There has to be some basis for people claiming that the laws of the land do not apply to them, but for the life of me, I can’t begin to understand it.
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Sovereign Citizenship is more of a rag-bag collection of related ideas than a cohesive “movement”.
What ties SC together is the idea that many federal laws, rules, and regulations are invalid, and that ordinary people do not have to obey or follow them.
Some of the arguments associated with SC include:
* The Constitution was never properly ratified or agreed, and therefore the Articles of Confederation (which provided for far more limited federal power) are the real “Constitution”.
* You the individual are different from the “You” on government forms. SCs will make claims about capital letters and abbreviations to argue that the JOHN Q SMITH listed on a tax form is an entirely different entity to John Quincy Smith the flesh-and-blood human being. All of the rules and laws apply to this ‘other’ JOHN Q SMITH, whoever he is…..
* Claiming that courts are invalid or illegal if the flag is not displayed a particular way or if certain words or actions occur. Therefore any ruling they make cannot be enforced.
* Using extreme semantics and word games to get around laws. The classic one is them protesting about ‘free travel’ at traffic stops. They claim they are not ‘driving’ but ‘travelling’, and that ‘free’ means they do not need to pay for licenses and registration.
* If they did not agree to be bound by a law, it should not apply to them. They make Granpa Simpson type “Dear Mr President, I do not agree to be taxed. PS I am not a crackpot” statements and claims thinking it allows them to get around laws.
* Claiming they never agreed to be a citizen, or that citizenship doe not automatically bind you to the laws of that country, or claiming they have some weird status where they get all the benefits of being a citizen but none of the responsibilities.
Sovereign Citizenship seems to be a weird combination of selfish assholes, genuinely ignorant people who’ve been duped, frustrated/angry political types who feel ‘let down’ or abandoned by the system, and straight up nutters.
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