THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: In Congress, July 4, 1776, THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. "No free men shall ever be debarred the use of arms." . Thomas Jefferson, The Jefferson Papers "Congress have no power to disarm the militia .... Their swords and every other terrible implemnet of the soldier, are the birthright of an American. . Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gezette Feb. 20, 1788 "If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense..." . Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers, No. 28 "A government that does not trust it's lawabiding citizens to keep and bear arms is itself unworthy of trust." . James Madison, Federalist Papers "And what country can preserve it's liberties, if it's rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms ... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tryants." Thomas Jefferson "Mr. Madison has introduced his long expected amendments... The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people." . Fisher Ames of Massachusetts "that the said Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe that just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms..." Samuel Adams "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." Patrick Henry "...to disarm the people; that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them..." . George Mason, Elliot Debates "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." . Samuel Adams, 1776 "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed...a great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men...we have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world - no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominent men." . Abraham Lincoln, shortly before he was assassinated. "... By calling attention to a well-regulated militia for the security of the Nation, and the right of each citizen to keep and bear arms, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fear of governmental tyranny, which gave rise to the 2nd amendment, will ever be a major danger to our Nation, the amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic military-civilian relationship, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason I believe the 2nd Amendment will always be important." (Ref: AR 12-73 p.14) John F. Kennedy "The Hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in time of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality." Dante, "The Inferno" "Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in history text books." Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. "The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ...such laws serve rather to encourage than to prev homocides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confiden than an armed man." . Thomas Jefferson 'Commonplace Book' 1775 "When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." . P. J. O'Rourke "They: The makers of the Constitution: conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone - the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men." . Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, 1928 "I have sworn upon the altar of Almighty God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Thomas Jefferson "[A] bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." . Thomas Jefferson December 20, 1787 "Mind Your Business" The very first motto on a U.S. Minted Coin "We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of descretion for almost forty years." . "It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national autodeter- mination practiced in past centuries." . David Rockefeller at a Bilderbergers meeting, June 1991 in Baden Baden, Germany. "The Jury has a right to judge both the law as well as the fact in controversy." Joh Jay , 1st Chief Justice USSC 1789 "The jury has the right to determine both the law and the facts." . Samuel Chase, USSC, 1796 "The jury has the power to bring a verdict in the teeth of both law and fact." Oliver Wendell Holmes, USSC 1902 "The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause which is to be decided." Harlan F. Stone, USSC 1941 "The pages of history shine on instances of the jury's exercise of it's prerogative to disregard instructions of the judge." . US v. Dougherty, 473 F 2nd 1113, 1139, (1972) "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence...From the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurrences, and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security, and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable...The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere re- strains evil interference--they deserve a place of honor with all that's good." . George Washington "And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the right of resistance? Let them take arms...The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." . Thomas Jefferson "On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." . Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, June 12, 1823 "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. ... The general (federal) government will tend to monarchy, which will fortify itself from day to day, instead of working its own cures." . Thomas Jefferson "You have rights atecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." . John Adams,Second President of the United States "The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun." . Patrick Henery "Have we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only defence, the militia, is put in the hands of Congress?" . Patrick Henry "Are we at last brought to such a humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in our possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" . Patrick Henry "The Constitution shall never be construed....to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." . Alexander Hamilton "Let us recollect that peace or war will not always be left to our option; that however moderate or unambitious we may be, we cannot count upon the moderation, or hope to extinguish the ambition of others. ... The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." . Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist Papers at 184-8 "The conclusion is thus inescapable that the history, concept, and wording of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as well as its interpretation by every major commentator and court in the first half-century after its ratification, indicates that what is protected is an individual right of a private citizen to own and carry firearms in a peaceful manner." . Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 97th Congress, Second Session ( February 1982 ) "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsel or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." . Samuel Adams - 1776 Pity the poor, wretched, timid soul, too faint hearted to resist his oppressors. He sings the songs of the damned, I cannot resist, I have too much to lose, they might take my property or confiscate my earnings, what would my family do, how would they survive. He hides behind pretended family responsibility, failing to see that the most glorious legacy that we can bequeath to our posterity is liberty! . --W. Vaughn Elllsworth "I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon law and upon courts. These are false hopes, believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no courts to save it." . --Judge Learned Hand "One would think by listening to all the propaganda about the United Nations that they are some sort of benevolent, peaceful organization. Never in the history of the United Nations has it stood for anything but killing and violence. They have never kept peace anywhere on this globe. Their sole function is to replace the U.S. military - dissolve all four branches of our armed forces. Their allegiance is only to the United Nations Charter which does not recognize the U.S. Constitution. This body is made up almost exclusively of communists and leaders of the bloodiest regimes on this globe. Their history and operating agenda is apparent to anyone who takes the time to sincerely and with an open mind, research the facts of this organization, separating truth from myth. Bilderberger participants ( another group committed to one-world domination) in 1992 called for "conditioning the public to accept the idea of a U.N. army that could, by force, impose its will on the internal affairs of any nation" -Paul Harvey (Sept.24, 1993) "NAFTA represents the single most creative step towards a New World Order." Kissinger (Aug.1993, Los Angeles Times Syndicate) "GATT represents the New World Order in trade." . Mickey Kantor (Sept. 18, 1994) "It is in the American interest to put an end to Nationhood. That is the goal in global government. America must get out of the United Nations or our sovereign Republic will not survive." . Walt Rostow (CFR member and United Nations spokesman) "I think that our American people will welcome a Russian military force for peace-keeping purposes. . Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) (June 4, 1994, speaking to the Associated Press) January 25, 1994, California Republican Rep. Robert Dornan responed to Bill Clinton's "State of the Union" speech . "...and by the way, Mr.Speaker, the Second Amendment is not for killing little ducks and leaving Huey and Dewey and Louie without an aunt and uncle. It's for hunting politicians, like in Grozny, and in the colonies in 1776, or when they take your independence away." January 25, 1994, California . Republican Rep. Robert Dornan responed to Bill Clinton's "State of the Union" speech "The high office of the President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the Americans' freedom and before I leave office, I must inform the Citizen of his plight." . John F. Kennedy Columbia University 10 days before his assissination "Everything is in place - after 500 years - to build a true 'new world' in the Western Hemisphere." And what happens if we don't pass Nafta? "I truly don't think that 'criminal' would be too strong a word" for "rejecting Nafta." . David Rockefeller - Wall Street Journal "All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void." . Marbury vs.Madison, 5 US (2 Cranch) 137, 174, 176 (1803) 42 USC S 1983: . "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress." Supreme Court decision (Marbury vs. Madison): . "An Act of Congress repugnant to the Constitution is not law. When the Constitution and an act of Congress are in conflict, the Constitution must govern the case to which both apply. Congress cannot confer on this court any original jurisdiction. The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and those limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten is the reason the Constitution was written." "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." . Martin Luther King I heartily accept the motto, . "That government is best which governs least;" . and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, . "That government is best which governs not at all;" . and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. . Henry David Thoreau "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins ... Society is in every state a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. . Thomas Paine _Common Sense_ They [the Marxists] maintain that only a dictatorship -- their dictatorship, of course -- can create the will of the people, while our answer to this is: No dictatorship can have any other aim but that of self-perpetuation, and it can beget only slavery in the people tolerating it; freedom can be created only by freedom, that is, by a universal rebellion on the part of the people and free organization of the toiling masses from the bottom up. . Mikhail Bakunin, _Statism and Anarchism_ Crime is contagious; if the government becomes a lawbreaker it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. . Olmstead v. U.S., 277 US 438. United States Constitution: Art. IV, sect. 2, paragraph 1: . The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens of the several States. . In other words, if your State acknowledges a right, then whereever you travel, no other state may deny you that right. "In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." . Mark Twain ". . . by the previous ruling [Brushaber] it was settled that the provisions of the Sixteenth Amendment CONFERRED NO NEW POWER OF TAXATION BUT SIMPLY PROHIBITED the previous complete and plenary power of INCOME TAXATION possessed by Congress from the begining FROM BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE CATEGORY OF INDIRECT TAXATION TO WHICH IT INHERENTLY BELONGED. . . ." . Stanton v. Baltic Milng Co., 240 U.S. at 112 (1916--- "If Congress sees fit to impose A CAPITATION OR OTHER DIRECT TAX, it must be laid in proportion to the CENSUS, if Congress determines to impose DUTIES, IMPOSTS, AND EXCISES, THEY MUST BE UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. These are not strictly LIMITATIONS OF POWER. They are rules prescribing the mode in which it shall be exercised." * * * * "This review shows that PERSONAL PROPERTY, CONTRACTS, OCCUPATIONS, AND THE LIKE, HAVE NEVER BEEN REGARDED BY CONGRESS AS PROPER SUBJECTS OF DIRECT TAX. . . ." . Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 8 Wallace 533 (1869) "..the house of World Order will have to be built from the bottom up rather than the top down... an end run around [American] sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault." . April, 1974 CFRs "Foreign Affairs," Richard N. Gardner article, "The Hard Road to World Order" "Much of the contemporary crime that concerns Americans is in poor black neighborhoods, and a case could perhaps be made that greater firearms restrictions might alleviate this tragedy. But another, perhaps stronger, case can be made that a society with a dismal record of protecting a people has a dubious claim on the right to disarm them. Perhaps a re-examination of this history can lead us to a modern realization of what the framers of the Second Amendment understood: that it is unwise to place the means of protection totally in the hands of the state, and that self-defense is also a civil right." . Robert Cottrol, professor of law at Rutgers (Phd from Yale, JD from Georgetown); Raymond Diamond, professor of law at Tulane (JD, Yale) 10 USC Sec. 311 01/03/95 EXPCITE TITLE 10 Subtitle A PART I CHAPTER 13 Sec. 311. (a) . The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard. . (b) The classes of the militia are . (1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and . (2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia. . SOURCE (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 14; Sept. 2, 1958, Pub. L. 85-861, Sec. 1(7), 72 Stat. 1439; Nov. 30, 1993, Pub. L. 103-160, div. A, title V, Sec. 524(a), 107 Stat. 1656.) "The history of government management of money has, except for a few short happy periods, been one of incessant fraud and deception." . Nobel laureate economist F.A. Hayek "When even one American -- who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril." Harry Truman The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it. . John Hay - Castilian Days, II, 1872 THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment II - 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. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment III - No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment IV - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment V - No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment VI - In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment VII - In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment VIII - Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment IX - The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. THE BILL OF RIGHTS - Amendment X - The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. From Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address March 4th 1801 But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethern of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I know, indeed, that some honest men fear that a republican government can not be strong, that this Government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot, in the fill tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, on the contrary, the strongest Government on earth. I believe it the only one where every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern. Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the goverment of others? Or have we found angels in the forms of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. In his Report to the House of Representatives that same year, Gallatin summed up the reasons for America's prosperity: "No cause . . . has perhaps more promoted in every respect the general prosperity of the United States than the absence of those systems of internal restrictions and monopoly which continue to disfigure the state of society in other countries. No law exists here directly or indirectly confining man to a particular occupation or place, or excluding any citizen from any branch he may at any time think proper to pursue. Industry is in every respect perfectly free and unfettered; every species of trade, commerce, art, profession, and manufacture being equally opened to all without requiring any previous regular apprenticeship, admission, or license." . John M. Blum, et al., The National Experience, Part I (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1963, 1981), p. 213. "What farmer, what mechanic, what laborer ever sees a tax gatherer in the United States?" Thomas Jefferson at the close of his 1st term. James Richardson, ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. 1 (New York: Bureau of National Literature, 1897), p. 367. A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble." Mahatma Gandhi "If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircles us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake." Mahatma Gandhi "How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.... Under a government which imprsons any injustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison." Henry David Thoreau I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me what he should have done, had he been present when I was almost fatally assaulted in 1908, whether he should have run away and seen me killed or whether he should have used his physical force which he could and wanted to use, and defended me, I told him that it was his duty to defend me even by using violence... Mahatma Gandhi "There may be even a worse fate. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." Winston Churchill "In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act" -- George Orwell However, national identification with the Old and New Testaments has nowhere been stronger than among the American people. A 1982 Newsweek article, "How the Bible Made America," stated, "Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document: the source of the [belief in]... the United States as a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model society, a beacon to the world" (Kenneth Woodward and David Gates, Dec. 27, p. 44). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is perfectly plain, however, that the police in this case were, to say the least, not confident that petitioner [392 U.S. 598, 607] was the murder suspect, and that the vagrancy charge here was used as a pretext for holding petitioner for further questioning concerning the murder. This technique, using a minor and imaginary charge to hold an individual, in my judgment deserves unqualified condemnation.8 It is a technique which makes personal liberty and dignity contingent upon the whims of a police officer, and can serve only to engender fear, resentment, and disrespect of the police in the populace which they serve. The present episode may be an insignificant one and the hurt to petitioner nominal. But the principle that a citizen can defy an unconstitutional act is deep in our system. Thomas v. Collins, 323 U.S. 516, 532-537. [392 U.S. 598, 614] When in a recent case (Wright v. Georgia, 373 U.S. 284, 291-292), it was said that "failure to obey the command of a police officer constitutes a traditional form of breach of the peace," we made a qualification: "Obviously, however, one cannot be punished for failing to obey the command of an officer if that command is itself violative of the Constitution." We should not let those fences of the law be broken down. The interest of society in apprehending murderers is obviously strong; yet when the manhunt is on, passions often carry the day. I fear the long and short of it is that [392 U.S. 598, 615] an officer's "seizure" of a person on the street, even though not made upon "probable cause," means that if the suspect resists the "seizure," he may then be taken to the police station for further inquisition. That is a terrifying spectacle - a person is plucked off the street and whisked to the police station for questioning and identification merely because he resembles the suspected perpetrator of a crime. I fear that with Terry and with Wainwright we have forsaken the Western tradition and taken a long step toward the oppressive police practices not only of Communist regimes but of modern Iran, "democratic" Formosa, and Franco Spain, with which we are now even more closely allied. WAINWRIGHT v. CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, 392 U.S. 598 (1968) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The right of personal liberty is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen, and any unlawful interference with it may be resisted. Every person has a right to resist an unlawful arrest; and, in preventing such illegal restraint of his liberty, he may use such force as may be necessary." City of Monroe v. Ducas, 203 La. 971, 979, 14 So.2d 781, 784 (1943). See also Lyons v. Carroll, 107 La. 471, 31 So. 760 (1902). --- At common law, if a party resisted arrest by an officer without warrant and who had no right to arrest him, and if in the course of that resistance the officer was killed, the offense of the party resisting arrest would be reduced from what would have been murder if the officer had had the right to arrest, to manslaughter. What would be murder if the officer had the right to arrest might be reduced to manslaughter by the very fact that he had no such right. So an officer, at common law, was not authorized to make an arrest without a warrant, for a mere misdemeanor not committed in his presence. 1 Arch. Crim. Pr. [177 U.S. 529, 535] & Pl. 7th Am. ed. 103, note (1); also page 861 and following pages; 2 Hawk. P. C. 129, 8; 3 Russell on Crimes, 6th ed. 83, 84, 97; 1 Chitty's Crim. L.* p 15; 1 East, P. C. chap. 5, p. 328; Derecourt v. Corbishley, 5 El. & Bl. 188; Fox v. Gaunt, 3 Barn & Ad. 798; Reg. v. Chapman, 12 Cox C. C. 4; Rafferty v. People, 69 Ill. 111, 18 Am. Rep. 601; S. C. on a subsequent writ, 72 Ill. 37. If the officer had no right to arrest, the other party might resist the illegal attempt to arrest him, using no more force than was absolutely necessary to repel the assault constituting the attempt to arrest. 1 East, supra. JOHN BAD ELK v. U S, 177 U.S. 529 (1900) Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them. Arizona v. Miranda