The following was written in anger after I was held up at gun point in Paterson after a job interview Thursday morning. IANAL just trying to use lawyerese in the txt. I had thought to clean it up after doing some more research and sending it to state reps. Not that I think it will do any good but perhaps it will get some thinking. Stranger things have happened. Please not that I in no way advocate the breaking of any laws constitutional or otherwise. While I have done some reasearch in writting this note that I am just some uneducated schmo who was pissed at being robbed at gun point so take it for what its worth. Constructive comments and criticisms always welcome. Its cool to just tell me I'm flat out off my rocker. Sorry for the length as I tend to babble. All info was from google as well as state-citizen.org, all mistakes are mine.
Unconstitutionality of NJ gun laws
The equality and Rights of persons. We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by the Creator with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.
The Constitution for the United States of America, Amendment 9: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain Rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Sovereignty of the people. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government of Right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.
To be clear as possible a Right, a COMMON Right, an ABSOLUTE Right, an INALIENABLE Right, and a Right protected by the Constitution of the United States. Let us then examine the importance of these terms by defining their meaning.
Right-- In law, (a) an enforceable claim or title to any subject matter whatever; (b) one's claim to something out of possession; a power, prerogative, or privilege, as when the word is applied to a corporation. See: Webster Unabridged Dictionary
Right-- As relates to the person, Rights are absolute or relative; absolute Rights, such as every individual born or living in this country (and not an alien enemy) is constantly clothed with, and relate to his own personal security of life, limbs, body, health, and reputation; or to his or her personal liberty; Rights which attach upon every person immediately upon his birth, and even upon a slave the instant he lands within the same. See: 1 Chitty Pr. 32.
Right-- A legal Right, a constitutional Right means a Right protected by the law, by the Constitution, but government cannot create the idea of a Right or original Rights; it must acknowledge them .... See: Bouvier s Law Dictionary, 1914, p. 2916
Absolute Right -- Without any condition or encumbrance as an absolute bond, simplex obligation, in distinction from a conditional bond; an absolute estate, one that is free from all manner of conditions or encumbrance. A rule is said to be absolute when, on the hearing, it is confirmed. See: Bouvier's Law Dictionary.
Inalienable -- A word denoting the condition of those things, the property in which cannot be lawfully transferred from one person to another. See: Bouvier's Law Dictionary.
It shows from these definitions that the State has an obligation to acknowledge the Rights of its Citizen to hold and bear arms. Furthermore, the State has the duty to refrain from interfering with its Citizens Rights and to protect its Citizens Rights and to enforce the claim of its Citizens to it.
The United States Supreme Court states:
The Federal Constitution and laws passed within its authority are by the express terms of that instrument made the supreme law of the land. The Fourteenth Amendment protects life, liberty, and property from invasion by the States without due process of law. Which in turn protects the Second Amendment :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 State cannot require its Citizens to give up a Right to obtain a privilege.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary quoting Barron v. Burnside, 121 U.S. 186:
The full significance of the clause law of the land is said by Ruffin, C.J. to be that statutes that would deprive a Citizen of the Rights of person or property without a regular trial according to the course and usage of the common law would not be the law of the land. See: Bouvier's Law Dictionary quoting Hoke v. Henderson, 15 N.C. 15, 25 AM Dec 677
It would be foolish for Citizens to exchange a Right for a privilege since it would mean giving up valuable property in exchange for something having less value. Is it possible a Citizen to do such a thing?
Consent -- In criminal Law. No act shall be deemed a crime if done with the consent of the party injured, unless it be committed in public, and is likely to provoke a breach of the peace, or tends to the injury of a third party; provided no consent can be given which will deprive the consentor of any inalienable Right. See: Bouvier's Law Dictionary.
Thus, even if a Citizen wanted to do so, they could not give up their Right to keep and bear arms or exchange it for the privilege granted by the State of having a concealed weapons permit. Thus, in exchange for the supposed obligation of this Sovereign, the State has given nothing. Thus, there is no consideration.
If the State cannot prevent its Citizens from keeping and bearing arms, the State does not have any discretion in the matter and does not have the choice of whether to obligate themselves or not. Thus, the obligation of the State cannot be to grant its Citizens the privilege of keeping and bearing arms The obligation of the State must be to refrain from prohibiting its Citizens from carrying a weapon, concealed or otherwise since the State does not have the Right to do.
It is the contention of this Citizen that the only obligation that this Staates Citizen incur when carrying a weapon is the Common Law obligation to refrain from any act that causes another person to lose life, liberty, or property. In complying with this obligation, all Citizen do comply with many Statutes of the General Statutes since they are, for the most part, only common sense rules by which Citizens avoid doing damage to others.
The Right to keep and bear arms is not a benefit received from the State. It was a Right that attached to all at the moment of birth and cannot be removed by the State.
It may be claimed that the Statutes of the General Statutes are made pursuant to the police powers of the State, and that every person in the State is obligated to obey them.
The police power is a grant of authority from the people to their governmental agents, for the protection of the health, the safety, the comfort and the welfare of the public. In its nature, it is broad and comprehensive. It is a necessary and salutary power, since without it, society would be at the mercy of individual interest and there would exist neither public order or security. While this is true, it is only a power. It is not a Right
The powers of government under our system, are nowhere absolute. They are but grants of authority from the people, and are limited to their true intentional purposes. The fundamental Rights of the people are inherent and have not yielded to governmental control. They are not the subjects of governmental authority. They are subjects of individual authority. Constitutional powers can never transcend Constitutional Rights. The police power is subject to the limitations imposed by the Constitution, and upon every power of government and its agents; and it will not be suffered to invade or impair the fundamental liberties of the Citizens, whose natural Rights that are the chief concern of the Constitution and for whose protection it was ordained by the people.
To secure their property was one of the great ends for which men entered into society. The Right to keep and bear arms is a natural Right. It does not owe its origin to constitutions. It plainly and clearly existed before them. It is a part of the Citizen 's natural liberty -- an expression of his freedom, guaranteed as inviolate by every American Bill of Rights that we have all sworn to uphold, fight, and give our lives for.
It is not a Right, therefore, over which the police power is paramount. Like every other fundamental liberty, it is a Right to which the police power is subordinate.
Where inherent, unalienable, absolute Rights are concerned, the police powers can have no effect. The Right to keep and bear arms have been described as inherent, unalienable, and absolute. Thus, the police power cannot regulate the Citizens Right to carry a weapon.
If the police power of the State is permitted to regulate the owning of carrying of weapons whether concealed or otherwise, and if, through the action of these regulations or Statutes, this Citizen is denied the ability to carry concealed or otherwise; a fundamental Right of the Citizen has been abrogated.
Where Rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation that would abrogate them. See: Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 491 (1966)
The abrogation of inalienable Rights by legislation or rule making is unconstitutional.
If further proof is needed to show that this States Citizens need not be licensed to carry or purchase a weapon concealed or otherwise, it is provided in the following decisions:
A permit fee is a tax. See: Parish of Morehouse v. Brigham, 6 So. 257
A State may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a Right granted by the Federal Constitution. See: Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105
Since a fee is charged for a concealed weapons permit as well as a Firearms ID card and since one's Right to keep and bear arms is a Right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, and by the LAW OF NATURE, it is not constitutional for the State to require its Citizens to be licensed to purchase or carry a weapon.
The question now becomes, whether Citizens are required to obey any of the Statutes in the General Statutes? It has been shown that Citizens have a Right to keep and bear arms. So, any Statute that describes gun ownership as a privilege cannot apply to this Sovereign. Since the Right of these Citizens to keep and bear arms cannot be abrogated, any Statute the operation of which, would have the effect of denying the purchase and or carrying of weapons concealed or otherwise to its Citizens, cannot be applied.
Since violation of any Statue in the General Statutes is classified as a misdemeanor that is punishable by a fine and time in jail, and since putting its Citizens in jail because of their carrying a weapon, would be an abrogation of their Right to keep and bear arms, none of the Statutes of the General Statutes apply to these Citizens. These contentions are supported by the Supreme Court of United States.
SUI JURIS.