Sheriffs, Peace Officers and Elected Officials Take a Stand
by Rick Dalton
Constitution Day, 17 September 2014 was the time, and the National Press Club in Washington DC was the target for a press conference conducted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). As Vice President and Legislative Liaison, this writer had a ringside seat.
On Tuesday evening, the 16th, the group gathered in the hotel and screened the iconic - and prophetic - movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This film, starring Jimmy Stewart, illustrates the difficulty of standing up for foundational principles once they have been ignored and abandoned by most of the elected officials in Washington.One of my favorite lines was delivered by Stewart during his filibuster on the floor of the US Senate. After he has just read the entire text of the Declaration of Independence, he says to this august body,
"Now, you're not gonna have a country that can make these kind of rules work, if you haven't got men that have learned to tell human rights from a punch in the nose."
It was with this courageous example of a true statesman in mind that the invited guests, from across the US, walked through the mahogany-lined halls of the National Press Club in Washington DC to the Edward R. Murrow meeting room for breakfast and three hours of stirring speeches and Constitutional training.Interposition
Speakers included:- Congressman Steve Stockman of Texas, on immigration
- Larry Pratt, President of Gun Owners of America (GOA), on the Second Amendment
- Benn Swann, investigative reporter, on the New Media
- Stewart Rhodes, President of Oathkeepers, on overkill by law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo.
- KrisAnne Hall, Attorney and author, on our CSPOA Resolution and her new book, Sovereign Duty. You can read the resolution HERE.
- Michael Peroutka, Institute of the Constitution, on checks and balances
- Sheriff Dave A. Clarke Jr., Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, on defending his citizens' rights, including the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, against moneyed anti-gun interests.
- Sheriff Richard Mack (Ret.), founder of CSPOA, on local solutions to our problems, not in Washington DC, and his new book, Are You a David?
To Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances
After the morning press conference we spread out and hit the halls of Congress to deliver the Resolution to all 535 members of congress. The task of walking those marble halls was hard on the feet and legs, but it was a great experience, as we stopped in each office and delivered our resolution. We know that if tyranny comes to your door, it will probably be wearing a uniform, and we want the uniforms to be worn by Constitutional Guards who will not violate their oaths.We asked each senator and representative to join us and sign it, or explain why he or she would not. CSPOA will have a report on the results of those discussions on their website.HERE.
If you want to do more than sit and yell at the TV, I invite you to join CSPOA. All American citizens who wish to really make a difference, should go to the website and join. Together we can take America Back, one Sheriff, one County at a time.
FRDMWRX.
Copyright 2014 Rick Dalton, all rights reserved.
