Statement of Grievances and Demands for Redress
http://www.constitution.org/grievred.txt
We the People of the United States, exercising our natural and constitutional rights to assemble peaceably and to keep and bear arms, and met as the Militia assembled, and exercising our constitutional right to petition for grievances, do hereby present this statement of grievances and demands for redress thereof:
A. Federal officials have made war on the People, violated their natural and constitutional rights, exceeded the limited powers delegated to them under the Constitution, and betrayed their oaths to faithfully fulfill the provisions of the Constitution and to execute just treaties, laws and contracts pursuant thereto:
1 - They have adopted and enforced statutes and regulations to deprive the People of their arms and impair the bearing thereof in defense of themselves and the State, they have failed to fulfill the Constitutional requirements that the entire Militia be kept organized and trained and in a high state of readiness, and they have persecuted constitutional militias and other groups exercising their rights to peaceably assemble and to keep and bear arms, and sought to prevent them from exercising their constitutional duty to organize and train themselves.
2 - They have established a criminal Secret Government, involving a conspiracy of key officials in all branches and levels of government, and involving government contractors, financial institutions, business organizations, the media, educational, religious, and charitable organizations, labor unions, trade associations, and political action groups, to operate above the law and in violation of the Constitution, to defraud and victimize the People and deprive them of their lives, liberties, and property. This Secret Government has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and conspired to conceal them. It has injured or caused the death of persons who seek to expose its crimes and bring their perpetrators to justice, and it has assassinated, prosecuted, financially ruined, or discredited public officials, candidates for public office, whistleblowers, investigators and reformers who threaten its rule.
3 - They have adopted legislation such as an amendment to the Trading with the Enemy Act and various Presidential directives such as the 1933 War and Emergency Power Order which treat the People as the enemy of the Government, and orders which illegally seek to suspend the Constitution under ill-defined "emergencies"; and made preparations to overthrow the Constitution under circumstances which are either not true emergencies or which are contrived by a conspiracy of such officials.
4 - They have adopted secret legislation and appropriations of funds, and kept official activities and documents secret, ostensibly for the purpose of "national security" but in fact often for the purpose of concealing their crimes and preventing the prosecution thereof.
5 - They have established systems for rigging elections and have used these systems to deprive the People of their right to choose their elected officials.
6 - They have exceeded their limited authority to regulate interstate commerce to improperly encompass prohibition thereof, criminal prosecution for violations, or to regulate or prohibit activities that are not commercial, or which have not yet crossed a state boundary, or which once did but have now come to rest, or which "affect" interstate commerce, or to entities some of whose activities may involve interstate commerce but which are not themselves interstate commercial transactions.
7 - They have exceeded their limited authority to impose excise and import taxes to raise revenues, and have improperly attempted to prohibit activities by imposing confiscatory taxes on them, treated items or activities as illegal in themselves when in fact they have only not had taxes paid on them, and prosecuted persons criminally for failure to pay.
8 - They have passed statutes not intended to be equally and impartially enforced, but to be applied at the discretion of officials, which laws are all too often applied not to their intended objects but to innocent persons who provide easy targets, against the poor, the weak, women, and minorities.
9 - They have adopted legislation and regulations ostensibly intended to achieve worthwhile purposes, such as public health, occupational safety, environmental protection, or wilderness conservation, although without constitutional authority, but which are used by corrupt officials and their cronies to deprive persons of their property not for a public purpose and without just compensation.
10 - They have invented and applied the legal ruse of making inanimate objects parties to legal proceedings to seize and forfeit them, in violation of the constitutional principle that only natural persons or aggregates thereof may be parties to due process, and to deny those persons who are the owners of the objects the right to defend their property rights thereto, thereby depriving them of their property without just compensation and without having convicted them of a crime or having properly imposed a tax or fine.
11 - They have illegally prosecuted persons under criminal statutes and regulations, in Federal courts, for acts not committed on Federal territory, including acts committed on State territory over which they have no constitutional jurisdiction except in cases of treason, counterfeiting, piracies or felonies on the high seas, or offenses against the laws of nations.
12 - They have, in violation of due process and the Constitution, allowed judges to deny accused persons of the right to a trial by jury, and deprive such persons of their liberty and property and the exercise of their civil rights, through such devices as "contempt of court", the pernicious doctrine that persons may be incarcerated for up to six months without a jury trial, and "administrative" courts and proceedings which are declared to be "civil" even though the penalties include the deprivation of life or liberty.
13 - They have illegally declared ratified an income tax amendment which in fact was never ratified by the required number of states, and erected an illegal agency on such assumed authority which illegally levies direct taxes on the people without apportionment, illegally imposes criminal penalties for non-payment, and which violates the rights of the People to due process, to protection against warrantless searches, to protection against self-incrimination, and to trial by jury.
14 - They have made instruments not backed by gold or silver legal tender for the payment of debts, and illegally allowed the Federal Reserve, a privately owned corporation, to control the money and credit system of the country without being properly owned or controlled by the People.
15 - The President has, on several occasions, ordered the military to engage in warlike activities in foreign nations without the consent of Congress or a congressional declaration of war, and Congress has failed to impeach him therefor, in violation of their oaths to faithfully enforce the Constitution.
16 - They have conducted dangerous experiments on persons without their knowledge or informed consent, involving radiological, chemical, and biological agents, and mind control devices, resulting in damage to their health and to a shortening of their lives, they have released dangerous agents into the environment, and they have used such methods to silence whistleblowers, investigators, and reformers.
17 - They have, in violation of the constitutional guarantee of equal application of the laws and the rights of States, used the threat of withholding Federal funds from States to coerce the states to violate the rights of their citizens by passing and enforcing legislation without the consent of their citizens, without providing the funding to pay the costs thereof, while still collecting the taxes from their citizens which provide the funds they threaten to withhold.
18 - They have failed to guarantee to the States a republican form of government, by failing to insist that each State Constitution explicitly delegate all powers which that State government shall be authorized to exercise, and allowing them to exercise powers not thus delegated.
19 - They have conducted illegal and warrantless searches of persons and their premises, effects and vehicles, and seizures of their property, and placed illegal obstacles to the recovery of such property improperly seized or compensation for damage or loss.
20 - They have, under color of law and without proper presentation of warrants of search or arrest, assaulted persons in their homes and places of business, using excessive force, resulting in unnecessary deaths and injuries, often to innocent persons, and failed to pay just compensation therefor or to prosecute those responsible.
21 - They have violated the rights of Native Americans under solemn treaties established with them, deprived them of their property and liberties, caused their death and injury, persecuted them when they have tried to assert their rights, and established institutions of religion which operate to suppress their language, religion and heritage.
22 - They have corrupted the judiciary to interpret the laws in ways not consistent with the intentions of the Framers, to deny the rights of persons under the Constitution, including the rights of defendants in both criminal and civil trials, to manipulate juries, and to allow officials to exercise powers not delegated to them under the Constitution.
23 - Judges have failed to inform jurors that they have the power and duty to judge not only the facts in the case, but the law as well.
24 - They have used the Military, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, to perform police functions and keep order, instead of calling up the Militia therefor.
25 - They have illegally and improperly entered the commercial marketplace. They have used the assets of government agencies to acquire controlling interests in enterprises on credit not secured by sufficient collateral, then looted them of their assets, and declared them bankrupt, with the collusion of corrupt judges and trustees, to conceal their manipulations. They have gained control of enterprises, subsidizing them to put their competitors into financial distress, then acquired those competitors and looted their assets. They have contrived to cause the collapse of savings and loans, acquiring or allowing their cronies to acquire the institutions and their assets at firesale prices, and thereby deprived the original owners of a trillion dollars of their assets and imposed a debt on future generations of taxpayers of hundreds of billions of dollars. They have improperly brought major sectors of the economy under their control using government assets, fraudulently acquired enormous funds held in foreign banks, secretly and illegally, and used that control and those funds for political purposes and to conceal their activities.
26 - They have falsely charged innocent persons with crimes, concealed, altered, or manufactured evidence, committed or suborned perjury, and corrupted judges and manipulated juries, to get convictions, often for no better reason than to get promotions or to be seen as solving the case, but also to silence whistleblowers, investigators or reformers, to cover up their crimes.
27 - They have engaged in the manufacture, import and distribution of illegal, dangerous, addictive substances, even while pretending to conduct a "war on drugs", both to enrich themselves personally and to raise money to conduct unauthorized, covert, and often illegal activities by their agencies, including the very agencies charged with enforcing the laws against such substances, which has contributed to the injury and death of persons and to rising rates of crime and violence.
28 - They have conspired with the legal profession to defraud the public, imposing excessive legal costs and causing excessive costs for insurance coverage, which has raised the prices of all goods and services and made domestic products and services less competitive in world markets.
29 - They have established public "authorities" which control vast assets, but which do so in ways that largely avoid accountability to the public, and which are the sources of much corruption and abuse.
30 - They have corrupted the bankruptcy courts to deprive persons filing under Chapter 11 of their assets at firesale prices, to the benefit of the officials, their agencies or their cronies.
31 - They have conspired to subvert the enforcement of safety standards, resulting in preventable accidents and the loss of health and life, and have covered up such subversion.
32 - They have exercised unwarranted influence over public policy debate and the news media.
33 - They have attempted to interpret treaties, which are necessarily inferior to the Constitution, as though they were amendments to the Constitution, in violation of Article V thereof.
B. State and local officials have failed to protect the People from abuses by federal officials, violated their natural and constitutional rights, exceeded the limited powers delegated to them under the Federal and State Constitutions, and betrayed their oaths to faithfully fulfill the provisions of the Federal and State Constitutions and to execute just compacts, laws and contracts pursuant thereto:
1 - They have placed unconstitutional restrictions on the rights of the People to keep and bear arms and to assemble as independent militias.
2 - They have failed to do their duty to support the organizing and training of local militia units and keep them in a high state of readiness.
3 - They have violated rights of the People under the Federal and State Constitutions, and exercised powers not specifically delegated to them under either constitution.
4 - They have failed to protect the People against abuses of their rights by federal officials, have failed to prosecute federal officials for crimes committed under color of law, and have allowed the People to be prosecuted in federal courts for crimes over which only the State has jurisdiction.
5 - They have passed statutes and ordinances not intended to be equally and impartially enforced, but to be applied at the discretion of officials, which laws are all too often applied not to their intended objects but to innocent persons who provide easy targets, against the poor, the weak, women, and minorities.
6 - They have conspired with the legal profession to defraud the public, imposing excessive legal costs and causing excessive costs for insurance coverage, which has raised the prices of all goods and services and made domestic products and services less competitive in world markets.
7 - They have made instruments not backed by gold or silver legal tender for the payment of debts.
C. The news media have failed to provide the People with complete, accurate, and timely information that they need to make important public decisions:
1 - They have failed to adequately investigate and expose illegal or improper activities of officials and those doing business with the government.
2 - They have failed to provide adequate coverage of candidates for public office and the issues, and treated election campaigns and the process of government as entertainment or a sporting event, requiring candidates to spend vast sums for political advertising and to become unduly dependent on contributors representing special interests.
3 - They have failed to adequately alert the public to problems they may face in the future, or to bring important matters to their attention.
4 - They have allowed officials and special interests to exercise undue influence over the information provided to the public.
D. Too many of the People have failed to do their duty to preserve, protect and defend the Federal and State Constitutions and to participate in the process of republican government:
1 - They have too often delegated to judges, superiors, or legal advisors their duty to independently interpret and apply the Federal and State Constitutions and the laws pursuant thereto to all official acts which they may be involved.
2 - They have accepted bribes from government to buy their votes, instead of insisting that elected officials uphold the Constitutions and exercise their responsibilities for the good of the nation as a whole, and thereby laid the foundation for corruption throughout government and society.
3 - They have failed to demand complete, accurate, and timely information on candidates for office and the issues, thereby compelling candidates to become excessively dependent on contributions from special interests.
4 - They have failed to become involved in the electoral process to bring forward persons of competence and integrity to become candidates for public office.
Now, therefore, we demand:
1 - That all statutes, regulations, and orders which are in violation of their applicable constitutions be immediately repealed or amended to remove the offending provisions, and specifically:
a All statutes which regulate, restrict or otherwise infringe on the right of the People to purchase, own, possess, advertise, sell, lease, loan, manufacture, transport, or use arms and ammunition for the purposes of defense of person, family, home, property, and liberty, for the defense and safety of the State, for sport and recreation, or for other peaceful purposes, especially those arms suited for militia use.
b - All statutes which restrict the right to assemble peaceably as independent militias.
c - The Trading with the Enemy Act, War and Emergency Power Order, and all presidential directives prescribing the suspension of the Constitution or any part thereof in an emergency.
d - All federal statutes defining crimes committed on State territory and outside of federal territory other than those of treason, counterfeiting, piracies or felonies on the high seas, or offenses against the laws of nations, and that all convictions under such statutes be immediately reversed.
e - All statutes based on the unratified income tax amendment to the Federal Constitution.
f - All statutes based on the interstate commerce clause of the Federal Constitution which apply to other than commercial transactions that cross a state border, or that impose confiscatory fines or criminal penalties for violation thereof.
g - All statutes based on taxing clauses of the Federal Constitution which have a prohibitory or confiscatory effect, or which impose criminal penalties for failure to pay.
h - All statutes that allow for the forfeiture of property except for payment of a tax or fine judged valid by a court of competent jurisdiction.
i - All unconstitutional or unfunded mandates on state or local governments.
2 - That where a consensus exists that a power not delegated to the government should be exercised thereby, appropriate constitutional amendments be proposed, debated, and perhaps adopted, and new legislation adopted based on such amendments.
3 - That officials who have violated their oaths to uphold their respective constitutions be impeached and removed from office, and specifically:
a - The President, for signing legislation containing unconstitutional provisions, specifically the recent "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994", and for sending U.S. troops to conduct war in foreign lands without the consent of Congress.
b - The Attorney-General, for failing to prosecute officials responsible for the abuse of civil rights, and specifically for the assaults and killings of people at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Mount Carmel, Texas.
c - The Secretary of the Treasury, for the enforcement of unconstitutional gun control legislation and for illegally expanding the definitions of prohibited devices, and for allowing instruments not backed by gold or silver to be used as legal tender.
4 - That an immediate audit be conducted of the Federal Reserve, that it be prohibited from issuing notes to be used as legal tender, and that the Treasury replace all Federal Reserve notes now outstanding with instruments backed by gold or silver; or, if there is insufficient gold or silver to make this possible, that the Constitution be amended to allow additional materials having a stable value to be used to back the currency.
5 - That all secret legislation or budgets and all military or law enforcement training exercises be fully disclosed and explained to the public, and all government documents classified at any level of secrecy be immediately declassified and disclosed to the public, except only those few whose disclosure would jeopardize human intelligence assets in the field, reveal military technology not yet in the possession of any foreign power, jeopardize criminal investigations, or disclose private personnel information.
6 - That until such time as a foolproof method can be found for electronic voting, all elections be conducted using paper ballots, counted by human beings.
7 - That a system of independent magistrates or prosecutors be established to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by officials under color of law, and that grand juries be instructed and encouraged to investigate and bring indictments for official malfeasance.
8 - That State constitutions be amended as required to enumerate the powers delegated to the State government by the People, and that the State be forbidden from exercising any power not thus specifically delegated.
9 - That appropriate federal, state and local legislation be adopted to implement the provisions of the Federal Constitution to organize and train the entire Militia and to keep them in a high state of readiness.
10 - That federal and state laws be passed to require judges to inform jurors that they have the power and duty to judge not only the facts in the case, but the law, and that in criminal cases, no matter how despicable the accused or heinous his act, they are to find the accused not guilty if the court lacks jurisdiction or the law is unconstitutional or improperly applied, and that a law is unconstitutional if it violates a constitutional right, exceeds powers delegated to the government, or is excessively vague or not equally applied.
11 - That all government agencies and public authorities be required to divest themselves of any ownership or control over any private enterprise not specifically authorized by law, and to return to the general fund all financial assets not specifically authorized by law.
12 - That all public authorities and entities receiving government funds be independently audited and the results reported to the public.
13 - That any U.S. troops assigned to serve under a foreign commander do so only under authority delegated to that foreign commander in accordance with law by a U.S. commander having supervisory authority over such troops, and that such authority be subject to revocation at any time.
14 - That the traditional system of Common Law be established in all jurisdictions.
15 - That all victims of corporate raiding, bank or savings and loan manipulation, or bankruptcy fraud perpetrated by government officials or agencies, be fully compensated for their losses.
16 - That all victims of government-sponsored experimentation be identified and treated or they or their heirs be compensated.
17 - That all treaties made with Native Americans be honored, and the ancestral lands guaranteed under such treaties and subsequently taken from them be restored.
18 - That all legislation proposed be reviewed by an independent panel of constitutional scholars who shall advise on the constitutionality of the provisions thereof, before it is submitted to a final vote.
19 - That the rules of court procedure be amended to provide that on any appeal of a case in which the government is a party to a multi-judge tribunal on constitutional grounds, the vote of only one judge is required to establish a right of a person or to deny a power to an agency of government.
20 - That attorneys be licensed, and their practices reviewed, by state boards composed of non-lawyers, and that no person shall be allowed to run for elected office who has practiced law during the preceding five years, nor shall such person, having held elected office, be permitted to practice law during his term of office or during the five years after leaving office.
21 - That large news media conglomerates be broken up into competing outlets having editorial independence, and charged with informing the public of what it needs to know to make the right public decisions, including providing complete and accurate information on candidates and issues, and alerting them to potential problems well in advance of needing to make decisions about them.
22 - That the media open their forums to participation by more citizens and experts, and not just professional journalists, and provide more exposure for neglected issues and ideas.
23 - That citizens be educated from childhood to independently interpret and apply their constitutions to all official acts with which they may be involved, and not to delegate that responsibility to judges, superiors, or legal advisors.
24 - That citizens be educated to demand complete and accurate information from public officials and the media on all issues, to participate in the political process, and not to allow their votes to be bought by bribes from government.
Constitution Society, 6900 San Pedro #147-230, San Antonio, TX 78216, 210/224-2868
