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	People vs. Citizen -- Right vs. Privilege by William R. Thornton Are you one of the People of the United States, or a citizen of the United States?[1] Do you take your Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands seriously, or do you support a democracy?[2] Your answers determine whether you have real rights (called natural rights) or government granted civil privileges (called civil rights). In other words, your answers determine whether or not you are protected by the 2nd Amendment; whether you can own a gun by right, or possess a gun by privilege.[3] The Constitution[4], the law of the land, essentially defines and recognizes two major classes of human beings: People (in the Preamble) and citizens (in Amendment XIV). The relationships among the three are: People (owned by nobody; full natural rights). United States of America (limited by Constitution; owned by the People). Citizen (limited by U.S. laws; owned by U.S.A.). PEOPLE The Preamble to the Constitution for the United States of America specifically defines the relationship between the People of the United States and the public trust called the United States of America. The Preamble says, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The People, acting by their personal sovereign authority, convened in 1787 and, with the consent of all the states present, "ordained" (made law) and "established" (created) this Constitution "for" the United States of America. Those words say nothing about diminishing the capacities of the People. There is nothing in the Constitution that grants the federal government independence from its creator, the People. In other words, according to the Preamble, the United States of America is a subject of the People of the United States. The most powerful country in the world, the United States of America, is also, by Constitutional edict[5] one of the world's geographically smallest countries. It is located in a ten mile square area called District of Columbia. The courts recognize it as a sovereignty separate from the states, but subject to the will of the People. Its citizens are resident in every state and every corner of the world. CITIZEN In 1868 Amendment XIV of the Constitution created a new class of human being. Until then, although the term "citizen of the United States" was used, there was no legal definition. The 14th Amendment changed that. It says, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States...." You can be born or naturalized in the United States, but if you are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction (law), then you are not one of the citizens (i.e. you must be one of the People). The only way you can be counted as one of the citizens instead of as one of the People is to also subject yourself to U.S. jurisdiction (U.S. law). GUN OWNERSHIP The 2nd Amendment is very clear. It says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." But, it is also limited. It only limits the government relative to the People. There is no mention of citizens. People, who are not subject to the jurisdiction (law) of the United States, retain all rights, including the right to bear arms. Citizens, who have no rights, but only exist by privilege, are presently allowed to own arms subject to revocable privileges granted by Congress. LANGUAGE To date, the government has been careful to not let too much of the cat too fast out of the bag. What has been misidentified as creeping tyranny upon the people is actually a slow tightening of the noose around the freedoms previously granted to the citizens. Part of the problem is our language choices. In America we speak three languages[6], each called English: 1. Slang, or street English 2. Formal English, taught in the schools 3. Courtroom English, or Legal English or King's English In slang, if you think something is really cool, you can say it's really hot. Or if good, you can say it's really bad. Foreigners have trouble with this brand of English. In formal English, we have the benefit of partial standardization. We can pretty well communicate with each other, regardless of from which region we come. Legal English is extremely precise. Court battles and even wars have been fought over the meanings of words. In the compendium called "Words and Phrases," the words "to" and "of" each occupy several pages of explanation and footnotes. Every word you use can affect your courtroom rights. Legal usage sometimes means something quite different from formal usage. Compare "resident" in formal English to legal English: "As 'domicile' and 'residence' are usually in the same place, they are frequently used as if they had the same meaning, but they are not identical terms, for a person may have two places of residence, as in the city and country, but only one domicile. Residence means living in a particular locality, but domicile means living in that locality with intent to make it a fixed and permanent home. Residence simply required bodily presence as an inhabitant in a given place, while domicile requires bodily presence in that place and also an intention to make it one's domicile"[7]. When asserting your rights, it is important to identify yourself as one of the People, and that you insist that the court be a court of record[8]. The only laws to which the People are subject are the Common Laws created directly by the People, plus whatever other private and public statutes, codes, rules, and regulations to which the People may voluntarily choose to submit themselves.[9] Admission that you are a citizen becomes a direct admission and agreement that you are subject to the whim of the legislature and the [in]discretion of the judge. The bottom line: Government is having a heyday with gun control and many other issues. The founding fathers understood the very nature of government, and designed a system to maximize our protection. But, Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Admitting U.S. citizenship by misusing language defeats our ability to retain our rights as People in the courts. To legally keep your guns, you must identify yourself as "one of the People as contemplated in the Preamble of the Constitution for the United States of America," and you must keep your case in a court of record. Anything else hands the government carte blanch authority limited only by the degree of political risk the government wishes to take. NOTES: [1] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/pvc.htm [2] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm [3] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/pvcright.htm [4] http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/constitution/conmain.html [5] Constitution for the United States of America, Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 17 [6] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/language.htm [7] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/resident.htm [8] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/courtrec.htm [9] http://www.chrononhotonthologos.com/lawnotes/sovreign.htm Copyright July 9, 2000 William R. Thornton mailto: x@he.net Nonexclusive permission to republish is granted.