Here is the current U.S. military Oath of Enlistment. I suspect it is the same oath I took when I enlisted more than four decades ago: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.â€(1)
Note that this oath does NOT require a military person to obey illegal or unlawful orders.(2) Although I have no citations, I am told members of the military have been successfully prosecuted for “just following orders†when they knew, or should have known, that the orders were illegal or unlawful.
The President must take the following Oath of Office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States."(3)
The Constitution contains an oath of office only for the president. For other officials, including members of Congress, that document specifies only that they "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution." In 1789, the First Congress reworked this requirement into a simple fourteen-word oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States."(4) This oath has been modified (several times) to arrive at this current version: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.â€(4)
Therefore, *IF* the Constitution means what it says and NOT what some elitist tyrant would implement or an eager serf or slave proclaims it to mean, unconstitutional laws are “unlawful orders†or otherwise invalid laws. Whether we should obey them or not becomes a value judgment. However, punishment by our government can be swift and devastating should we disobey even invalid, unlawful laws. Such laws need to be modified or eliminated to meet Constitutional requirements. If our current “representatives of the People†refuse to obey Constitutional Law, those representatives have violated their oath of office and should be replaced at first opportunity by legal means (typically at the polls).
I am not advocating a violent overthrow of the American government; however, it is time Americans wake up and start voting for a return to Constitutional Law. A long and purposeful history of legislative violations of the Constitution proves we cannot find adherence to (or even advocacy for) Constitutional law within the confines of the Democrat or Republican parties.
(1) http://www.stayarmy.com/theoath.htm
(2) http://sill-www.army.mil/JAG/low/sld060.htm
(3) U. S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1 (last paragraph)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section1
(4) http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm
Note that this oath does NOT require a military person to obey illegal or unlawful orders.(2) Although I have no citations, I am told members of the military have been successfully prosecuted for “just following orders†when they knew, or should have known, that the orders were illegal or unlawful.
The President must take the following Oath of Office: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States."(3)
The Constitution contains an oath of office only for the president. For other officials, including members of Congress, that document specifies only that they "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support this constitution." In 1789, the First Congress reworked this requirement into a simple fourteen-word oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States."(4) This oath has been modified (several times) to arrive at this current version: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.â€(4)
Therefore, *IF* the Constitution means what it says and NOT what some elitist tyrant would implement or an eager serf or slave proclaims it to mean, unconstitutional laws are “unlawful orders†or otherwise invalid laws. Whether we should obey them or not becomes a value judgment. However, punishment by our government can be swift and devastating should we disobey even invalid, unlawful laws. Such laws need to be modified or eliminated to meet Constitutional requirements. If our current “representatives of the People†refuse to obey Constitutional Law, those representatives have violated their oath of office and should be replaced at first opportunity by legal means (typically at the polls).
I am not advocating a violent overthrow of the American government; however, it is time Americans wake up and start voting for a return to Constitutional Law. A long and purposeful history of legislative violations of the Constitution proves we cannot find adherence to (or even advocacy for) Constitutional law within the confines of the Democrat or Republican parties.
(1) http://www.stayarmy.com/theoath.htm
(2) http://sill-www.army.mil/JAG/low/sld060.htm
(3) U. S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1 (last paragraph)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section1
(4) http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm
