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The Tonasket Resolution

Tonasket? Yes, Tonasket in Okanogan County Washington --the latest small town to pass a resolution against the Patriot Act.

Tonasket has 1,000 residents. One of them, Mark Alan, drafted the two page resolution opposing the Patriot Act. The Police Chief edited it. Two nearby towns are considering adopting it, as is the county.

Its preamble reinforces the notion that America was created "in the shadow of bloody conflicts" with intentionally strict limits on government. It goes on to suggest that the Patriot Act and similar incursions on individual civil rights are unconstitutional.

While supportive of fighting terrorism, the Resolution points out, correctly in our view, that the Goverment was equipped with laws to do so before the Patriot Act.

And it boldly proclaims that any law that "dilutes, weakens or denies" a person's constitutional rights is "unenforceable in our jurisdiction."

True, federal laws trump local ordinances and the Tonasket Resolution may not be enforceable. That's not the point. The point is the message.

...similar resolutions in other U.S. cities contain "unenforceable-in-our-jurisdiction" language to warn the feds that their police are there to protect citizens, not serve as FBI gofers.

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee keeps track of the number of jurisdictions opposing the Patriot Act. The current numbers: "three states and 141 counties and cities representing 16 million Americans."

Here is the text of the Tonasket Resolution:

Section 1. The City of Tonasket supports all lawful and Constitutional efforts to prevent and investigate terrorist or other criminal acts and prosecute their perpetrators.

Section 2. The City of Tonasket believes that sufficient Constitutionally acceptable tools existed, prior to the passage of the "USA Patriot Act" or other such restrictive acts, for Law enforcement to accomplish their intended lawful purpose.

Section 3. The City of Tonasket believes that any act, enactment, law, or legislation, etc., which dilutes, weakens, or denies the State and / or Federal Constitutionally guaranteed Rights of the Citizen is void from its inception, is unenforceable in our jurisdiction, and should be quashed, repealed or found by a court of jurisdiction to be unconstitutional in part or in full, as appropriate, to protect the Rights and Freedom of the Citizenry.

Section 4. The Tonasket City Council strongly encourages all citizens, organizations, and governmental legislative bodies to study, for understanding, the State and Federal Constitutions and their history, and the Bill of Rights and its history so that they can recognize and resist attempts to undermine our Constitutional Republics and the system of government that has brought our civilization so much success.

Section 5. The Tonasket City Council believes it is the duty of every citizen to protect and defend the State and Federal Constitutions from all enemies — foreign and domestic — and to demonstrate outspoken respect for the Rights that have been paid for with the blood and sweat of the American People throughout our history.

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