorists,” is an act of war and an act of treason.
4. We will NOT obey orders to impose
martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state, or to enter with
force into a state, without the express consent and invitation of that
state’s legislature and governor.
One
of the causes of the American Revolution was the attempt “to render the
Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power” by disbanding
the Massachusetts legislature and appointing General Gage as “military
governor.” The attempt to disarm the people of Massachusetts during that
martial law sparked our Revolution. Accordingly, the power to impose
martial law – the absolute rule over the people by a military officer
with his will alone being law – is nowhere enumerated in our
Constitution.
Further, it is the militia of a state and of the several states that the
Constitution contemplates being used in any context, during any emergency
within a state, not the standing army.
The imposition of martial law by the
national government over a state and its people, treating them as an
occupied enemy nation, is an act of war. Such an attempted suspension of
the Constitution and Bill of Rights voids the compact with the states and
with the people.
5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and
subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty and declares the national
government to be in violation of the compact by which that state entered
the Union.
In
response to the obscene growth of federal power and to the absurdly
totalitarian claimed powers of the Executive, upwards of 20
states are considering, have considered, or have passed courageous
resolutions affirming states rights and sovereignty.
Those resolutions follow in the honored and revered footsteps of Jefferson
and Madison in their Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, and likewise seek
to enforce the Constitution by affirming the very same principles of our
Declaration, Constitution, and Bill of Rights that we Oath Keepers
recognize and affirm.
Chief among those principles is that
ours is a dual sovereignty system, with the people of each state retaining
all powers not granted to the national government they created, and thus
the people of each state reserved to themselves the right to judge when
the national government they created has voided the compact between the
states by asserting powers never granted.
Upon the declaration by a state that such a breach has occurred, we will
not obey orders to force that state to submit to the national government.
6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade
American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
One
of the causes of the American Revolution was the blockade of Boston, and
the occupying of that city by the British military, under martial law.
Once hostilities began, the people of Boston were tricked into turning in
their arms in exchange for safe passage, but were then forbidden to leave.
That confinement of the residents of an entire city was an act of war.
Such tactics were repeated by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto, and by the
Imperial Japanese in Nanking, turning entire cities into death camps. Any
such order to disarm and confine the people of an American city will be
an act of war and thus an act of treason.
7. We will NOT obey any order to force
American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
Mass,
forced internment into concentration camps was a
hallmark of every fascist and communist dictatorship in the 20th Century.
Such internment was unfortunately even used against American citizens of
Japanese descent during World War II. Whenever a government interns its
own people, it treats them like an occupied enemy population. Oppressive
governments often use the internment of women and children to break the
will of the men fighting for their liberty – as was done to the Boers,
to the Jewish resisters in the Warsaw Ghetto, and to the Chechens, for
example.
Such
a vile order to forcibly intern Americans without charges or trial would
be an act of war against the American people, and thus an act of
treason, regardless of the pretext used. We will not commit treason, nor
will we facilitate or support it.
"NOT
on Our Watch!"
8.
We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops
on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to
“maintain control” during any emergency, or under any other pretext.
We will consider such use of foreign troops against our people to be an
invasion and an act of war.
During the American
Revolution, the British government enlisted the aid of Hessian mercenaries
in an attempt to subjugate the rebellious American people. Throughout
history, repressive regimes have enlisted the aid of foreign troops and
mercenaries who have no bonds with the people.
Accordingly, as the
militia of the several states are the only military force contemplated by
the Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, for domestic keeping of the
peace, and as the use of even our own standing army for such purposes is
without such constitutional support, the use of foreign troops and
mercenaries against the people is wildly unconstitutional, egregious, and
an act of war.
We will oppose such
troops as enemies of the people and we will treat all who request, invite,
and aid those foreign troops as the traitors they are.
9. We will NOT obey any orders to
confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other
essential supplies, under any emergency pretext whatsoever.
One of the causes
of the American Revolution was the seizure and forfeiture of American
ships, goods, and supplies, along with the seizure of American timber for
the Royal Navy, all in violation of the people’s natural right to their
property and to the fruits of their labor. The final spark of the
Revolution was the attempt by the government to seize powder and cannon
stores at Concord.
Deprivation of food
has long been a weapon of war and oppression, with millions intentionally
starved to death by fascist and communist governments in the 20th Century
alone.
Accordingly, we will not obey or facilitate orders to confiscate food and
other essential supplies from the people, and we will consider all those
who issue or carry out such orders to be the enemies of the people.
10. We will NOT obey any orders which
infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble,
and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.
There would have
been no American Revolution without fiery speakers and writers such as
James Otis, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Sam Adams “setting
brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”
Patrick Henry: "Give
me Liberty, or Give me DEATH!"
Tyrants know that
the pen of a man such as Thomas Paine can cause them more damage than
entire armies, and thus they always seek to suppress the natural rights of
speech, association, and assembly. Without freedom of speech, the people
will have no recourse but to arms. Without freedom of speech and
conscience, there is no freedom.
Therefore,
we will not obey or support any orders to suppress or violate the right of
the people to speak, associate, worship, assemble, communicate, or
petition government for the redress of grievances.
— And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,
we mutually affirm our oath and pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. Oath
Keepers
The
above list is not exhaustive but we do consider them to be clear tripwires
– they form our “line in the sand,” and if we receive such orders,
we will not obey them. Further, we will know that the time for another
American Revolution is nigh. If such a revolution comes, at that time, not
only will we NOT fire upon our fellow Americans who righteously resist
such egregious violations of their God given rights, we will join them in
fighting against those who dare attempt to enslave them.
NOTE: please also read our
Principles of Our Republic We Are Sworn to Defend
More
About Oath Keepers
Oath
Keepers is a non partisan association of currently serving military,
veterans, and peace officers who will fulfill our oath to support and
defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help
us God.
Our
oath is to the Constitution, not to the politicians, and not to any
political party. In the long-standing tradition of the U.S. military, we
are apolitical. We don’t care if unlawful orders come from a Democrat or
a Republican, or if the violation is bi-partisan. We will not obey
unconstitutional (and thus unlawful) and immoral orders, such as orders to
disarm the American people or to place them under martial law. We won’t
“just follow orders." Our motto: “Not on Our Watch!” or to put
it even more succinctly, in the words of , "NUTS!"
There is at this time a debate within the ranks of the military regarding
their oath. Some mistakenly believe they must follow any order the
President issues. But many others do understand that their loyalty is to
the Constitution and to the people, and understand what that means.
The mission of Oath Keepers is to vastly increase their numbers.
We
are in a battle for the hearts and minds of our own troops.
Help us win it.
www.oath-keepers.blogspot.com
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