The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officer Association (CSPOA) is dedicated to the proposition that all men and women are created equal. We believe that defending liberty is the duty of all local officials and that keeping our oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution is the most important thing any sheriff or peace officer can do for the people they work for. Therefore, the CSPOA would like your honest input as to how you feel about these freedom and American principles. Please answer the questions as best as you can. If you don't like the possible answers provided, please feel free to put your own. Otherwise, please circle the answer which most accurately reflects how you honestly feel about each question.
Thank you so much for your time.
If the Federal Government or the United Nations were to implement a policy of door to door gun confiscation in your jurisdiction, what would you do?
A. Help them confiscate the guns.
B. Interpose myself on behalf of the people to protect their right to keep and bear arms.
C. Not interfere one way or the other. A sheriff has no authority to stop the Federal Government from doing anything.
D. I don't worry about such a scenario as this would never happen in America.
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Do you believe that the IRS conducting random audits on innocent citizens is a proper and constitutional procedure?
A. No. No other law enforcement agency in this country is allowed to conduct random audits to reduce crime or detect crime. As much as the IRS might like to think they deserve an exception to the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, no such exemption exists and they should follow the rule of law just like everyone else.
B. Yes. How else could they catch tax cheats?
C. It does not matter what I think. The IRS tactics are something for the courts to determine.
D. The IRS is out of control, but there's nothing we can do about it.
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If you knew an agency of the Federal Government was abusing citizens in your county, would you...?
A. Do everything in your power to stop it.
B. Tell your constituent to hire a good lawyer.
C. Investigate the abusing agent's behavior and handle the matter just like any other complaint.
D. Contact the agency head and ask that the abusing agent be disciplined.
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4) Should the Federal Government come into your county and serve warrants and make arrests without informing you first of their intentions?
A. I would prefer that they notify the Sheriff''s Office before doing so, but they don't
have to.
B. They should absolutely notify our office before doing anything in my county/parish.
Doing so is safer for the Federal officers and safer for the citizens, as well.
I believe there should be a policy established by all sheriffs to require a “notify first” policy among all federal and state agencies.
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Jefferson warned us that Washington DC would at times become “venal and oppressive.” If this were to happen today; who would the people in your county/parish be able to turn to for peace,safety, and protection?
A. The President and Congress
B. The Governor and State Legislature
C. The Courts and Judges
D. The Sheriff and other local officials.
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The most important thing I can do as Sheriff is:
A. Keep my oath to the people to protect their constitutional rights.
B. Reduce the crime rate within my jurisdiction.
C. Stop drug trafficking and drug abuse.
D. Work with all Federal, State, and local agencies to combat crime and keep the peace.
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On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, AL for failing to give her seat to a white man. Knowing what we know now about equality and justice, if you were called back in time as the responding officer to this call, what would you have done?
A. I would have to arrest her. It's not my job to pick and choose which laws to enforce. If it's on the books, I will enforce the law.
B. All laws must be enforced. The police don't make the laws, it is not for us to judge. Mrs. Parks would have to seek justice in the courts.
C. The police are not robots for the legislatures. I would never enforce such a stupid law. I would have sat down next to Mrs. Parks, would have shaken her hand, and made sure she got home safely and given her home extra patrol throughout the night.
D. I would have pretended to arrest her and then taken her home instead.
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If Federal and State bureaucracies are raiding farmers and destroying their dairy products and businesses for merely distributing raw milk and cheese, what would you do about it?
A. There is nothing I could do. It's not my job to protect the people from the regulations of other agencies.
B. The right farmers have to run their businesses as they see fit is more important than regulations and rules. As long as they have not hurt anyone then I will stand with all farmers and will indeed protect their lands and businesses, from all threats.
C. Safety regulations exist to protect us all from potential harm. The farmers in my county/parish are not exempted in any way and must comply just like everybody else. I will assist in such raids if asked to do so.
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According to the principles of our Constitutional Republic; who is responsible for keeping the Federal Government in check?
A. Only the Federal Government is allowed to monitor itself and provide the necessary checks and balances on its own authority.
B. The President and the U S Supreme Court are charged with keeping Federal regulations from going too far. This system has worked for over 200 years and it's working now.
C. Government regulations have gone too far, but each citizen has means available to appeal for relief when such regulations become abusive. Therefore, each citizen is his/her own check and balance on overreaching government.
D. Madison said the people can safely rely on the disposition of local legislators to erect barriers against the encroachments of the Federal Government. Therefore, it is the duty of all States to keep the Federal Government in check. The Sheriff is absolutely an integral part of maintaining the balance of power between the States and Federal Government.
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In 1994, seven sheriffs from across the USA filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government to stop the forced commandeering of their offices in order to comply with the Brady bill. Two of these sheriffs ended up at the U S Supreme Court (Mack/Printz v US) and won a landmark decision based on States' Rights. If you had been sheriff at that time, what would you have done?
A. I was a sheriff then and I wish I had joined with these sheriffs to help keep the Federal Government off our backs.
B. I was not a sheriff then, but I would have proudly joined these courageous sheriffs in standing to protect the autonomy of all sheriffs nationwide.
C. These sheriffs had no right to file such a suit and should have stuck to their own business in their own counties and leave national politics to Senators and Representatives.
D. If Congress passes a law that requires the help of sheriffs, then that is exactly what we should do.
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Congress has just recently passed nationalized healthcare. It appears that all citizens will be required by “law” to participate in this federal healthcare regulation. If citizens in your jurisdiction refuse to accept or use this federal program and you are ordered to cite or arrest such “troublemakers,” what will you do?
A. Warn my citizens ahead of time to make sure they all use federal healthcare to prevent any of them from going to jail for failure to comply.
B. Help federal agents serve warrants on anyone and everyone who might be found violating the healthcare laws in my county/parish.
C. I will serve any court order and enforce all laws, regardless of my personal feelings about such laws.
D. I will never enforce any such law or serve any warrants from any court to arrest citizens for refusing to participate in any federal program; not for healthcare or anything else. In fact, I will stand next to my constituents and put myself on the line to protect them from such abuse.
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Last and most importantly, Article 6 of the U S Constitution requires each public official to swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution. What is it that you do to keep this oath?
A. I keep informed of all case-law and any Supreme Court decisions that specifically deal with law enforcement and I develop training and policies accordingly.
B. I stay very close to the County Attorney and follow his legal advice explicitly.
C. I keep my oath by doing those things that are statutorily required for sheriffs of my state to do. I enforce the laws as required with fairness and honesty.
D. I have read the Constitution and have studied what the Framers of America intended. I have studied the Declaration of Independence and I know what the purpose of all government is. I will only enforce laws that coincide with the Constitution. I take my oath seriously and I will not violate it for anyone.
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Thank you so much for your responses.
The county sheriffs are key to taking back our Republics! Please support these brave oath keepers.
“That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact to which the states are parties;...and that in case of a deliberate, palpable and dangerous exercise of other powers not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the pro[gress] of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.”
Source: The Virginia Resolution, adopted by the Virginia Senate on December 24, 1798, as a protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts passed by Congress. It was authored by James Madison, in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson, who authored a set of resolutions for Kentucky.
“The way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, law, police, and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.” – Thomas Jefferson
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