We’re Overdue for Aggravated Infringement Laws
Americans love the Constitution. It is the ultimate statement of righteous governance, with balances of power and brakes on tyranny. Our Founders said it will only work if we are a moral people. We all realize our morality has been slipping through our own lazy lack of attention and deliberate acts of the nation’s enemies.
The Founders did not include punishment in this Grand Charter for failure to uphold the oath of office and failure to heed the terms of that contract. They presumed we would always cherish liberty, the rule of law, truth, and justice and behave in a moral way. All around us, though, we see evidence that people, especially in leadership, have strayed from decency and a freedom-oriented posture, pursuing power, wealth, personal agendas and even socialism.
Fix The Flaw
The fatal flaw — no teeth — must be corrected. Our precious rights are infringed constantly. You might argue minor infractions are no big deal or “necessary” for our safety, but infringements are infringements.
The few options in the Big C for setting the course straight have proven inadequate over time. Yes, you can vote out the offenders, but only every few years. Even the ability to spread information about the bad actors is controlled by the bad actors, so casting informed ballots has bordered on the impossible. Candidate selection is tainted.
Complicating the “just vote ’em out” solution, communist dictator Joseph Stalin reportedly framed that problem: It doesn’t matter who votes; what matters is who counts the votes. After 2020 many stopped trusting the system. Widespread proof of corruption exists, feebly denied against overwhelming evidence. The political left openly battles against certifying the electorate or requiring ID to cast ballots and seeks to allow foreigners to vote, flooding the nation with ineligibles. Changing the rules, even the dates for voting — without legislative acts — is standard now. These pernicious threats unhinge the safety valve of voting.
The arms we bear, specifically for the defense of liberty, have been eroded by propaganda, rewritten history, slandering firearms and conflating crime with guns. Even the size of the unelected, unaccountable bureaucratic state poses problems. Our firepower is not stemming the tide.
No Infringement
What America needs, what our Republic and Constitution need, is strict adherence to a policy of “No infringement shall be tolerated.” Small encroachments — like licenses to carry arms or speech codes — must subject people proposing such violations to penalties. Gross infringements like, “We’re going to take away your favorite rifle — and of course, we’ll keep ours,” require prison terms.
There is a fine line to draw here. Speaking about so-called “gun control,” with its bans, limits, conditions and Constitutional violations, is something we cannot properly deny. It is free speech. Talking about things must not be harmed; it must be held sacrosanct. But doing something that constitutes infringement and acting against our rights is another matter. Acts have consequences. Acts can cause harm. Harm is punishable. Punishment must reflect the degree of harm done. Unconstitutional “laws” are not law:
Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 1803: “An act of the legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void.”
Norton v. Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425, 1886: “An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as though it had never been passed.”
Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 1928: “Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.” (Quoted from dissent.)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105, 1943: “… a person cannot be compelled ‘to purchase, through a license fee or a license tax, the privilege freely granted by the Constitution.’”
Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham Alabama, 394 U.S. 147, 1969: “And our decisions have made clear that a person faced with such an unconstitutional licensing law may ignore it and engage with impunity in the exercise of the right of free expression for which the law purports to require a license.” (Referring to free speech.)
Getting bills introduced that are de facto infringements, clear violations of delegated power, is Misdemeanor Infringement and cannot be tolerated. Quash such proposals if formally made. Voting for self-evident infringement or acting upon such once passed is Aggravated Infringement — knowing actions designed to deny rights and violate the Constitution. This is felonious behavior. Treat such acts as felonies:
How about this proposal? “Any elected or appointed official who introduces a proposal designed or capable of infringing upon the right to keep and bear arms, has committed Simple Infringement, a misdemeanor. Any effort to implement a new or extant infringement is Aggravated Infringement, a felony. These offenses apply to all other enumerated rights.”
Enacting Aggravated Infringement statutes may be difficult; they trash so much of what elite leadership is doing. But it’s a shot across the bow, a call to action. We cannot remain asleep while evil woke folks take our rights, principles and nation. We must threaten our enemies with prison for blatant violation of their oaths and the strictly limited delegated powers we provide. This is what due process demands.
Award-winning author, writer, consultant and musician Alan Korwin has written 14 books, 10 of them on gun law, and has advocated for gun rights for more than three decades. Now writing his 15th book, Why Science May Be Wrong, see his work or reach him at GunLaws.com.
