Do Not Allow President Obama To Impose Martial Law

[Paul Arnold Browning]

by Scott Lazarowitz
Recently by Scott Lazarowitz: Two Kinds of Selfishness
Some people are predicting that there will be a major economic collapse, caused
by unsustainable debts and other government intrusions into private economic
matters, and by central banks’ excessive money-printing.
In America, the Federal Reserve’s continued irresponsible and reckless actions
will result in further devaluing the currency and huge increases in price
inflation, especially in food and energy prices. Some are predicting that there
will be food shortages, looting, rioting, and civil unrest and violence in
America.
There are some people who believe that such events will be followed by President
Obama imposing a nationwide martial law. Recent terrorism drills, such as the
major drill last week in Denver, are believed to be part of the U.S.
government’s preparation for either terrorism or false flag events, or part of
preparation for planned martial law. Obama was recently in Denver. One hopes
that what former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has documented, a possible huge
underground government or military facility at the Denver airport, and other
similar places, are not true.
But the subject of martial law needs to be discussed, because it’s important
that the people of the U.S. states have an understanding of this before Obama
imposes martial law, which is essentially a presidential-military-rule
dictatorship.
Obviously, any imposition of martial law by the U.S. government would be not
only a gross violation of state sovereignty, thus making the states even further
subservient to the authoritarian rule of the federal government, but martial law
goes against the Founders’ ideas of inalienable rights and liberty.
Martial law includes the suspension of civil liberties, such as freedom of
speech and dissent, the right to bear arms and self-defense, the right to
freedom of movement, and the right to presumption of innocence. The Declaration
of Independence recognizes the right of each and every human being to "life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These are inalienable, pre-existing
rights, meaning that they are natural and inherent rights, not given to us by
any government. That means that no one, including government officials, police
or military, may violate these rights or remove them – otherwise, they could not
be considered inalienable. 
Specifically, the right of the individual to life and liberty includes the right
to own and control one’s life, and the right to be free from the aggressions of
others, including police and military. The right of the individual to one’s life
and liberty includes the "right to be secure" in one’s person, property and
effects. In America, there are supposed to be no intrusions into the person or
property of the individual without actual suspicion that a specific individual
has committed a specific crime against someone else’s person or property. Even
in those cases, the people were advised by the Founders to nevertheless question
the official judgments of government agents.
Any suspension of these rights and civil liberties such as under a martial law
would thus be an act of criminality by government officials, including the
president, military and police, against the people. There have been many aspects
of the post-9/11 "War on Terror," including the Patriot Act and new warrantless
surveillance intrusions, and due-process-free policies of apprehension and
detention of Americans by federal agents, that some people believe to have been
a back-door means for military rule in America.
As I wrote in my article, Tea Partiers May Need the ACLU Soon, the rights to
presumption of innocence (and thus the right to be left alone without suspicion)
and due process have greatly diminished in America since the Bush Administration
exploited 9/11 to expand the federal government’s intrusive police powers over
Americans. Putting such policies as the Patriot Act into place, and allowing for
the apprehension, detention and assassination of Americans as well as
foreigners, policies that remove presumption of innocence and due process, has
made the U.S. government a much bigger threat to our liberty than terrorists
ever could be.
Given Obama’s assassination of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki without any due
process, without having been convicted or even charged with terrorism, but by
merely having been labeled a "terrorist" by government officials, and given the
preponderance of historical evidence as to why we should not trust the judgment
of government officials, Americans need to be vigilant. Why? Just one example is
how current administration officials’ continuously label government protesters
and Tea Party activists, antiwar protesters and even anti-ObamaCare activists as
threats and "terrorists." The crackdowns on peaceful protesters show more
clearly how America is quickly turning into the Soviet Union.
Now, if you are a governor, and President Obama imposes martial law and orders
you as governor of your state to enforce such an order, you are obligated by law
to disobey that order, because it would be an unlawful order. Government
officials recite an oath as they take their office, as do police and military
personnel. Part of the oath for governor of a state – and local police officers
for that matter – includes "support" of the U.S. Constitution and respective
state constitutions. In some cases, the oath states that they will "obey and
defend" the Constitution.
Some police officers’ oaths state that they will "obey the orders of superior
officers" on the force. And the oath for enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces
does include mention of obeying the orders of the President of the United
States. However, when a superior officer or president gives an unlawful order,
such as one that violates an individual’s right to due process or right to free
speech or dissent, then the soldier or officer is obligated to disobey that
order. 
Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, explains here in this video why such
unlawful orders must be disobeyed. The Oath Keepers organization notes that
Oath Keepers is a non-partisan association of currently serving military,
reserves, National Guard, peace officers, fire-fighters, and veterans who swore
an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and
domestic … and meant it. We won’t "just follow orders."
The Oath Keepers organization views the soldier, military officer or police
officer’s primary obligation of service as being to the people, not the
president, and that their loyalty is to the Constitution, including the Bill of
Rights. If the President of the United States orders governors, National
Guardsmen, military soldiers, police officers, to enforce federal martial law,
the purpose of which is to remove civil liberties and rights guaranteed by the
Bill of Rights, then such an order, therefore, is an unlawful order, and
government personnel are obligated to disobey such orders.
Here is the Oath Keepers’ list of orders they would not obey, particularly
because, as the Oath Keepers themselves note, such orders are "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."
    1. We will NOT obey any order to disarm the American people
    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.
    3. We will NOT obey any order to detain American citizens as "unlawful enemy
combatants" or to subject them to trial by military tribunal.
    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.
    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.
    6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them
into giant concentration camps.
    7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of
detention camps under any pretext.
    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.
    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.
    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. 
I never thought that in my lifetime I would see such a strong possibility of
economic collapse, food shortages, civil unrest and martial law in America. But
all of this is completely avoidable.
How are economic collapse, food shortages, civil unrest and martial law
avoidable? First, get rid of the causes of food price inflation. That means
ending the Federal Reserve, ending central planning in money and banking, and
allowing for free, competitive banking and competing currencies. Encourage the
people to use gold, silver or something else of value as their medium of
exchange, or a currency that is at least backed by something of value. Get the
government out of money and banking, period.
Second, end the federal government’s intrusions into, restrictions on and
subsidization of food production and distribution. Decentralize the entire food
industry, and make the federal government stop infringing on the rights of local
farmers and food producers, food distributors, retailers and grocers. Those
local producers and traders – not government central planners – are the ones who
know best how to handle their businesses, and what the consumers want and how
much food should cost. No more police S.W.A.T raids on raw milk producers and
other food producers.
We just can’t allow America to descend into the third world police state
dictatorship that it seems to be becoming (and that is being reinforced in the
schools). One step in the right direction would be to end all restrictions on
civilians’ right to self-defense, and protect their right to own, conceal or
openly carry weapons. That is what really prevents crime.
And communities need to consider de-monopolizing local policing and security.
There’s no good reason for government to monopolize those functions. Let
voluntary groups and private, competitive firms handle those things – that is
what will end the current police-thug phenomenon.
Also, the federal government needs to end its counter-productive aggressions
overseas and War on Drugs.
Finally, besides invoking the 10th Amendment and nullifying federal food,
monetary and banking restrictions, and nullifying federal gun laws, if Obama
orders martial law, then U.S. state governors must also nullify that, too. If
Obama and federal agents and military insist on forcing martial law in the
states against the authority of the states’ leaders, then the states’ governors
may have to order state and local officials to arrest federal agents acting in
violation of the states’ sovereignty and the people’s rights.
No, the way to deal with economic collapse, civil unrest and looting is not with
a federal martial law presidential-military dictatorship. The way to deal with
or prevent such a crisis is by going the other way: through decentralization and
de-monopolization, and undoing all the governmental interventions that will have
caused the crisis in the first place.
October 3, 2011
Scott Lazarowitz [send him mail] is a commentator and cartoonist at
Reasonandjest.com.
Copyright © 2011 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part
is gladly granted, provided full credit is given. 

[Tami H Dycus]

i sure hope we never get to the point of martil law. its a very ugly thing to even think about all that we would loose. thanks for sharing, has given me much to chew own.

[Sandra]

Everyone needs to remain calm and not fall into the trap that is currently being set. It is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, and yes we will win IMO...  There are more of us free people than the commies and they are really desperate. If O loses they lose...