HR 347, a bill that only Assad could like.
If you are part of an Occupy Wall Street demonstration and you block access to a building or grounds where the President so much as intends to visit, you can be fined and imprisoned for 10 years. It also pertains not just to the President but to any person whom the Secret Service is authorized to protect and who has not specifically declined protection. (You can be jailed if Obama, Clinton's daughter or--within 120 days of November--Romney, Santorum, or Gingrich are visiting or intend to visit; but not Ron Paul as he has declined SS protection.) One section that was deleted is that requiring that prosecution be done in the Federal court where the offense took place. This means that the gov't can now take you to Gitmo if it so pleases. Are you starting to see how tyranny is taking a hold on our society thanks to the "constitutional" scholar we call our President.
The other deleted section by its deletion, implies that this law can, by default, supersede any state or local law. If there is a local law fining you $50 for trespassing, the feds can say, "oh no, this guy'll get one to 10 years under HR. 347).
At first, I thought it was a new bill and one which, given President Obama's record (NDAA, Gitmo, killing of U.S. citizens), needed to be addressed quickly; however, the bill, it turns out, dates back to the early 70's and possibly earlier. It has gone through numerous iterations see http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752 but what is most telling is that with each change, the law kept getting broader. This trend towards despotism is troubling. The most recent sponsor of the latest changes, Rep. Rooney of Florida, says that the changes do not affect the rights of the U.S. citizen. We may never know because an activist removed from a demonstration here and there under this law will hardly be noticed. Mr. Rooney goes on to say that it will make the job of Secret Service easier. Yes, I agree, and the German Gestapo would have liked it too! The easier part that he alludes to is possibly the fact that the S.S. does not need to contend with local laws as they did in the past--now, big brother gives them near carte blanche powers to make their jobs easier at our expense. And, to boot, everyone in government benefits because, now, no disruptions of the "essential" work of Congress will be tolerated.
I don't have objections to the law as it existed before. Certainly, if you jump over a cordoned area, a fine seems appropriate. But what I don't really understand is why section 1752 was even necessary. I mean, you cordon off an area and arrest those who trespass and take them in for questioning or you fine them.
What is it with the "a special event of national significance" which might possibly include the Superbowl? and why is it so important to prevent disruption under the guise of protecting a president? If you carry a pocket knife while jumping a cordoned area, you face 10 years in jail? Short of willful violence, that 10 year imprisonment limit seems draconian.
The biggest problem I see is that in their attempt to make their jobs easier, the S.S. may do just that and step on our rights willy-nilly just because our cowardly Congress--possibly afraid of the Occupy movement--has given them carte blanche. I'm hoping against hope that the tyrannical aspects of the law are all in my imagination.
Mr. Rooney from the police state known as Florida, has seen fit to ruin our right to assemble. I applaud Mr.Amash and Mr. Broun for voting 'nay' on the bill and to Mr. Paul who abstained.
The text is pasted here but you can view the official gov't version here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-347
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011’.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS.
Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds ‘
(a) Whoever-- ‘
(1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; ‘
(2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; ‘
(3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; or ‘
(4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds; or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). ‘
(b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is-- ‘
(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if-- ‘
(A) the person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or ‘
(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and ‘
(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case. ‘
(c) In this section-- ‘
(1) the term ‘restricted buildings or grounds’ means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area-- ‘
(A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds; ‘
(B) of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting; or ‘
(C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance; and ‘
(2) the term ‘other person protected by the Secret Service’ means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title or by Presidential memorandum, when such person has not declined such protection.’. Calendar No. 235 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 347 AN ACT To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code. November 17, 2011 Reported with an amendment
Aside from structural changes, the requirement for prosecution at a federal district court having jurisdiction was removed. The removal of the word 'willfully' may not be important as the word 'intent' was there and 'willfully' was probably viewed as redundant but 'willfully' was removed from two of the sections that had it in the earlier version.
This deleted part may be important: "None of the laws of the United States or of the several States and the District of Columbia shall be superseded by this section"
As is this deleted section: "Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United States attorney in the Federal district court having jurisdiction of the place where the offense occurred."
This is the original version of the bill that was already on the books before Mr. Rooney found it insufficiently tyrannical :
The other deleted section by its deletion, implies that this law can, by default, supersede any state or local law. If there is a local law fining you $50 for trespassing, the feds can say, "oh no, this guy'll get one to 10 years under HR. 347).
At first, I thought it was a new bill and one which, given President Obama's record (NDAA, Gitmo, killing of U.S. citizens), needed to be addressed quickly; however, the bill, it turns out, dates back to the early 70's and possibly earlier. It has gone through numerous iterations see http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1752 but what is most telling is that with each change, the law kept getting broader. This trend towards despotism is troubling. The most recent sponsor of the latest changes, Rep. Rooney of Florida, says that the changes do not affect the rights of the U.S. citizen. We may never know because an activist removed from a demonstration here and there under this law will hardly be noticed. Mr. Rooney goes on to say that it will make the job of Secret Service easier. Yes, I agree, and the German Gestapo would have liked it too! The easier part that he alludes to is possibly the fact that the S.S. does not need to contend with local laws as they did in the past--now, big brother gives them near carte blanche powers to make their jobs easier at our expense. And, to boot, everyone in government benefits because, now, no disruptions of the "essential" work of Congress will be tolerated.
I don't have objections to the law as it existed before. Certainly, if you jump over a cordoned area, a fine seems appropriate. But what I don't really understand is why section 1752 was even necessary. I mean, you cordon off an area and arrest those who trespass and take them in for questioning or you fine them.
What is it with the "a special event of national significance" which might possibly include the Superbowl? and why is it so important to prevent disruption under the guise of protecting a president? If you carry a pocket knife while jumping a cordoned area, you face 10 years in jail? Short of willful violence, that 10 year imprisonment limit seems draconian.
The biggest problem I see is that in their attempt to make their jobs easier, the S.S. may do just that and step on our rights willy-nilly just because our cowardly Congress--possibly afraid of the Occupy movement--has given them carte blanche. I'm hoping against hope that the tyrannical aspects of the law are all in my imagination.
Mr. Rooney from the police state known as Florida, has seen fit to ruin our right to assemble. I applaud Mr.Amash and Mr. Broun for voting 'nay' on the bill and to Mr. Paul who abstained.
The text is pasted here but you can view the official gov't version here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-347
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011’.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS.
Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds ‘
(a) Whoever-- ‘
(1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so; ‘
(2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions; ‘
(3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; or ‘
(4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds; or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). ‘
(b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is-- ‘
(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both, if-- ‘
(A) the person, during and in relation to the offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or ‘
(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and ‘
(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, in any other case. ‘
(c) In this section-- ‘
(1) the term ‘restricted buildings or grounds’ means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area-- ‘
(A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice President’s official residence or its grounds; ‘
(B) of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting; or ‘
(C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance; and ‘
(2) the term ‘other person protected by the Secret Service’ means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this title or by Presidential memorandum, when such person has not declined such protection.’. Calendar No. 235 112th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 347 AN ACT To correct and simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, United States Code. November 17, 2011 Reported with an amendment
Aside from structural changes, the requirement for prosecution at a federal district court having jurisdiction was removed. The removal of the word 'willfully' may not be important as the word 'intent' was there and 'willfully' was probably viewed as redundant but 'willfully' was removed from two of the sections that had it in the earlier version.
This deleted part may be important: "None of the laws of the United States or of the several States and the District of Columbia shall be superseded by this section"
As is this deleted section: "Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United States attorney in the Federal district court having jurisdiction of the place where the offense occurred."
This is the original version of the bill that was already on the books before Mr. Rooney found it insufficiently tyrannical :
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person or group of persons—
(1) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting;F
(2) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance;
(3) willfully, knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions, to engage in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any building or grounds described in paragraph (1) or (2) when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions;
(b) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be punishable by—
(c) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies to commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United States attorney in the Federal district court having jurisdiction of the place where the offense occurred.
(d) None of the laws of the United States or of the several States and the District of Columbia shall be superseded by this section.
(e) As used in this section, the term “other person protected by the Secret Service” means any person whom the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under section3056 of this title when such person has not declined such protection.
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