“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797) British Statesman and Philosopher
Politicians can try to pretend we don’t deserve constitutional protection, but the United States was a huge part of the U.N. Declaration of rights after the holocaust. And they are guilty of violating nearly the entire declaration. ________________________________________________________________________________ In the period from 1450 to 1750, somewhere around 40,000 to 60,000 individuals were tried and convicted of witchcraft. These people were tortured, hung, burned alive, or drowned. The entire class of people ‘witches’ were all deemed evil and dangerous without regard to their actual ‘crime’. This was done as a measure of ‘public safety’. These times are often referred to as the ‘Burning Times’. The ‘Hammer for Witches’ was written in 1486 which was used to deal with witches. Just being labeled a witch was good enough reason to lose all human dignity. Certainly some of these people may have been evil, and perhaps some even made mistakes, but those facts were largely ignored in the name of ‘public safety’. In the name of ‘public safety’, nearly 60,000 people’s lives were ended. This world history is taught in every school to ensure that people never make this same mistake again. In 1689 the English Bill of Rights passed parliament. This was done partially in response to the ‘Burning Times’. This was written to guarantee basic civil rights to all people. The English Bill of rights later spawned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the constitution of many countries, including ours. These were done (among other reasons) to prevent ‘cruel , inhumane, and degrading punishments’. They wanted to be sure the crimes of humanity of the witch trials were never again repeated. In June 1692 the Salem Witch trials were spawned in the American Colonies by fear mongering. From June through September of 1692 nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were flailed, hung or burned alive. This was done in the interest of ‘public safety’, to prevent children from being the victim of witches. As before, the facts of the ‘crimes’ were largely ignored. As long as someone was branded a witch, that was good enough to torture them all. Just being labeled a witch was good enough reason to lose all human dignity. Again, many people’s lives ended, and most of them were likely not even witches. The Salem witch trials are always taught in American history to be sure that American’s never repeat these atrocities. The United States bill of rights was introduced by James Madison in 1789. It was based on the English Bill of Rights, arguably then, the ‘Burning times’. James Madison’s stated purpose was to create a law ‘prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.’ Additionally, it was written that ‘enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people’. Specifically, the bill of rights was created, to ensure that never again in America, would a class of people be singled out, and punished again and again if that group suddenly became ‘out of favor’. This language has led many scholars to interpret a reference to the witch trials as something fresh in the minds of the people who wrote our Bill of Rights. The United States has made a history of invading countries that violate basic human rights. They have sent missions into countries that violate basic human rights, and even imposed sanctions on countries that violate basic human rights. On December 10, 1948, in response to the unimaginable horrors of Nazi Germany, the U.N. Declared the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration states ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,’ Fast forward to 1996. There are very bad individuals, creating heinous crimes. Politicians quickly work to ‘brand’ these heinous monsters ‘sex offender’. As always with modern day politics, ‘if a little is good, a lot is better’. With the perceived public acceptance of the original ‘sex offender’, they quickly move to wrap as many people as possible into ‘sex offender’. Soon, you don’t have to be a predator, and then you don’t even have to have a victim. All it takes is a ‘finger pointing’, or a bad email, and you too, are branded ‘sex offender’ for life. The fact of the case is largely irrelevant. Even if there is no true victim, that fact is largely irrelevant. Being branded ‘sex offender’ is enough for people to remove all civil liberties and rights from you, without regard to any facts of your case. In 2006 SORNA was written. This is a mandate on how to handle and deal with ‘sex offender’. Numerous politicians refer to this as ‘hammering down’ on ‘sex offenders’. (does anyone feel history repeating itself’) As of today, there are nearly 900,000 people being tortured, deprived of liberty, and murdered simply because they are tagged ‘sex offenders’. Are some of these people ‘evil’? Most certainly. Every single study done on this group of 900,000 people always shows the number of dangerous people at around 5%. But that fact also is largely ignored. Nearly every basic human right is violated of all 900,000 people in the name of ‘public safety’. These people lose rights to basic human services, basic public facilities, and are deprived of any rights to privacy for the rest of their life. Sadly, the public by and large applauds our government for this flagrant violation of human rights. No one cares that 95% of these people are not even dangerous. All they care about is they are ‘hammering down’ on witches. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (this is a list of the basic human rights that are violated under SORNA). It’s inconceivable that politicians brag about violating nearly every single article of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. And the public generally loves them for this.
Article 2 – Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status… SORNA classes people loosely based on mistakes they made or were accused of, without regard to their actual risk to the community.
Article 3 – Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. SORNA specifically violates life, liberty and security by subjecting residents to immense harassment and public degredation.
Article 4 – No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. SORNA reduces a person’s rights so significantly, that they are forced into a form of servitude for the state. They are denied civil liberties that other persons take for granted.
Article 5 – No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Without question, SORNA is inhuman degrading punishment for people who are not dangerous.
Article 6 – Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. SORNA specifically denies all due process, and continuously increases ex-post-facto punishment without regard to its necessity, or the effect on the people it is being applied to.
Article 7 – All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. People subjected to SORNA no longer have many of the protections and rights that normal people take for granted.
Article 8 – Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. SORNA is so oppressive, that people subject to it have most of their resources stripped from them. Since SORNA is declared “administrative”, (although violation of the registry law is considered crime with harsh punishment?), registrants are also denied public defense to assist them in their plight.
Article 9 – No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile… Politicians repeatedly state that the purpose of SORNA restrictions is to exile registrants, without regard to their level of risk.
Article 11 – ”..Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed”. Every year more restrictions are added, and every year more rights are deprived of registrants, without regard to their level of risk.
Article 12 – No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. SORNA specifically encourages the public to harass and ostracize residents. SORNA is used as a shield to force registrants out of neighborhoods and away from civilization, without regard to the risk of danger the person presents.
Article 13 – Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country… SORNA restricts a person’s travel to the point that travel becomes very burdensome.
Article 16 – The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. SORNA typically punishes family members almost as much as registrants if they stay with the registrant. Frequently SORNA is so punitive that it forces families to split of to protect children from vigilantism.
Article 17 – Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others… SORNA specifically prohibits people to own property in many public locations.
Article 18 – Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.. and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion… SORNA specifically prohibits people from participating in many church services.
Article 21 – Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country… SORNA prohibits registrants from use of any service that a child may use, even if the registrant does not pose any risk to that child.
Article 22 – Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. SORNA prohibits registrants from use of any public resource in which a child may use.
Article 23 – Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. SORNA specifically prohibits registrants from working at most employers. Furthermore, the stigma is so oppressive, that many employers simply won’t hire a registrant.
Article 25 – Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness… SORNA adds exclusions to public health care option limiting services to registrants. SORNA denies section-8 housing, FHA, and homeless shelters to registrants. SORNA is set to exclude security to registrants who file unemployment.
Article 26 – Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit… SORNA forbids registrants from qualifying for Pell grants, Student loans, and in many cases, specifically forbids registrants from attending school at either high school or college level. Teenagers who become registrants are frequently not allowed to finish high school.
Article 27 – Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. SORNA forbids registrants from many public events. Gyms and other public organizations will often forbid membership to registrants.
Article 28 – Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized. Politicians publically admit that SORNA registrants no longer deserve to have any human rights, without regard to the crime committed.
Article 29 – everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others. SORNA removes all rights with no regard to the necessity of removing those rights. There is no cause-effect relationship necessary to remove the rights. ‘public safety’ is a completely invalid argument for removing these rights. Also, the rights enumerated above that are removed from SORNA registrants frequently have no bearing on the level of risk.
Article 30 – Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.