Murdered: A plea for decency and responsibility

In the third incident involving one of my wife's co-workers within the past 2 months (the incidents are otherwise unrelated), I have just found out that one of her closest co-worker's brother-in-law was shot to death last night while attempting to break up a fight in the restaurant in which he was employed [9 news story here].  This follows another shooting death in an incident involving the son of yet another co-worker, who was murdered before Christmas when his apartment was broken into in Denver.  I cannot properly express my condolences to these families who have lost members recently in senseless acts of violence.  The disregard for Human life seems to be growing by the day.

I express my deepest and most profound sorrow to the families affected.

Beginning today, those of us capable must take on a personal responsibility for providing for not only our own safety, but the safety of others against this kind of violence.  The Police force is obviously not enough.  In an effort to lead the charge, I implore whomever reads this to look into your state's concealed carry laws.  In Colorado, CCW permits are shall-issue (after passing a background check and submitting fingerprints to your local Sheriff's department).  In Colorado, you are also permitted by law to use deadly force against anyone who unlawfully enters your home, so long as you believe that there is an immediate threat to your person or your property.  You are also authorized to use deadly force in defense of another person if that person is in imminent danger of death or "great bodily injury".  These are covered in the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) 18-1-704 [1].

Learn the law, learn to handle a weapon safely, and begin exercising your right to your own defense.  Unfortunately, we have reached the point where when seconds count, the Police are only minutes away.  We must take care of our own safety and the safety of those around us.  There is simply no other option.

In love of liberty,
The Bulletproof Patriot

A promise to future children

I have been persuaded to publish the letter below.  It is intended as a letter to future generations.  Perhaps others will find some inspiration to write their own in kind.

To my future children:

The opening salvo in the war against the few remaining shreds of man’s freedom in the United States has commenced.  This shot across the bow has scattered the millions once galvanized against the tyrannical destruction of what was once called the American Dream – not the right to own a home, earn a living, or be made equal with your neighbors by way of social justice, but the chance to fully develop yourself into the person you choose to become, whoever that might be.  You were made with your own individual abilities, unique from everyone else.  You were made to succeed in your own way.  You were made from God’s stock.

Sadly, the American Dream, as it once existed, is dead.  It has been replaced with government dependence in the form of handouts to the undeserving, a restructuring of the family to value “all” families, whether assembled as God intended or not, and a lust for power by a self-established elite class under the guise of maintaining the social welfare.  Liberties have been sacrificed to the god of government all too willingly, and the People have accepted the pittance doled out to them that is just sizable enough to keep them quiet.  The liberties so many had hoped you would enjoy are fading.

In order to guarantee the freedoms of your future, I promise to lead the charge against this.

I promise that you will never be alone in this life.  I love you, your mother loves you, and your Father in Heaven loves you the most.

I promise that I will look to our family and to God for guidance on the important things in life, and not to government.

In the same regard, I promise to teach you to be independent and responsible for yourself.  You will never be dependent on a political party, group of friends, or anyone else to do your thinking for you.

I promise to always be in honorable pursuit of God’s will, wherever that may lead.

I promise to lead this family through all things, good and bad, with the close counsel and guidance of your mother.

I promise to love your mother as best as I am able and to set the best example I can for you of the way that Christ loves his Church.

I promise to take responsibility for the consequences of our own decisions.  If a correction of course is required, a correction will be made, no matter how difficult.

I promise to never give up, no matter how daunting the battle may be.

I promise to provide for you as long as I am able.  I promise that by the time I am unable, you will be prepared to provide for yourself.

I promise that you will be made ready to tackle the storms of this life.  Help others through their storms.  Use these victories to build up treasures in Heaven.

I promise that you can always rely on me.  When you have exceeded the limits of my ability, I promise that you can rely on God.

Build up your Heavenly defenses now.  Darker days are certain to come.

I promise to let you fail.  I promise also to be there when you have picked yourself up, dusted yourself off, and learned from your mistakes.  I promise you will be better for it.

I promise to punish you when necessary.  I promise it will be out of love.

I promise that the two most powerful words in any language are I AM.  Use them.  I AM _____.  Fill the blank in yourself.  If you don’t, someone else will.

Always stand where the Lord tells you to stand, especially when it makes you uncomfortable.  Be sure to keep your eyes open for miracles – they happen, you just have to pay attention.

Everything you need to be happy in life is contained within the walls of your home.  It eats with you, talks with you, and loves you.  God and family are the only things of any lasting value.

I promise that America is very much God’s country, too.  Keep her on the right track.  This will not be an easy task, but I promise it will be one worth pursuing.

I promise that the shining city on the hill still exists, although today it is covered by layers of grime and filth, perpetuated by our own negligence.  It is high time that we take to the streets with our families, friends, and neighbors, and scrub and polish until the American Dream once again shines as a beacon of hope to the world, visible from even the darkest shores.  America is at her best when she leads faithfully and compassionately.  She is at her best when she shines.

To this end, I resolve myself to keep up the fight.  This day, I too, with a firm reliance on divine Providence, pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor, so that you also will have the opportunity to live in freedom.

With love,

M

4 January 2011

Florida joins in kicking 4th Amendment's dead horse

In an apparent rush to further destroy the already largely lifeless Fourth Amendment [1], Florida law enforcement has joined other states in implementing "no refusal" DUI checkpoints.  These checkpoints, in addition to already being constitutionally questionable, add the extra layer of immediate forced blood draws after a warrant is issued by the on-site judge.

The right to protection against unlawful search and seizure be damned.

While I would normally make the argument that the states, and therefore by extension local law enforcement, are not subject to the same constitutional restraint as the federal government, the Supreme Court has applied the Fourth Amendment to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment's 'Due Process Clause' in the Mapp v. Ohio case of 1961 [2].

This is, unfortunately, another attempt by government to overstep its constitutional obligations in the name of "public safety." The same case has been made for decades with regard to gun rights - notwithstanding the protections afforded to the People in the Second Amendment, the Congress has implemented gun control legislation on a substantial scale, even to the degree of banning automatic firearms in the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 [3], and to some degree further in the ill-named Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) signed by President Reagan in 1984.  Ironically, the FOPA further restricted the sale of automatic firearms sold in compliance with the NFA only to weapons manufactured prior to the date of the act, or prior to 1986.  As a result, all automatic firearms in the US which are available for legal purchase by the public were manufactured at least 25 years ago.

To its credit, however, the FOPA included provisions to protect firearm dealers against abusive searches and audits conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), prevented the requirement of federal gun registration (although some states can and do have registries, which is a different matter), restricted record keeping of ammunition purchases, and removed a former restriction on long gun sales across state lines [4].

As I have already published at least one lengthy piece regarding Congressional authority to regulate interstate commerce, it seems appropriate to comment here that the Congress asserting regulatory authority due to the effect that long gun sales across state lines has on interstate commerce is dubious - especially in light of the Second Amendment.  Congress, in this situation, could indeed regulate the commerce taking place in the interstate sale, but since when did the term regulate become synonymous with ban?

Getting back to the DUI checkpoint story, the entire concept of checkpoints is to protect the safety of the public.  Drunk driving is indeed a serious matter than claims far too many lives each year, particularly around the New Year celebrations.  But is casting a net of suspicion over all drivers on a road at any given time to pick out the one or two who may be intoxicated an appropriate exercise of authority?  As far as I am concerned, the answer is no.

The Fourth Amendment protections again unlawful search and seizure are also further expanded and clarified in the introductory clause of the amendment, which states that the purpose of protecting against unreasonable search is explicitly for "The right of the people to be secure in their persons".  How can the average, law abiding driver be "secure in their person" if they are subjected to suspicion of drunk driving (i.e. a search) by a police officer stopping them at a sobriety checkpoint, especially in the complete absence of probable cause?  They can't.

Random searches of a driver's "person," in order to comply with the absolute protections afforded by the Fourth Amendment, must be by warrant issued resulting from a reasonable suspicion of intoxication.  The language of the amendment makes this absolutely clear:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.  (Emphasis mine.)

Public safety plays no role in the execution of a lawful search.  In order for liberty to be maintained, the People must be absolutely secure in their persons and property from unlawful intrusion, even if public safety suffers.

This conclusion is sure to arouse at least two additional questions:

1.  Does this mean that all DUI action by law enforcement is unconstitutional?  Absolutely not.  Law enforcement is welcome to pull over any driver who is speeding, abruptly changing lanes, or who appears unable to safely operate the vehicle, but probable cause must be present before lawful contact with the driver can occur.  Anything less is a violation of the driver's constitutional rights.

2.  Does this mean that we should allow public safety to be sacrificed in the name of "protecting someone's rights?"  To some degree, yes.  However, if the penalties imposed for drunk driving were severe (i.e. lengthy prison terms) rather than lax, drunk driving wouldn't be as much of a problem to begin with.  Punish the offender, not the law abiding citizen.

In this particular story, the fact that the DUI checkpoints have a judge present on site is immaterial.  A judge's presence does not give the police probable cause, and therefore a warrant cannot be lawfully issued ("no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause").  Refusing to submit to a breathalyzer is not probable cause.

Further, if we are going to simply make judges available on the spot to issue warrants whenever law enforcement wants to do anything, why even require warrants?  Why not simply deputize all police officers as non-commissioned judges?

The People's liberties are at stake and fading fast.  If we fail to assert these liberties for ourselves or depend on government to protect them for us, we will quickly find ourselves without any liberties at all.  After all, if we're willing to tolerate the violation of constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure to protect ourselves from drunk drivers, what violations are we willing to tolerate next in the name of public safety?

Benjamin Franklin put it best:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.

In love of liberty,
The Bulletproof Patriot