Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 13:45:18 -0400
To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
Subject: Dennis Walker on perceived safety that turns us into subjects
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

[Note from Matthew Gaylor: I've known Dennis Walker for many years. 
Dennis serves on the central committee of the Republican Party of 
Franklin Co, Columbus, Ohio.  Dennis was selected as The Citizens 
Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Grass Roots Activist of 
the Year Award recipient for 2001. See: http://www.ccrkba.org .]

To: freematt@coil.com
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 19:22:26 -0700
Subject: The Fourth Amendment
From: "2nd. Amend" <d-walker@juno.com>

Amendment IV.

  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, 
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and 
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but 
upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and 
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized."

  Is America dead, or just dying a slow death in the aftermath 
of the heinous attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 
September 11, 2001?  Is freedom to die a long, slow incremental death 
because people are scared?  Or can the American people stand up to 
the ineffectual security measures being imposed on us?

  Most of the new security imposed at airports are laughable at 
best.  Having spoken with a security expert at the recent Gun Rights 
Policy Conference, he said the new security procedures were a joke. 
Others that flew said they really weren't searched.  One attendee had 
to surrender his butane lighter but was allowed to take pens on with 
him.

  There is increased security at federal buildings and the post 
office, which brings me to the crux of this missive.  Last week I 
took a mailing over to the Main Post Office in Columbus, Ohio.  It 
was an issue of the PROponent newsletter.  In preparing the mailing, 
I made a mistake which was caught by the alert postal employees.  The 
post office called on Thursday morning and said I had to come in and 
correct the mistakes.  I said I would be in Monday as I was going out 
of town.  They said ok.

  When going over to the post office to get mailing trays, I 
had to tell a young uniformed security guard why I was going into the 
bulk mail area.  No big problem.  When the mail was taken over, the 
driver was asked for his driver's license.  A bit intrusive, but 
bearable.

  On Tuesday afternoon when I pulled up to the stop sign, a 
young woman said she had to check the trunk of my van.  I tried to 
say I was only going in to correct my mailing.  She walked around the 
back of my van and tried the doors.  They were locked.  She came back 
to the driver's window and told me she had to search the back of the 
vehicle.  I asked why and she said security.  I replied no thank you 
and left.

  I called the lady at the post office and told her we had a 
problem in that I couldn't get into the post office.  She asked why 
and I said they wanted to search my vehicle and I refused.  She said 
something about security in a federal building.  I replied that they 
had no search warrant and that they weren't going to search my 
vehicle.  How was I to correct my mailing.  She said I had to have my 
vehicle searched.  I replied that was unacceptable.

  For those of you who know me, I was calm, polite and 
respectful.  She said she would have her supervisor call me about the 
problem.  I thanked her and hung up.  About ten minutes later, her 
supervisor called and we went through the same conversation again. 
It ended up with her saying she would have the Postal Inspectors call 
me.  I thanked her and hung up.

  After another ten minutes, the supervisor called me back and 
said when I pulled up to the search point, I was to tell the security 
person to call her and she would come out and verify who I was.  I 
again thanked her and hung up.

  Tomorrow morning I will see what happens.  And yes, the van 
will be sanitized.

  If we allow ourselves to submit to incidents such as this, 
then the terrorists have won and America loses.  The person wanting 
to search my vehicle had no police powers that I could see.  She wore 
no firearm.  Nor did she have probable cause or a warrant.  Nor did 
she demand a full vehicle search which would have included looking 
under the vehicle with mirrors and looking under the hood.  Nor was 
there a bomb sniffing dog available.

  Yes, we had a terrible atrocity committed in New York 
City and Washington, D.C. on September 11th, but to succumb to any 
infringement of our Bill of Rights will allow the terrorists to win. 
They will have forced Americans to surrender precious freedoms in 
exchange for perceived safety.  Perceived safety that does absolutely 
nothing to protect us from terrorists.  Perceived safety that turns 
us into subjects.

Dennis Walker
NATO Doctrine in defense of the Second Amendment
<http://www.peoplesrights.org>
Peoples Rights Organization is Ohio's most active grassroots
group in the fields of Education, Legislation and Litigation.


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