For Immediate Release

January 6, 2001

When people "draw the line in the sand" they tend to put that line in front of them as opposed to behind them so they will have some room for retreat. We, The High Desert Militia of Southern California have also drawn a line, but our line is directly behind us, and we have no intention to ever retreat.

Here, in the California Republic, a law has been passed that greatly reduces the ability of the law abiding citizen to defend him/herself from the advances of criminals, and virtually eliminates his/her ability to resist tyranny. That Law (SB23) has made criminals out of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding citizens who own firearms that have a military appearance.

In order for those citizens to retain their private property with the consent of the State, they were required to register their Liberty Teeth with the California Department of Justice as "Assault Weapons" before December 31, 2000.

This is not the first time Californians have been compelled to register firearms. In 1989 a similar law was passed, and many of those who registered their firearms in good faith had letters sent to them by the DOJ ordering them to surrender their registered guns, or face criminal prosecution.

We believe the DOJ will soon send another round of letters ordering registered gun owners to turn in their arms to the State. This is where that line in the sand comes into play.

We, the members of the High Desert Militia of Southern California do resolve to defend (with force if necessary) any citizen of the California Republic who is ordered to surrender his/her registered "assault weapon" and refuses to comply with that order. We are bound to this resolution via our Oath to uphold the United States Constitution and by our moral obligation to our fellow man. By this we will abide, so help us God.

Yours in Liberty,

The High Desert Militia of Southern California (en masse)