A Sydney man claims that the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution could overturn all drug-related and victimless crime convictions in the USA and bring to a halt the destructive American financed 'World War on Drugs'.
Bernard W. Palmer, a 57-year-old photocopier repairman and father of five girls, reveals the reasons on his 'petition against the drug wars' web site located at: http://www.primaryfundamentalright.org/
"The 13th Amendment forbids slavery, or the owning of someone else's body. So, if it's your body, it's your business what you do to it. Therefore, anyone prosecuted for a drug offence, illicit consensual sex, not wearing a seat belt or many of the other victimless crimes, have been prosecuted illegally." He continued, "the 13th Amendment proclaims that;
'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
He believes we are all born with certain rights and the first one must be that we are all born free. Therefore, only we can decide what can be put into or removed from our bodies (or our real parents if still a child), and that no laws should exist that hinder this right. "The 9th Amendment allows for the existence of such a right as the 'Primary Fundamental Right'," he said.
IX - Rule of construction of Constitution. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people
."Because people have signed this petition and they retain the ideal of a 'Primary Fundamental Right', it's existence has now become obvious. The PFR lives in all of us, it is the first of the 'self-evident truths'.
James Madison, the main architect of the American Constitution and the first ten amendments of the Bill of Rights appears to have failed to see that the biggest attack on individual freedoms would come from restrictive laws on what you can do to your own body. But, had he put forward an amendment stating that "we are all born free and own our own bodies" it would have undoubtedly failed because many States wanted slavery. Because of that he possibly deliberately overlooked a PFR type amendment. He did go on to compose the 9th Amendment apparently so that something like the PFR could be introduced in freer times. It also appears he guessed correctly how freedom would again meet its opposition. He said that the greatest threat to freedom would be from the "majority against the minority". "The majority of people become accustomed to poor circumstances, no matter how bad they are, and any major changes even for the better often scares them." Palmer speculated, "and the time has probably passed when American politicians could have changed into statesmen and stopped America turning back into a police like state as it was in 1775." He continued, "once more the prospect arises that those who want real freedom will have to fight for it, not only for themselves but for everyone else, whether the people want it or not. Thomas Jefferson, the architect of the Declaration of Independence, wrote of these men and despotic rule, "
it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."Under the 13th Amendment convicts have virtually no rights and can be treated as slaves by their jailers. Fortunately, the United States, as part of the General Assembly of the United Nations, has adopted and proclaimed the '
Universal Declaration of Human Rights', which bans all forms of slavery, worldwide. "Both declarations shouldn't exist at the same time. I believe precedent has it that usually an international treaty or obligation would invalidate a conflicting national law."It is because of the 13th Amendment that convicts are used as cheap labor in many jails across America. This could also be one of the reasons for the harsh anti-drug laws. Jail shares have been an excellent investment because for a long time they have been guaranteed a good supply of convicts even though crime rates have been dropping for the last 8 years. The politicians made sure they kept the prisoners coming by using 'cruel and unusual punishments' such as mandatory sentences and 3 strikes. Even these laws are illegal according to the 8th Amendment;
VIII - Excessive bail,
cruel punishment.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
He speculates that if the prison population drops too far the politicians will be forced to introduce even harsher prison terms simply because there are too many rural votes and political donations at stake. He added, "I would guess, just like the Holocaust victims, someday reparations will have to be paid to these modern day slaves. When that time comes the politicians who voted 'yes' and the jail and factory owners should also be made to pay up from their own pockets. They're the one's who gained the most by ignoring basic human rights and prospering from the misery of others." He concluded, "the truth is slavery never left America, it's been hiding behind the 13th Amendment all this time. America is still the home of the slave."
His web site is primarily designed for descendants of the English gene pool. "I've specifically aimed at America, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand," he said. "I believe these nations have done more to limit personal freedoms than many others, even though they all think they're the most free. For example, America, land of the free, has more people in prison per head of population than anywhere else in the world. Australia probably has more private prisons per head of population and they too have also brought in 'mandatory sentences' and 'truth in sentencing' laws to keep the prisoners in jail longer. In both countries these policies have kept the jails so full that more and more prisons have had to be built. Already over 2 million Americans are in jail and as many as 1.5 million of them, or almost three quarters, are incarcerated for drug related crimes, crimes that would not exist in a really free society. Too many crimes equals too many laws, not too many criminals."
He himself is not interested in drugs; "I don't even drink caffeinated drinks or eat chocolate". When asked why he built the petition he said, "I am horrified by the jails. The jails themselves are the real crime. They destroy lives and families, much more than any drugs could ever do. Ultimately, society will have to have safer drugs. Alcohol and nicotine kill and maim too many people. They are just not cost effective, they need competition. Governments must look at getting their taxes from a larger range of recreational drugs and also from cost cutting by doing away with drug and other PFR prosecutions and imprisonment's. Forfeiture laws, which turn police into self-funding tax collectors and thieves, sully any good public image they may have. These laws must be removed. The savings made by these reforms could be so huge that governments could routinely return much of the personal income tax they collect from their taxpayers. Jailing the drug users and dealers and other PFR's really has to stop, we can't afford it, financially, ethically and simply because it breaks up families. Families are the foundation of any society, break them up and you break up everything." He continued "they say that truth is always the first casualty of war and the 'Drug Wars' are a good example because all drugs are safe when used in moderation and with proper quality controls. There are no dangerous drugs, just dangerous practices."
Primary Fundamental Right. My body. My business.
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