Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
There was an editorial opinion in the Arizona Republic today that harshes on a couple of yahoos recently arrested last month on U.S. 60 south of Wickenburg who called themselves "sovereign citizens." Our View: A word for 'sovereign citizens':
[They have] supercilious interpretations of the U.S. Constitution that supposedly permit citizens to declare themselves part of a “sovereign-citizen movement” that considers adherents beyond the reach of federal or state law, or any authority more distant than that of county sheriff.
* * *
The sovereign-citizen movement promotes a lot of what most of us call crime. Besides encouraging paper crimes such as creating bogus mortgages and liens, it also promotes hostility toward the police. Two “citizens” are on trial in Las Vegas on suspicion of conspiring to kidnap a policeman.
Sovereign citizens generally believe the minimalist government envisioned by the Founders has been replaced by an illegitimate government that holds no authority over them.
This is a conspiracy theory. It presumes that the choices of other citizens at the ballot box are meaningless and sovereigns alone are able to correctly interpret the Constitution.
That’s not politics. It’s narcissism.
Oh, such short memories these editors have. Remember HB 2434, "Notification; federal law enforcement officers" (2012), sponsored by Reps. David Gowan, Carl Seel, and David Burnell Smith?
The Arizona Daily Star reported at the time, State bill puts feds second to sheriffs:
A state Senate panel has fired a warning shot of sorts over the heads of federal law enforcement agencies: Don't come nosing around these parts unless you get the local OK. Legislation offered by Rep. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, would require employees of those agencies to first notify the sheriff of the county "before taking any official law enforcement action in a county in this state."
The only exception would be if notification would impede the federal officer's duties. But even then, HB 2434 requires notifying the sheriff "as soon as practicable after taking the action." The proposal took its first step toward becoming a reality Thursday when the Senate Committee on Border Security, Federalism and States Sovereignty voted 5-2 to approve, sending the bill to the full Senate.
Gowan said it's a simple matter of state sovereignty.
"If you look in your Constitution, you will not find there are any police powers granted to the federal government," he said. And Gowan said the 10th Amendment says any powers not given to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people.
"That means the states have the inherent right to use law enforcement,'' he said.
From a practical standpoint, Gowan said the highest elected law enforcement officers in the state are the sheriffs of the 15 counties.
"They have a mandate from the people over bureaucracies," he said, which includes federal agencies. "Without this, we allow the bureaucrats to dictate and bring their vision of law enforcement down upon the people who are duly elected."
Remember this bill? You should. it was actually approved by our Tea-Publican controlled legislature, and had to be vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer on April 11, 2012.
HB 2434 passed the Senate on a party-line vote with two members not voting.
HB 2434 passed the House on a party-line vote with five members not voting.
Many of these Tea-Publican "sovereign citizens" are still serving in the Arizona legislature -- sponsor David Gowan was even promoted to House Majority Leader -- and some who are no longer in the legislature are seeking to return in 2014.
So when Republic columnist Laurie Roberts starts her "De-Kook The Capitol" columns again, after today's editorial opinion harshing on this pair of "sovereign citizen" yahoos, I hope she will remember today's editorial opinion and properly label these Tea-Publican "sovereign citizens" as "Kooks" and mock them with equal disdain.
By the way, it's not just Tea-Publican legislators. This far-right "conspiracy theory" has infiltrated law enforcement agencies as well, something the Arizona Republic studiously avoids commenting on. Arizona's media villagers are failing to report on this scandal.
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