I think that he has already pointed out that he is not one of these extremists, so I don’t think that anything he posted in answer would be more than conjecture.
What we need is a total conspiracy-nut job to answer questions. That would be interesting!
Yea, I have a feeling I may have disappointed some folks responding to this thread…
You said that if an officer of the law shows up at your door, “I will hand over items listed on the warrant, if that’s what you mean.”
When would you disobey an officer of the law, assuming the officer is enforcing laws enacted by the state / federal legislature?
When I believe such laws are unconstitutional and violate my inalienable rights.
For the record, I am a law-abiding person and have a perfectly clean criminal record. But I must also admit that laws are written by mortals, and are therefore sometimes bad. I draw the line when I believe such laws are also unconstitutional; this explains why Rosa Parks is my hero.
You have mentioned God many times in this thread. What do you think about the separation of church and state?
(I don’t want to hijack this thread into a church/state argument, but was wondering about your views on this issue)
If a law officer was trying to enforce a law that you thought was unconstitutional (let’s say arresting you for something illegal, that you think should be legal due to your interpretation of the constitution), would you feel justified in using weapons in self-defense?
What are “inalienable rights”? Do only American citizens have “inalienable rights”?
You believe that God has shed his grace, uniquely, upon America. What portion of the entity that is “America” do you mean? The land? The concept of democracy? What is it about America that is special or different, that makes you think that it is above other nations in the eyes of God?
Church and state must be separated. We currently have a secular government, as it should be.
I am under no moral duty to obey laws that I think are immoral and/or unconstitutional; neither are you. I am also a defender of liberty. Does this adequately answer your question?
Many people believe you are born with certain rights. We call these rights inalienable. By definition, these rights are not given to you by the government, laws, or the people; you’re simply born with them.
No. Every human born on this earth has inalienable rights. Unfortunately, these rights are usually confiscated upon birth.
The people.
For whatever reason it may be, we believe the citizens of the U.S. are uniquely blessed by God. I really don’t know why; I’m just thankful this is the case.
No, but they’re certainly welcome to join."
How exactly do you know there are no gay people or atheists (I think atheists are a minority, anyway…) in your group? Did you poll them?
If the possession of firearms is regulated to the point that you are obliged by statute to surrender your firearms, will you surender them and then pursue the issue of constitutionality through the courts, or will you simply shoot the officer who tries to take your guns away from you.
I’m a genuinely curious about this, so please don’t think I’m busting your chops:
When did this blessing occur? At the time of the Constitution? Are newly naturalized Citizens blessed by God? Hawaiians? What about people that are living in Guam or Peurto Rico?
Thanks for this thread, by the way. I am learning a lot about a subject I thought I understood.
Jeeze, you guys miss nothing. 
Let me rephrase… I do not believe there are any gays or atheists in our group. This is based on what I know about each individual, and includes marital status, church membership, etc. But there’s always room for error on my part. Besides, I really wouldn’t care if someone were gay or atheistic to begin with…
I will never surrender my firearms, and will defend myself against anyone attempting to steal them from me. With force, if necessary.
I must admit I’m having a difficult time addressing this issue. This isn’t your fault; it’s primarily due to my inability to talk articulately on the subject.
Those of us in the militia, along with a significant portion of the U.S. population, believe the citizens of this great country have been uniquely blessed by God. This notion (I believe) originated during the 18th century in the writings of certain patriotic orators and preachers. Even some of what our Founding Fathers wrote can be interpreted as such.
Who is uniquely blessed? Any citizen who believes the ideals this country was founded on. This includes life, morality, liberty, individualism, humility, justice, appreciation, and the pursuit of happiness.
I have grave concerns about those who place themselves over both the legislature and the judiciary in a functional democracy, particularly when such people are willing to kill rather than permit the lessening of their means of killling.
I am of the opinion that the legislature and the judiciary in a functional democracy should decide who has the right to own guns and who has the right to kill people.
Consequently, I believe that individuals and militia that believe that they have the right to kill people rather than obey the legislature and judiciary in a functional democracy are both treasonous and profoundly un-democratic, not to mention just plain physically dangerous.
My question then is how do you distinguish yourself from a terrorist group that belives that it should not be bound by the legislature and judiciary, other than that your particular button concerning possession of firearms has not yet been pushed.
How do you and the militia members you know generally evaluate the Patriot Act and the creation of the Homeland Security Department? Do you think that it threatens our freedoms? If so, how does this change the generally Republican alignment of the militia movement?
Certain conservative politicians, notably Congressmen Barr and Armey, have recently forged an alliance with the ACLU. What do you think of the ACLU?
Well, according to the founding fathers, we are all in the “militia”.
But I know what you mean.
Are there any woman in your militia? If not, why not? If so, how many?
What is the oldest and youngest members?
I do think it is great that you exercise a tradition started by our founding fathers! It is a great old Swiss and American custom!
The people I know who would join a militia, dont, because we hear that there are too many undercover FBI and BATF guys in those militias like yours.
First of all, terrorists groups tend to be offensive; the militia is strictly defensive. Secondly, terrorists groups often inflict terror upon common citizens; by contrast, the militia defends these citizens.
We see ourselves as being no different from the patriots who fought during the Revolutionary War. If you believe we are terrorists, I must ask you: Do you also believe Patrick Henry was a terrorist? Thomas Jefferson? George Washington?
You mentioned the “legislature and judiciary.” We enthusiastically support and defend our system of government, and its structure as defined in our Constitution. But what do we do if the people who make up the legislature and judiciary want to use force to take away our inalienable rights? What recourse do we have? Do we shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh well, those are the ‘rules,’ and that’s the way it is.” Or do we fight?
Let me explain another way: We are free, sovereign citizens. The government is a contractor working on our behalf – not the other way around. We are the master; the government is the servant. Its job is to protect our inalienable rights. If this contractor stabs us in the back by taking our inalienable rights instead of protecting them, we have the right to fire said contractor. This is accomplished by “corrective processes” defined in our Constitution (voting, representation, judicial decisions, impeachment, etc.) It’s a wonderfully effective system. But it’s not perfect. For example, what happens if the contractor is still bent on stealing our rights after all normal channels have been exhausted? What do we do then? Roll over and accept it? The freedom fighters of 1776 didn’t. Neither will we.