“All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.” This language from the Washington State Constitution failed to impress one city councilman from Oak Harbor as he demonstrated the petulance inherent in liberals by walking out of a January council meeting because one of the attending citizens was legally armed.
At issue was a 2009 lawsuit filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) against the City Of Seattle for having broken state law by placing a ban on the carrying of firearms in city parks. A 3 decade old Washington State Preemption Law makes it illegal for jurisdictions within the state to pass any ordinance that conflicts with state law. As the State of Washington declares it legal to carry weapons in state parks, the Seattle ordinance against that law is illegal and therefore unenforceable. Such was the ruling both in state court and the District 1 Court of Appeals!
But when the SAF informed the City of Oak Harbor that its own ban on guns in area parks was also in violation of the Preemption Law, city councilman Rick Almberg decided that peevish behavior was somehow his right and should take precedence over the law and the rights of Oak Harbor residents.
Testifying before the Council against the Oak Harbor ban, private citizen Lucas Yonkman agreed to answer Almberg when the councilman asked if the disabled Afghanistan Veteran was armed. Upon responding that he had both a handgun and a license to carry a concealed weapon, Councilman Almberg immediately made a motion that weapons be banned at council meetings. When that failed, Almberg promptly picked up his belongings and left the room.
But when the next City Council meeting took place in early February, “…a group of 160 citizens, many if not most of whom were armed…” crowded the council chambers, voicing support for Lucas Yonkman and demanding “…that the council rescind [the] local ordinance prohibiting guns from being carried on public property.”
One armed citizen attending the meeting offered a pointed statement when he told the council, “…if the fact that citizens who are merely exercising their right to keep and bear arms intimidates city officials, then they need to look within to determine why the rights of the people are so intimidating to them.” Indeed, this question should be put not only to council members in Oak Harbor, Washington, but to politicians in D.C and throughout the nation.
Two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson offered the famous statement, “When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny.” Whether the City Council of Oak Harbor was or was not intimidated by the armed citizens they were elected to serve, “the council voted to remove the ban on guns in public parks and other public areas.”
Americans must make it known to liberal politicians that neither churlish behavior nor unconstitutional legislation will intimidate citizens into relinquishing their God given rights. If that message must be delivered by armed envoys, so be it. After all, when elected officials uphold the rights of the American people, it is a good thing, regardless of the means employed to make them do so.
Photo credit: Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL) (Creative Commons)
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It is time the Liberal Foul Mouth Pukes understand it is “We the People” that put them in office. Of course they Toe the party line like good Communist boys & girls.
Almberg and one other dedicated liberal on the Council are infamous for ignoring Washington State law in pursuit of advancing their agenda. The issue of finally coming into compliance with the Preemption law was introduced last year, but Almberg convinced the rest of the board to delay action on it till January, when he famously walked out because his wish to prevent arms at council meetings was roundly defeated.
I don’t know if the presence of a large number of armed citizens was instrumental in getting the Oak Harbor, anti-gun ordinance rescinded. But you can BET it generated enough action to prevent it being put off until another time!!!
I wonder if 3 million armed Americans showing up at the Capital Building would have helped change the ObamaCare vote! Just a thought.
If memory serves, Washington State voted overwhelmingly for Obama. There is an old saying….”you reap what you sow”. So blame yourselves for helping to further the destruction of the 2nd Amendment as well as the entire Constitution and Bill of Rights.
I think all of those that voted for Obama need to reap a little pain, really a whole of pain for what they have done to this country.. Many will have to die to get rid of this tyrant….
It was well written until:
“Americans must make it known to liberal politicians that neither churlish behavior nor unconstitutional legislation will intimidate citizens into relinquishing their God given rights.”
I thought the discussion was about CONSTITUTIONAL rights?
jus’ sayin’…
http://www.slideshare.net/kynize/obama-disarmed-marines-during-inauguration
Why were Marines ordered to remove bolts from their weapons, and searched for bullets?
More importantly, why did the marines allow an illegal alien to usurp their Constitutional rights? Surely they’re not PU$$IES…???
Wonder what would have happened if the marines rightfully refused to disarm? Certainly they’re not scared of a little old thing like an illegal alien???
The happy day I’m looking for is when CONgress and law enforcement do their FKG jobs, march into the oval office and arrest an illegal alien using a ripped off SSN# of a man born in the 1800s.
What in God’s name is it going to take to do what is right? Even WE THE PEOPLE need to get on a million buses down Pennsylvania Ave and demand this illegal muthafracker be physically removed from office where he has no right to be, and new elections be held. And I want to see everybody’s damn birth certificate under a microscope.
Where is law enforcement? Where is CONgress? Where is the FBI and CIA????? WHERE??????
In Oblowhards Back pocket.
Yep, or on all fours with their heads under his desk.
Liberals today are what the old era Communists called “useful idiots”. Somehow they believe they would be better off with LESS FREEDOM and so would their fellow countrymen.
After so many gave their lives and fortunes for the liberty we have today, its hard to imagine anyone so ungrateful as to willingly want to surrender all rights and freedoms.
Obama in one respect is the essense of pure evil. He is the only President who was waived his background check by Congress. Obama was never vetted by the democrat controlled congress upon his election. Of course he got his Top Secret Clearance by position, not entitlement. Obama could have never gotten a Top Secret Clearance with his ties to known Communists, and other anti-American organizations, the Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam, Hamas, or American terrorists like Bill Ayers.
Obama is so evil in his agenda that he doesn’t even have a valid Social Security Number. That small detail is coming up before the USSC soon. His birthplace is so questionable, and the supporting documents ie.birth certificate, that his actual birth place still remains in dispute.
When has any US president had so many questionable traits attributted to him personally ?
Today Obama is on a rabid attack against the 2nd amendment and our right to keep and bare arms. What sinister plot does Obama have in mind that could justify the arming of formerly “unarmed Federal branches of government” ? Like the IRS and its 17,000 new agents or the DHS and its arming with full auto assault rifles and 1.7 billion hollow point ammunition for them. What happened to our FBI, the CIA or our local Law Enforcement Officers.
Remember Obama saying upon his first election that he wanted … “A Federal Police Force as well armed and well funded as the US military” ? Now we know why, to assist him the the disarming of the American people. Right now there is a purge going on in the US military to get rid of any Officers or Enlistedmen who would refuse to fire on US citizens who refused to disarm, after that I would imagine the same would be applied to anyone refusing to convert to Islam.
Obama is building his own Federal Police Force complete with 1.7 billion rounds of Hollow Point Assault Rifle Ammunition. He already has 35 million Blacks of whom the majority would probably gladly kill Whites at his command….
The budget …out of control. The wars that were supposed to end 6 months after election…still going on. The taming of the National Debt…out of control. Obama’s Low Cost Health Insurance…will bankrupt the American Economy. What has he accomplished in 4 years outside of Gay Marriage, and Females the right to go into combat…AND $4 trillion of new debt that is growing larger by the day.
“After all, when elected officials uphold the rights of the American people, it is a good thing, regardless of the means employed to make them do so.”
Nice article, Doug. When applied to ALL of our rights and liberties, we may be able to restore our Constitutional Republic.
There is a reasonably simple solution to combat current elected and appointed officials from ignoring constitutional provisions—whether it is the U.S. Constitution and laws or States’ Constitutions and laws—and to the unconstitutional legislation authorized at every level of government. The solution will require extensive grass roots effort and education of the citizens in every State to take three specific actions. Although the solution is relatively simple, enacting the requisite actions will not be.
(1) In each State, voters should refuse to vote for any incumbent politician who has served more than one term in any one specific Office. Not only should we stop re-electing individuals to multiple terms in the same Office, we also should refuse to elect the same individuals to other Offices in either federal or state governments. Continual elections of the same individuals to the same or different public Offices results in the same thing; an accumulation of wealth, power and authority and a natural inclination to ignore constitutional restraints and the sovereign Authority of the people. The only exception to this practice may be in the election of the Executives of either federal or state governments. These Offices may be served by individuals who have previously served up to two terms in any ONE State or federal Office, but not by individuals who have spent their life in public office, living off the public dime. While it would be easier to have constitutional term limits for all elected officials, our current corrupt politicians will not cooperate in limiting their own efforts at accumulating wealth and power. At this time, it must be done by the people, themselves.
(2) It is evident that our two major political parties, Democrats and Republicans, are in reality one party. It is also evident that those ‘elites’ who have control, influence and longevity in those political parties are also inclined to seek power and ignore the constitutional restraints and the sovereign Authority of the people. Therefore, the people should NOT choose future candidates from these sources. We should never again choose the ‘lesser of two evils,’ but we should always look to a person of character who is not supported or guided by career politicians—whether from elected or appointed government, or from political parties or lobbies. It is long past time to form new political party(s) whose real platform is the support of America’s Rule of Law—the Constitution– and the sovereign Authority of the people.
(3) In each State, the people (citizens) should form a number of volunteer committees for the review of both federal and state actions; prospective laws, enacted laws, regulatory actions and orders—including Executive Orders, both federal and state—and judiciary decisions from federal and State Courts. After all, the people are the sovereign Authority under a constitutional America and the people’s decisions trump those of anyone in a subservient government. The various committees would then make recommendations to the federal and state legislatures AND the people for either nullification of the laws, orders, judicial decisions, etc. and/or the recall of the elected or appointed officials. If individual states do not have legal recall provisions, the citizens of those states should immediately begin the process for amending their State Constitutions. As with any elected Office, committee members should serve no more than two terms of volunteer membership, although previous members could be called back for ‘expert’ opinion and testimony. These committees should make their information readily available to all state residents and could also take the lead in looking for future citizen representatives who are not tainted by political power and activity.
The reason none of these actions will be easy is because the Marxist media/press controls what the majority of Americans hear and read. The Marxist media/press is prevelant in every state, as well as on the national stage. The Marxist media/press prevents the average citizen from seeking true information by constantly denigrating those who understand their manipulation and disinformation and by refusing to discuss or print the views of those who do not support Marxism in America. Too many of these self-involved sheeple have been ‘trained’ to believe government is right, government is all-powerful, and government will take care of them. Unfortunately an extremely rude awakening is just around the corner for these sheeple.
The Founding Fathers would not create a democracy in order to avoid ‘tyranny of the majority.’ (So, please STOP calling America a democracy.) Instead, they created a Federal Republic with representational limited government. They expected citizen representatives to serve a term or two, with honor and integrity, and retire to private life. The continual ‘refreshment’ of representational government also would have avoided ‘tyranny of the minority’ which currently is reshaping American culture and society. The adherence to the constitutional limitations to federal government by constantly changing citizen representatives would have led to few and easily understood federal laws, and restraints on the ambition of representatives who sought wealth and power at the expense of the people.
The Founding Fathers believed the people, either themselves or through state governments, would solve the problems that fell outside the limitations of federal government. Instead, at the turn of the 20th century, the Progressives, educated by Marxist indoctrinated universities, convinced the people that they knew best and would govern with their good intentions to give the people a better life. The Marxist-Progressives gradually chipped away at the Constitution and the sovereign Authority of the people during most of the 20th century. As Marxists have infiltrated education and the media/press, successive generations of indoctrinated students have been less and less concerned with the loss of liberty and sovereignty. Daniel Webster said, “It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, BUT THEY MEAN TO GOVERN. They promise to be good masters, BUT THEY MEAN TO BE MASTERS.”
We, the people, have failed to retain our sovereign Authority by failing to exert our sovereign Authority over governments, federal and state, who were to be servants of the people. Now at the millennium turn, it seems the Marxist-Progressives and the N.W.O. elites have lost patience with the gradual transformation to statism. The unconstitutional usurper and compliant corrupt Congress and Judiciary have been put in place to complete the transformation to tyranny, giving government sovereignty, as MASTERS of the people. If we want our rights and liberties retained, returned and restrained from government interference, WE have to fight for them using any means available.
There is virtually no possibility of restoring our Constitutional Republic unless we take back control of our State governments first. There is very little time left. We can’t wait for the next election and expect to make changes at the last minute. We must start now–and still be prepared for the Revolutionary/Civil War to come.