Someone somewhere once said that God’s not picky about whom He choose to do His work. Not that you’d know it. Society sanctifies successful rabble rousers, leaving no room for foibles or contradictory information (Martin Luther King applied for a concealed carry permit, Mahatma Gandi was anti-disarmament). So now we have Marine and anti-war activist Adam Kokesh leading an armed march into gun-free D.C. [Full statement after the jump.] Kokesh’s civil disobedience demo is attracting willing gun rights guys and, of course, the media. Who so don’t “get” the United States Constitution. Check this reaction Kokesh’s crusade from washingtonpost.com . . .
Law enforcement officers who are sworn to serve and protect the public are “criminals”? The gun laws passed by the duly elected representatives of the people of the District are “unjust” because Kokesh disagrees with them? This sure is one slippery slope to anarchy if that loopy mindset were to take hold. Unfortunately, he has plenty of company on his absolute gun rights grassy knoll.
Kokesh’s Open Carry March on Washington is an extremely dangerous development—for the armed protestors involved, the police (and their credibility), the gun rights movement and the gun control movement. But then so was the American Revolution. Just sayin’. You in?
OFFICIAL STATEMENT [via adamvstheman.com]
On the morning of July 4, 2013, Independence Day, we will muster at the National Cemetery & at noon we will step off to march across the Memorial Bridge, down Independence Avenue, around the Capitol, the Supreme Court, & the White House, then down Constitution Avenue to peacefully return to Virginia across the Memorial Bridge. This is an act of civil disobedience, not a permitted event. We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny. We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent. Should we meet physical resistance, we will peacefully turn back, having shown that free people are not welcome in Washington, & return with the resolve that the politicians, bureaucrats, & enforcers of the federal government will not be welcome in the land of the free. “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson. Does the government fear the people? If not, something is wrong, and we aim to change it.
It is time to marshall forces and grow our numbers. Please share this page and invite all your friends. There are only two ways this goes down. 1) Obama issues an order to the DC Chief of Police who has pledged to violate the Constitution and we execute our plan with a police escort. 2) We are not allowed to enter the District and will halt the formation well before the line at which point, with the whole world watching, we will declare the federal government illegitimate, and peacefully disperse. I much prefer option one, and the more people we have on board, the more likely it is to happen. So share this page and spread the word! It looks like we’re on track to clear 10k RSVPs well before the target of June 1. The more people think about this idea, the more they realize their fears are motivations, and their uneasiness turns to resolve. But let’s not stop at 10k. Let’s get 100k signed up so that Obama himself cannot ignore us! Who knows, maybe by Independence Day, we’ll have a million people standing with us to declare that the federal government has no authority over free people when free people are not allowed in the nation’s capitol!
This event is civil disobedience because we will be violating and/or attempting to violate various regulations that have been used to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of self-defense, however, this is in response to the DC Police refusing to follow the law of the Constitution. They have been in violation of court order and the law by continuing to enforce statures that have been ruled unconstitutional. This is one in a long train of abuses, but a government that cannot be trusted to follow its own rules cannot be trusted, and we cannot allow this lawlessness to continue. We must stop this criminal government!
You are welcome and highly encouraged to attend unarmed as a supporter, or armed with a recording device. Please RSVP in the affirmative (“Going”) if you plan to attend as a witness. If there are any active duty military or law enforcement who would like to honor their oath to the Constitution by supporting this march, please contact: adam@adamvstheman.com. We especially invite law enforcement officers to stand with us armed however they feel is appropriate.
All who attend this march armed will be asked to stand and move in a military formation in order to maintain unity and safety. You will be expected to be dressed professionally, and there will be an inspection. As organizer, AVTM reserves the right to reject anyone from the formation at any time for any reason. There will be no use of recording devices by anyone once they have joined the ranks. If you’d like to film or photograph, please do so from outside the formation so there is no potential for confusion with hand motions. If you are not ACTIVE law enforcement, you will be asked to leave if you have any firearms other than a single rifle or shotgun slung across your back with the muzzle pointed down. Aside from adjusting the sling, you will not touch your weapon at any time during this event.
There’s a remote chance that there will be violence as there has been from government before, and I think it should be clear that if anyone involved in this event is approached respectfully by agents of the state, they will submit to arrest without resisting. We are truly saying in the SUBTLEST way possible that we would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
There will be coordination with all relevant law enforcement agencies prior to the event.
Thanks to all the donations that have come in, we will soon be able to hire someone to help organize and coordinate logistics. Please stand by for more on this by June 1.
This is not about me or any one person. This is about an idea whose time has come and therefor cannot be stopped by any amount of force or violence. If anything happens to me between now and Independence Day, this event and the movement behind it will continue. I am happy to face death in standing up for liberty, but I have done everything possible to ensure my death would be of little consequence by inspiring everyone to be their own leader.
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