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An�-American Government Extremists: Part 4

Members of the an�-government movement refuse to accept any form of gun control because they believe that would be the first step toward the abandonment of the U.S. Cons�tu�on. They perceive legisla�on such as the An�-Terrorism Bill, which would allow the government to suspend a number of cons�tu�onal rights in its effort to protect us, as proof of the government's evil inten�on (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 2774-2776). In July 2016 gun control was part of the poli�cal atmosphere as the most recent An�-Terrorism Bill was stalled because of the gun control language presented in the bill which would require a three day wait period for who are on the federal terror watch list. Opponents of the language argue the federal terror watch list is o�en prone to errors therefore does not protect due process. Again, leaving the U.S. Cons�tu�on as open to interpreta�on.

An�-government cons�tu�onal theorists have interpreted the U.S. Cons�tu�on to establish two types of ci�zens. In this interpreta�on, there are so-called natural ci�zens and Fourteenth Amendment ci�zens. Natural ci�zens are those who can claim ci�zenship from the federal government through the Bill of Rights. Fourteenth Amendment ci�zens are those people who gained ci�zenship from the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Cons�tu�on. Since the "natural" ci�zens received their ci�zenship from the U.S. Cons�tu�on, they have no obliga�ons to follow any laws of the federal government. Only the Fourteenth Amendment ci�zens must follow federal laws. This dis�nc�on according to an�-government theorists means that "natural" ci�zens can regain sovereign status by renouncing all contracts with the U.S. government and renouncing their U.S. ci�zenship. Once this is done, the sovereign ci�zen only has an obliga�on to follow the rules of common law. Needless to point out, federal authori�es have never subscribed to this thesis, and those an�- government ac�vists who have tried it have had li�le success. O�en, a�empts to carry out their claim of sovereign ci�zenship have led to legal difficul�es and some�mes death. Regardless, this claim of sovereign ci�zenship is a common characteris�c of most an�-government groups.