Laws are typically known by everyone they apply to, since they dictate people’s way of life by regulating, restricting, and even prohibiting almost everything to keep the population safe and in order. Yet, there are plenty of individuals that believe that laws are unfair, and wish they were either changed or abolished altogether. Some of these people go about this the smart, logical way by trying to legally change laws through politics, protesting, and so on. However, there is a loosely organized group of people in the United States that have decided that the law is so unfair, that they do not have to abide by it, and have decided to start fighting the legal system anyway they see fit. They are called Sovereign Citizens, and they have been …show more content…
Even though they all seem to be a little different and have no connection as a real group would, they all seem to agree on one thing; that they are not citizens of any country and do not have to be. As the Federal Bureau of Investigation said, “Sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or “sovereign” from the United States.” (“The Sovereign Citizen Movement”). This means that a Sovereign Citizen believes that they can live in a country, but not have to follow its laws and do as they please. This leads to many issues, since many just expect people to know what they are and let them walk all over the legal system. Once again, as the FBI said, “They believe they don’t have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments, or law enforcement.” (“The Sovereign Citizen Movement”). There have been many cases of sovereigns trying to evade taxes, ignore tickets, have no respect for safety laws, and even flat out disregarding law enforcers; which goes as well as one would think, never in the sovereign’s favor. So, to put it simply, the Sovereign Citizen movement is about trying to weasel out of responsibilities and causing issues for the legal system and all of its
by Humera Gul After the 2016 presidential election, the United States of America has been welcomed with multiple new policies and ideas. Recently, President Donald Trump decided to close the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This has been in the news a lot and there are many different opinions from both parties. Around 800,000 immigrants came to the United States as children to live their lives and work here legally. Now the question is, what is the DACA program?
Throughout time there have been many amendments to the United States Constitution. Some have had little to no effect on the population. One amendment that this writer will take a look at is the Fourteenth Amendment. The wording of the amendment has been debated here recently but bottom line it abolished slavery. This amendment also made an attempt to equalize everyone that is born here in America or naturalized. The ripple effect of this change to the constitution is still being felt today. It is hard to imagine living in a world where the African American community was not considered equal to the white man. A ground breaking distinction in the language written out in the document was that of it applying on the federal level as well as the state jurisdiction. This is especially important as we see the civil union marriages have conflict
In a democracy, people choose representatives to lead and govern. However, these representatives might take unpopular steps. In such instances, the people may show their disapproval of a policy and vent their grievances through acts of civil disobedience. Henry Thoreau said, “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” It is both the right and responsibility of a person to fight an unjust law, and civil disobedience allows one to convey his thoughts and ideas in a passive, nonviolent way.
In 1776, the colonist in America were unhappy. There were many problems going on in America that year and the founding fathers wanted to fix that. The founding fathers had a vision of freedom and equality. Modern day America does not live up to the vision because there’s racial inequality and poverty.
An example can be found where a citizen violated the state law and was sued by the state government. However, if the violation was not prohibited and enforced under the Federal Constitution, he or she could use it as their defense and win the case because the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. This should not encourage anyone to challenge the laws because the example above does not happen a lot of times in our daily life. In addition, laws which are illegal are usually enforced under both federal and state laws (Federal Judicial Center).
...the First Amendment, and people have the right to execute this right. This coincides with the three Supreme Court decisions. In Goguen v. Smith due process allowed Goguen to exercise his ability to wear a flag. In Texas v. Johnson the Court had to make a difficult decision between the nation’s symbol, and a citizen’s right to protest government. And finally in United States v. Eichman the Texas v. Johnson was reaffirmed, and the people’s rights secured.
After the horrific incident on September 9, 2001, the Patriot Act was passed to help “reduce” terrorist attacks, but they have only restricted us from our rights and feeling free. Regardless of whether we have anything to hide, we deserve to feel comfortable in our own homes. They can even hack into our TVs and cameras! This is unacceptable! We have been dealing with the violation of our privacy due the Patriot Act, but this act led to the abuse of governments’ power, violation of our natural rights, and the government has been going through our texts, internet history, social media, which is breaching into the laws of the constitution.
According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or
Today the Second Amendment is in the media more and more due to the recent up rise in crimes with firearms. Every person seems to have an opinion on whether our Second Amendment should be removed or it should not ever be touched. “A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunitions to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include the government.” (George Washington) The Second Amendment of the constitution reads "A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Today the actual meaning of the second amendment is still not fully clear. If you were to ask multiple people the definition of the second amendment, you would receive a different one from each person. Also, you would be able to determine whether they are pro or anti-gun
Everyday over 11 million people battle with the fact that they can’t be legal in America. Hiding in the shadows, petrified of what might happen to them if they are caught trying to help their kids and families be successful in a safe home. Millions of undocumented immigrants are denied a “path to citizenship” due to immigration laws. These laws need to be altered and should allow these hurting families a chance to be legal. If these immigrants get deported, the United States is losing vital resources, they will fear losing their families, and since they are trying to get right by law, why not give them a chance? Furthermore undocumented immigrants are worthy to fight for, and this is why.
Immigration is the key to diversity in the United States. The United States (U.S.) opened its borders and shores many years ago, allowing foreign nationals into the country. Foreign nationals refer to the U.S. as “the land of opportunity”; this belief drives foreign nationals to migrate to the country. Foreign nationals must register with the U.S. government and obtain the proper documentation to become legal U.S. citizens. Illegal immigrants and/or undocumented workers are foreign nationals that do not register with the U.S. government upon entering the U.S., or they overstay the allotted time of their temporary nonimmigrant visas. Illegal immigrant and/or undocumented workers receive the same benefits as U.S. citizens such as health, public housing, and educational often while avoiding paying state and federal taxes. The U.S. government must do a better job of monitoring the status foreign nationals.
Because of similarities with these people, the sovereign citizen movement has some connections with Transcendentalism. As of 2012, the United States accommodates approximately “300,000 people in the movement, and approximately one third of these are what I would call hard-core believers – people willing to act on their beliefs rather than simply walk away” (MacNab). The platform of these intransigent individuals mainly rides on Thoreau’s civil disobedience. Sovereign citizens take this term to heart and express contempt towards the government by feeling that it treats its citizens like slaves. In fact, these “constitutionalists” or “freemen” believe that “the government is operating outside of its jurisdiction and generally do not recognize federal, state, or local laws, policies, or governmental regulations” (FBI). This belief allows them to infringe on all governmental laws. They also respect Emerson’s self-reliance since they justify their own actions despite the backlash the media gave them. Protesting issues such as paying taxes and owning a driver’s license, these people render both as unnecessary in their pursuit to life just like Chris. Overall, sovereign citizens seem to fulfill the necessities of a Transcendentalist. However, they have some glaring differences and disagreements with Transcendentalists. while having their own
The document Declaration of Independence signed July 4, the year 1776 and written by one of the country’s ancestors Thomas Jefferson. It was a time in history that declared independence a manuscript written for this occasion which introduces five separate sections that include the introduction which states it is vital to take action on Britain for the colonies.
The United States of America, as a new nation had to prove that it’s young, and relatively inexperienced country had the ability to peaceably govern. There wasn’t anyone who believed in us, except ourselves much like Alexandra Owens in Flashdance, all we had was a dream of being the best nation we could be, and we knew in our heart of hearts that even though we didn’t have the experience or the formal education, we could work hard and become better than all the rest. The Declaration of Independence is essentially our open break up letter with England making clear that it is over, and we don’t want to go to the dance with them, and we’re playing by our own rules now. If the declaration is the break-up letter, The Constitution would be like
While immigration for our country is good the ability to become a legal citizen has become insanely hard therefore leading immigrants to illegally cross our border, which negatively impacts our country.