Guest Editorial

BY NICHOLAS PURPURA, IN COLLABERATION WITH TPATH | JANUARY 23, 2013

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Dear Sheriff! 

An open letter from We the People

Dear Sheriff,
A sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in each county in every state. Every sheriff swears an oath to “… support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic.”

At this time, here and now, the American people are facing a domestic enemy that continually violates the U.S. Constitution. Yet, the spineless Congress as well as the Judiciary have very clearly demonstrated that that oath of office is meaningless, at least to them. And, as for courage?  They have none.

Who will stand up for the People?

Only the county Sheriff has the legal jurisdictional authority to stand against a tyrannical administration. The time has come for every Sheriff to decide whether he is a person of honor, who will abide by his oath of office to defend the Constitution. The question is, will our Sheriff cower to tyranny out of fear paving the way to tyranny?

Mr. Obama is contemplating nineteen “Executive Orders” to curtail firearm ownership. Legally it is inarguable such an order will irrefutably usurp the United States Constitution, which is and has been adjudicated as Positive Law. 

A point of reference - Amendment II:

"… the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

First and foremost, the founding fathers defined militia as all men 16 to 60. The progressive Marxists would have you believe the militia is only the National Guard. That fabrication is repeatedly advanced by the leftists in order to disarm the public. At the time of the adoption of the 2nd Amendment, there was no such thing as state organized militias. In fact that entity did not come into existence until 1902.  Regardless, until and unless the people of this country ratify changes to the Second Amendment, Congress, the Executive Branch, or the Judiciary can not legally violate the right of the people to own and bear arms.

Let me make this absolutely clear, “Executive Orders” are not, nor ever will be law. Only the quislings in Congress have the authority to make law. And they too are bound by the parameters and script of the Constitution. Any law, produced in that institution must not, and legally can not, violate the people's rights as defined therein.

Robert Longley, at About.com, likewise confirmed how executive orders work.  While they do bypass the U.S. Congress and the standard legislative law making process, no part of an executive order may direct the agencies to conduct illegal or unconstitutional activities.

The Sheriff of any county, of every state, has the authority and obligation to arrest any federal agent or state official attempting to enforce unconstitutional regulations or any “Executive Order” that would usurp the constitutional rights of their citizens.

Sadly, the people of New Jersey, New York and other liberal bastions of progressive-ism have governors and legislators that repeatedly demonstrate their contempt of the Second Amendment. But there is a bright side. The Sheriff, who answers only to the people who elected him, short of a new revolution, is the last defense against federal and state tyranny.  Will we be able to count on them to do what they swore an oath to do?

Equal protection under the law.

Let’s take a different approach, I truly believe an argument can be made, that any regulation, legislation, or Executive Order banning or restricting any type firearm violates the “Equal Protection Clause.” Bear with me.

The law is well defined. The police can act only after a crime is committed. That’s right, they are under no obligation to protect you unless a crime is in progress or has occurred. A federal court in Washington D.C. made that clear. "The police are responsible to respond within a reasonable time frame and have no culpability, if a victim of a crime was injured regardless of how long it took to respond, even in a life and death situation".

Of course the parasites in public office have armed security details for themselves and their families, 24-7. Yet the rest of the population does not. Any high office holder, as well as political donors, can obtain a concealed firearm permits, even in liberal states. But the average law abiding citizen, who by the way foots the bill for the armed protection of those politicians, is almost never allowed a carry permit.

Is this equal protection under the law? Or like in George Orwell's "Animal Farm" and as in every communist nation on earth, are some people more equal than others?

Lastly, I remind the reader and especially every Sheriff what the most liberal Circuit Court in the nation, the Ninth, held in Nordyke v. King:

"The right to bear arms is a bulwark against external invasion. We should not be overconfident that oceans on out east and west coasts alone can preserve security. We recently saw in the case of the terrorist attack on Mumbai that terrorists may enter a country covertly by ocean routes, landing in small craft and then assembling to wreak havoc. That we have a lawfully armed populace adds a measure of security for all of us and makes less likely that a band of terrorists could make headway in an attack on any community before more professional forces arrived.

Second, the right to bear is a protection against the possibility that even our own government could degenerate into tyranny, though this may seem unlikely, this possibility should be guarded against with individual diligence."

One would believe even this bastion of liberal jurisprudence must have had the this Obama Administration in mind when adding that last sentence.

In yet another ruling, this from the US Supreme Court, in the case of District of Columbia vs. Heller, regarding the banning handguns in Washington D.C., Justice Antonin Scalia held in the majority opinion:

"The Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding."

So the question is Sheriff, you know the law, you understand the Constitution and you have seen judicial precedent, what will you do?

Will you defend the Constitution of the United States? Will you honor your oath of office? The citizens of the People’s Republic of New Jersey, as well as the people throughout the United States await your reply.