As many of you are aware, we have been focusing our monthly newsletters on various aspects of the US Constitution, The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. This month the focus of interest was on the 3rd Amendment. Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers. Ratified 12/15/1791. 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. Since this amendment seems like common sense, and based on the fact that our military has little need for actually using our homes and residences as barracks, this simple amendment has had very few instances of judicial review. This relative lack of controversy has almost relegated the 3rd Amendment to the US Constitution to almost obscurity in the minds and hearts of most Americans. That being said, it should be stated that this simple act is one of the final straws that broke the back of the colonists into revolt against British rule. In 1765, the British Parliament passed the first Quartering Act on the colonies. This forced the colonies to pay for the expense of the Kings army. After the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed the 2nd and more egregious Quartering Act, which allowed the British army to appropriate and use alehouses, inns, stables or any uninhabited building. It also allowed them to force the owner of these properties to provide any food that the troops needed without compensation. We now move to the current era, an era in which we openly have cities, counties, states and the federal government creating militarized police forces that can enter any establishment at will and search and seize items. We have been taught as Americans that if we have nothing to hide we have nothing to fear. However, we have seen the infringement and trampling of our rights over the years by our elected representatives at every level of government. This must end. We urge all Americans to download the newsletters and send them to friends, family and neighbors. Please help us save the America that we knew as children for our future posterity. cpofohio.org/Newsletter/newsletter.html#.Ufw4rm301nU
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 23:26:38 +0000
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