danielravennest
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- Sep 21, 2018
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There is a thread of logic in the Common Law which can justify such beliefs, if you ignore all practical reality. In the English Common Law, which is the basis for US law, one person cannot bind another to a contract without their permission. The original 13 colonies had elected legislatures, and ratified the US Constitution. So in that case the permission was given by the people to create the United States. But technically they could not bind their heirs or later arrivals who hadn't given consent.Ever since I first heard of these nuts who believe that the national, state, and local governments have no authority over them, I always wondered how long it would take them to move on from justifying white-collar crimes like tax evasion to just straight up murdering each other and claiming impunity.
But consent can take many forms. Many people take oaths of citizenship, or office, or service in the military, which explicitly involve consent to the laws of the US. You implicitly consent to our legal system when you sign a tax return (under penalty of perjury), etc. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't been on government property at some point, such as roads, or availed themselves of some government service. So then it becomes an unfair taking without giving on the part of the "sovereign citizen". If the government has no authority, neither do they have permission to use the government's stuff without paying for it. They should leave.