First off, let me say hello to all and say that I am very happy to be here! It's nice to find a place full of intelligent, caring and sharing people out to help one another. I look forward to getting to know you all better in our future correspondences but at the moment I've got a pressing issue:
The U.S. Census Bureau. I don't know if you've all covered this issue already but in researching previous posts I was unable to find anything. So my issue stems first and foremost from my deep seeded feelings that the questions on the census are unnecessary and seem to cross the line concerning the counting of individuals. So I did some research and discovered that others felt the same and were refusing to fill out anything more than the number of people in their households citing Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. Many agreed that name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure had nothing to do with apportioning direct taxes or determining the number of representatives in the House of Representatives. So when two individuals from the Census Bureau came to ask me to fill out the census I politely as possible informed them of my decision, citing the above and telling them that two people lived in the household, that that was all the information I was willing to give and that if they wanted more info to please come back with a warrant.
Of course that's not good enough for the Census and they repeatedly attempt to contact us - I live with my wife. I figured since this seems to be a place with intelligent minds focused on high ideals it would be a great place to broach the subject of individual rights concerning the census and the Constitution. I would love to hear your comments and appreciate any advice you may have on the most law-abiding and appropriate way to get them off my back!
Warmest greetings to you all!
Francis
I filled out the form completely as I felt there was nothing on it that the government didn't already know about me and my household. They asked no personal questions about income or property or other things which I was not willing to provide so I filled it out and returned it.
If they had been prying into my personal life, then I would have chosen to not respond to those questions. If you find there are questions you choose not to respond to, say so and submit it without those answers.
Somebody posted a very informative post on this subject a while back which gave a link to this guy's website that knew so much about the law, and how to lawfully disregard some current "unlawful" statutes. Does anybody remember who posted it, or the guy and/or website I am talking about???
First may I say Hello and Welcome to the G-Spot, Francis.
I, also, filled out the census with only the number of people living in my household. One. I had looked at some of the same information as you and came to the conclusion that it was time to take a stand as to what I will acquiesce to from here on out. Enough is enough. The government has more than enough information on everyone. Most of the information they requested....is a matter of public record anyway.
A few days later I had a census worker park sideways in my driveway, blocking all the cars in my driveway. She pounded forcefully on the door repeatedly before I could open it up. Her attitude was not the nicest in my opinion. When I explained that the only information that I would give to them was the number living in my house - the only information that the census is legally allowed to gather - She said, "I will mark down here that you refused to answer the census. And just be aware that someone else will be visiting you."
Well, I haven't had anyone else show up yet. I will be watching this post, though, to see what information comes up. I am tired of being herded.
Mary
Thank you all for your comments. I, too, Berry, thought of simply filling out the form and being done with it for who wants to deal with problems from the government? But the more I thought about it the more it rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed a transgression against the Constitution and what our founding fathers had in mind when they penned it. And if we let them slide on this, if we don't stand up and tell them that they're stepping over the line, where will it end and how far will they go next time? I know we must choose our battles wisely and that this one may not seem worthy of a second thought to many but for me it seemed like the first inch in what could very easily turn into miles if we're not careful. Besides, why give 'em a free pass when considering everything else that is going on?
Chris I would love to read that post if you remember it or perhaps get tipped to who wrote it. And Mary (I will call you Mary if that's alright:) thank you for sharing your feelings as well. I too had a rude awakening when I opened the door one day. They sent two very persistent and intimidating men to my door and it took all I had to send them away. They wouldn't take no for an answer and that's when I finally had to say, "If you want more come back with a warrant." I must say parking sideways in your driveway takes things up another notch doesn't it? Not the most respectful approach.
Well, I'll do a little web surfing to see what else I can find. Thank you all again for your input.
Francis
Hi Francis-
Welcome to the Gathering spot! I also only answered question 1 - how many live in the household. I'm particularly offended that they still want to categorize people acording to race and ethnic background - if they need identifying features, they could just ask for hair and eye color, height and weight. I guess I've been lucky - so far no unpleasant visits from the census bureau.
Chris- I'm not sure if you are talking about a post I made - here's a reposting of Robert Menard's website. He is a Canadian citizen who has made a real life for himself protesting government authority and teaching others how to do so as well. Many of the priciples he speaks of apply to the US and all the other British empire states (Austrailia, New Zealand).
http://thinkfree.ca/
Perfect Wendy, thank you... Out of curiosity, do you remember which forum post it was that you introduced him?