The oath of office for LEO's

J

John/az2

New member
Would someone please quote for me the oath that is taken upon hiring as a LEO?

Is this a uniform oath through-out the U.S.?

Does this oath apply to all law enforcement agencies (ATF, FBI, CIA, NSA)?

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John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
 
Sorry I don't know what the oath is. Doesn't it vary from state to state. But I do have a funny/tragic story about talking with a BATF bureaucrat.

I asked if he took an oath to uphold the Constitution. He said no. I said, come-on, give me a break you had to take an oath of some sort. He admits that he did.

I ask him if he ever read the constitution. He gives a noncommital answer. I give him the second amendments and then ask where the constitution grants him the right to enforce gun laws. He says he doesn't know. But admits that the Second does seem to recognize a Constitutional right.

I tell him he should resign given that he is enforcing unconstitutional laws that he has taken an oath not to. His response?

All he did was tell me that he was just a bureaucrat that he doesn't even carry a gun, and that if he did the honorable thing by resigning someone else would just do the same job!

This is why I will not back off my statement that I don't know of a single honorable man in the BATF. I'm sure there might be some that don't deal with the firearm issue but all the rest are like this traitor, the pay is too good.
 
As far as I know, there isn't a uniform oath throughout the United States.

I've taken two oaths in my career: "Do you solemnly swear to uphold the Constituition, keep the Peace and enforce the laws of the State of Texas?" -and-
"I do swear that I will protect all those whom I can, keep the Peace and enforce the laws of the United States and the State of Texas."

Both of these oaths were administered by Judges who were familiar with the duties of the Sheriff as stated in the Code of Criminal Procedure for the State of Texas, which states the the duty of the Sheriff is to maintain the peace and uphold the law--in that order.

Hope that helps.
LawDog
 
My curiousity stems, of course, from the mention of the "uphold the Constitution" statement that seems to be included in many oaths.

I realize that many (if not all) LEA's strive to do just that.

But, is this statement included in any of the alphabet soup agencies' oaths? And if so, could this not be another sticking point when the issue of unconstitutional laws and unlawful arrest due to such laws comes to court?

Do we have anyone here with experience with these agencies and the oaths that they take?

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John/az

"The middle of the road between the extremes of good and evil, is evil. When freedom is at stake, your silence is not golden, it's yellow..." RKBA!
 
In California, the oath is found in our state Govt. Code.

We use to joke about it, especially about the part about defending against all enemies, foreign and domestic, but the most amusing thing about this oath is that all Civil Servants, city, county and state, take the very same oath in this state.

Oh, by the way, it goes something like this:

"I, [state your name], do solemnly swear that I will defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegience unto the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California and that I freely take this oath without any mental reservation or hesitation and that I will, to the best of my abilities, fully discharge the duties that I am about to enter."

Mind you, that is what my fading memory recalls and I am probably wrong at places. The fault is my own. Funny, when I was first sworn in, it was by some clerk in City Hall and not by the Sheriff.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt



[This message has been edited by 4V50 Gary (edited November 27, 1999).]
 
I believe the oath for federal employees is fairly uniform. In fact it might not differ too greatly from the oath taken by those in the armed forces. I guess you could always e-mail the alphabet agencies for a copy of their oaths.

I don't know that the court ever actually punishes anyone for violation of the oath. Could you give a possible example. The closest thing might be the purported prosecution based on violation of civil rights.
 
The point being that law officers and government pukes in general are suppose to uphold the constitution and that they should disobey their superiors if the are tasked with gun confiscation of law abiding citizens. The fact that gun confiscation itself is unconstitutional would not, in and of itself, weigh upon the decisions of LEO's.

They are "simply doing their job" as they confiscate your firearms. The "force" of authority illustrates how government uses the gun (that is, the threat of force) to enforce compliance.....even though it's un-constitutional. They don't care, as long as the paycheck keeps coming in.

Submit, give into the machine, give your life to it and be thankful, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated. Gun rights are dead, the media wants it that way.

[This message has been edited by Frank Haertlein (edited November 27, 1999).]
 
It's rare to find a law enforcement officer who has actually read the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. I teach classes for reserve police officer candidates and I get blank stares all the time when I ask if anyone knows how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights came into being and the reasons why.
 
OK, found it. Here's the oath all LEOs, elected official, civil servants, and Disaster Service Worker Volunteers take in California:

"I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will suport and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter."

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
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