An Open Letter to the Men and Women of the New York State Police. The Deadline Approaches. What do you intend to do?

Note to my readers: This letter to the New York State Police cannot be delivered via the same way as the emails I sent to the Connecticut state troopers. Thus, I will have to count on your ability to download this and send it to those folks in the NYSP that you think are deserving. This is why I have footnoted the supporting documents rather than merely linking them.-- Mike, III

17 February 2014

To the men and women of the New York State Police:

Deadline, noun:

1. the latest time or date by which something should be completed. "The deadline for submissions is February 5th." Synonyms: time limit, limit, finishing date, target date, cutoff point

2. historical: a line drawn around a prison beyond which prisoners were liable to be shot.

The deadline for registration of semi-automatic rifles of military utility under the the wildly-misnamed "SAFE Act" is 15 April.(1) With this law, Governor Cuomo and the politicians of your state have written a check with their pens that they expect you to cash in blood. This blood could either be that of yourselves or that of their intended victims -- the heretofore law-abiding firearms owners of your state -- but almost certainly both. Apparently it is of supreme indifference to Cuomo and Company whose blood is spilled or how much, as long as you, the men and women of the New York State Police, work THEIR will upon the people of New York. I am writing you today to remind you that the deadline approaches and to caution you that it doesn't have to be this way.

A couple of days ago I wrote a similar open letter to the men and women of the Connecticut State Police, entitled, "You are NOT the enemy (UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO BE.)"(2) It was so well received that many of my New York readers asked me to write one in a similar vein to you. As New Yorkers, I was informed, you appreciate being told the truth, directly, unvarnished and without much preamble, so I will try to make this letter as short as possible. Still, some introduction is in order since I'm certain most of you have never heard of me, nor is there any particular reason why you should.

My name is Mike Vanderboegh. I am one of the citizen journalists who -- along with my friend David Codrea(3) -- first broke the story of the Fast and Furious scandal on the Internet and who arranged the contacts between the ATF whistleblowers and investigators from the United States Senate, as well as media folks such as Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News. I have been a Second Amendment activist for more than 20 years and the Three Percent movement that I founded has been denounced on the national stage by that paragon of moral virtue, Bill Clinton. Three Percenters are uncompromising firearm owners who have stated very plainly for years that we will obey no further encroachments on our Second Amendment rights. Some of you, if you read this letter carelessly, may feel that it is a threat. It is not. Three Percenters also believe that to take the first shot in a conflict over principle is to surrender the moral high ground to the enemy. We condemn so-called collateral damage and terrorism such as that represented by the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Waco massacre. We are very aware that if you seek to defeat evil it is vital not to become the evil you claim to oppose. Thus, though this letter is certainly intended to deal with an uncomfortable subject, it is not a threat to anyone. However, it is important for everyone to understand that while we promise not to take the first shot over principle, we make no such promise if attacked, whether by common criminals or by the designated representatives of a criminal government grown arrogant and tyrannical and acting out an unconstitutional agenda under color of law. If we have any model, it is that of the Founding generation. The threat to public order and safety, unfortunately, comes from the current leaders of your state government who unthinkingly determined to victimize hitherto law-abiding citizens with a tyrannical law. They are the ones who first promised violence on the part of the state if your citizens did not comply with their unconstitutional diktat. Now, having made the threat (and placed the bet that you folks of the New York State Police will meekly and obediently carry it out) they can hardly complain that others take them seriously and try by every means, including this letter, to avoid conflict.

Like Connecticut, I have been informed that New York state authorities have opened a criminal investigation of me. This began when I visited your state the day after I gave a speech on the steps of the Connecticut state capitol last April entitled "Defy. Resist. Evade. Smuggle." (4) Since that time, my friends and I have been regularly smuggling 20- and 30-round standard capacity rifle magazines into Connecticut, Maryland, Colorado and yes, New York. I have further irritated Governor Cuomo by sending him a sample magazine in my "Toys for Totalitarians" program. (5)

But as amusing as the Toys for Totalitarians program was, the issue is deadly serious. Cuomo is a typical politician -- an empty, expensive suit that is merely wrapping paper for an insatiable appetite for other people's liberty, property and control of their lives. But his appetites have moved us all, but especially you in New York state law enforcement, into a very dangerous undiscovered country. New York, like Connecticut, Maryland and Colorado, is now in a state of cold civil war, one that can flash to bloody conflict in an instant if someone, anyone, does something stupid. So please pay attention, for Cuomo and Co. have put all your asses on the line and are counting on your supine obedience to the enforcement of their unconstitutional diktat.

In my speech in Connecticut, I reminded my listeners:

"An unconstitutional law is void." It has no effect. So says American Jurisprudence, the standard legal text. And that's been upheld by centuries of American law. An unconstitutional law is VOID. Now that is certainly true. But the tricky part is how do we make that point when the local, state and federal executive and legislative branches as well as the courts are in the hands of the domestic enemies of the Constitution. . .

Before this year no one thought that other firearms and related items would ever be banned -- but they were, they have been. No one thought that the authorities of your state would pass laws making criminals out of the previously law-abiding -- but they did. If they catch you violating their unconstitutional laws, they will -- when they please -- send armed men to work their will upon you. And people -- innocent of any crime save the one these tyrants created -- will die resisting them.

You begin to see, perhaps, how you fit into this. YOU are the "armed men" that Cuomo and Company will send "to work their will" upon the previously law-abiding. In other words, this law takes men and women who are your natural allies in support of legitimate law enforcement and makes enemies of the state of them, and a bully boy political policeman of you. So you all have a very real stake in what happens next. And may I mention that you all took an oath? (6) "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of . . ." Remember THAT oath?

Do you recall Vision, Values and Mission of the New York State Police? (7)

To prevent crime and enforce the law: To protect people and property. . .

To render general assistance: To render assistance to all in need and protect citizens and their property from harm. . .

To promote peace and order: To provide disorder control and security in all types of natural and man-made emergencies. To provide for the safety and security of individuals and groups of citizens in furtherance of their rights, duties and responsibilities.

You took an oath. And the deadline approaches. You've read the headlines. Wikipedia says:

52 of New York's 62 counties have passed official resolutions in direct opposition of the NY SAFE Act; some of these counties have directed their law enforcement officials to not enforce the SAFE Act within their jurisdictions. More than 325 local municipalities throughout upstate New York have also voiced public opposition to the law through village, town and city resolutions calling for repeal. In fact, the public county and municipal opposition to the SAFE Act is historic in nature. Not since Governor George Clinton took office as New York's first Governor in 1777, has any other law in the state's history garnered the sheer magnitude of official opposition and condemnation as Governor Cuomo's SAFE Act. (8)

And this from last month:

A federal court judge Dec. 31 struck down parts of New York Secure Ammunition Firearm Act of 2013, including seven-round ammunition limitation yet upholds majority of legislation deciding the law withstands constitutional scrutiny.

“Western district court in Buffalo was the first step on the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said Thomas H. King, president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association first-named plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that questions the constitutionality of New York’s anti-gun SAFE Act. . .

The court of appeals will assign briefing dates for the two sides to submit their briefs and decide whether they will hear oral argument, he said. “It will be several months to up-to-a year before a court of appeals decision and another year before it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court.” (9)

And the deadline approaches.

Connecticut's deadline has already come and gone and the Hartford Courant tells us "Untold Thousands Flout Gun Registration Law." (10) As near as can be determined, fewer than 15 percent of Connecticut firearm owners have complied with the registration demand. FIFTEEN PERCENT. What does that tell you?

Let's run some numbers, shall we? Connecticut had a population in 2012 of 3.59 million. New York state? 19.57 million. The size of the Connecticut state police? 1,248 troopers or 1 trooper for every 2,877 people. New York? 4,600 troopers or 1 trooper for every 4,254 people. Expressed as a percentage of population, New York State Troopers represent .000236. Just to be clear, that's POINT zero zero zero two three six. Thus, your ability to enforce the law is absolutely dependent upon the consent of the governed.

Now let's assume for purposes of argument that New York firearm owners are every bit as stubborn as Connecticut's. That is, you're only going to get 15% compliance, which puts the other 85% in violation of the law come 15 April. Some of those will wait for you to show up at their door and then turn them over meekly. Some won't. Some will die first. And not to put too fine a point on it, but most people who are willing to die for their principles are willing to kill in righteous defense of them as well.

The question is, as the deadline approaches, what do you intend to do? Governor Cuomo expects that you will work his will upon these people at the muzzle of your state-issued firearm. But some percentage of a determined minority -- let's use the three percent figure that harkens back to the Revolution -- will understand that you are there to force them to submit or to kill them if they resist and they, having drawn the correct conclusion, will kill you instead in what they perceive to be righteous self-defense. THEY. WILL. KILL. YOU. Depend upon it. And then reflect back on the numbers. Even if it is only three percent as it was during the Revolution, they've still got you surrounded. Are you starting to feel like a trooper of the 7th Cavalry as you follow Cuomo/Custer down into the valley of the Little Big Horn? You should.Heck, Custer's men faced better odds in 1876 than you do at this moment.

Now, if any of Cuomo's intended victims follow Bill Clinton's rules of engagement and utilize the principles of 4th Generation Warfare, after the first shots are fired by your raid parties, they will not be home when you come to call. (11) These people will be targeting, according to the 4GW that many of them learned while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war makers who sent you. This gets back to the Three Percent principle "when democracy turns to tyranny, the armed citizenry still gets to vote." One ballot, or bullet, at a time. (11)

This is all hypothetical, of course, based upon the tyrants' appetites for these hitherto law-abiding citizens' liberty, property and lives as well as upon your own willingness to enforce their unconstitutional diktat.

But the deadline approaches.

And here's where you can do something about it. As I told the Connecticut State Police, the first thing you have to realize is that the people you will be targeting do not view you as the enemy. Indeed, you are NOT their enemy, unless you choose to be one.

Again, an unconstitutional law is null and void. Of course you may if you like cling to the slim fact that a single black-robed bandit has ruled the Intolerable Act as largely constitutional, but that will not matter to those three percent of the resistors -- your fellow citizens -- whom you target. They no longer expect a fair trial in your state in any case, which leaves them, if they wish to defend their liberty, property and lives, only the recourse of an unfair firefight. So to cite a single lower court judge's ruling at the point of a state-issued firearm to such people is, well, betting your life on a very slender reed.

Thus, my kindly advice to all of you of the New York State Police is to not go down that road. You are not the enemy of the people of New York, not yet. The politicians who jammed this law down the peoples' throats are plainly flummoxed by the resistance it has engendered. In the absence of a definitive U.S. Supreme Court decision -- which may take YEARS -- do you really want to risk not being able to draw your pension over some politician's insatiable appetite for power?

There are many ways you can refuse to get caught up in this. Passive resistance, looking the other way, up to and including outright refusal to execute what is a tyrannical law that a higher court may yet find unconstitutional and therefore null and void. Do you really want to have to kill someone enforcing THAT? Just because you were ordered to do so? After Nuremberg, that defense no longer obtains. (You may say, "Well, I'm just a secretary, a clerk, you can't blame me for anything." Kindly recall from Nuremberg one other lesson: raid parties cannot break down doors unless someone like you prepares the list in advance. In fact, you have at your keyboard and in your databases more raw, naked power than any kick-in-the-door trooper. And with that power comes moral responsibility. Adolf Eichmann didn't personally kill anyone. But he darn sure made up the lists and saw to it that trains ran on time. When the first New York citizen (or, God forbid, his family) is killed as a result of your list-making, do you think that because you didn't pull the trigger that gives you a moral pass?)

So I call on you all, in your own best interest and that of your state, to refuse to enforce this unconstitutional law. There are a number of Three Percenters within the New York state government, especially its law enforcement arms. I know that there have been many discussions around water-coolers and off state premises about the dangers that this puts NY law enforcement officers in and what officers should do if ordered to execute raids on the previously law-abiding.

You have it within your power to refuse to initiate hostilities in an American civil war that would, by its very nature, be ghastly beyond belief and would unleash hatreds and passions that would take generations to get over, if then.

Please, I beg you to understand, you are not the enemy, you are not an occupying force -- unless you choose to violate the oath that each of you swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. For their part, the men and women who will be targeted by your raids took an identical oath. Can you think of anything more tragic than brother killing brother over some politician's tyrannical appetite?

I can't. The future -- yours, mine, our children's, that of the citizens of New York and indeed of the entire country -- is in YOUR hands.

And the deadline approaches.

At the very least, by your refusal you can give the courts time to work before proceeding into an unnecessary civil war against your own friends and neighbors on the orders of a self-anointed elite who frankly don't give a shit about you, your life, your future or that of your family. They wouldn't pass these laws if they thought that they would have to risk the potential bullet that their actions have put you in the path of. They count on you to take that bullet, in service of their power and their lies. Fool them. Just say no to tyranny. You are not the enemy. Don't act like one.

Again, 15 April approaches. Ironically enough that is income tax day. And it is only four days shy of the anniversaries of Lexington and Concord. The deadline approaches. What do you intend to do?

Sincerely,

Mike Vanderboegh

The alleged leader of a merry band of Three Percenters

PO Box 926

Pinson AL 35126

(1) New York SAFE Gun Act. http://www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/gun-reform

(2) An Open Letter to the Men and Women of the Connecticut State Police: You are NOT the enemy (UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO BE.) http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2014/02/an-open-letter-to-men-and-women-of.html

(3) David Codrea, National Gun Rights Examiner. http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

(4) "Defy. Resist. Evade. Smuggle." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkjLlZu9uno

(5) Torpedo Los! Another Toys for Totalitarians shipment delivered, this time to Andrew Cuomo. http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2013/12/torpedo-los-another-toys-for.html

(6) NY State Employees Oath http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/oath.html

(7) Vision, Values and Mission of the New York State Police https://www.troopers.ny.gov/Introduction/

(8) NY SAFE ACT, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NY_SAFE_Act

(9) New York Gun Owners Defiant Despite Court Setback http://www.humanevents.com/2014/01/03/n-y-gun-owners-defiant-despite-court-setback-safe-act-challenge-goes-on/

(10) Untold Thousands Flout Gun Registration Law http://touch.courant.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79243214/

(11) Tyrants beware. 4th Generation Warfare: How the next civil war will be fought. http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2013/04/tyrants-beware-4th-generation-warfare.html