Indiana to Cops: You're Not Special!

Every once in a while I'm pleasantly surprised by an act of government, with recent examples including Virginia's attempt to nullify the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA and the federal government allowing airports to opt out of using TSA security.  Last week brought another one of these rare surprises, as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill allowing citizens to use deadly force against police officers they believe are entering their home illegally.  Much of the response to the passage of this law has been over-the-top,  if not predictable.From the Evansville Courier & Press:

Groups such as the Fraternal Order of Police and other law enforcement organizations had lobbied against the measure. Rep. Linda Lawson, the No. 2-ranking House Democrat and a former police officer, said it will create "open season on law enforcement."

From Stephen D. Foster, Jr at AddictingInfo.org:

"This law is basically a loophole for citizens to kill police officers and claim self-defense...and will ultimately lead to the legal murder of police officers who are just trying to do their job".

And so on and so forth.  The anti self-defense crowd is acting as if this bill is handing out hunting licenses for people to go around shooting cops willy nilly with no repercussions.  In reality, the only thing that this bill does is reaffirm what John Locke called the "first law of nature": the right of self-defense.  Self-defense is the only morally justifiable use of force against another human being, and it is generally accepted in today's society that people do have the right to defend themselves against violence initiated by others.The right to defend oneself is consistent for all people and applies to all equally.  It's a fairly simple concept that shouldn't require the passage of any sort of special bill to define.  In Indiana however,  the bill was necessary in order to overturn an Indiana State Supreme Court ruling that citizens did not have the right to use deadly force against police officers even if they believed that the officer was illegally attempting to enter their home.  It's good to see a state legislature doing what it's meant to do - standing up for the rights of the people that they are elected to represent, and not giving carte blanche to the state and its' agents to do whatever they please without repercussions.In our society the police have come to be viewed as "above the law".  Police routinely drive well over the speed limit, and everyone just accepts the double standard.  And I suppose when we're just talking about speeding tickets it's not worth getting into a hub-bub about.  But when we begin talking about basic human rights such as the right to defend oneself and one's property, there can be no double standards.  There are many provisions in place for police to lawfully enter one's home.  Police are issued warrants to enter a suspect's home for purposes of search and/or arrest only after they have shown a  judge probable cause for such entry.  If the police show a warrant and are still not permitted entry into a home, only then may they use force to do so.The warrant system was designed to prevent police from abusing their powers and violating the rights of citizens.  The founding fathers deemed it so important that they incorporated it into the 4th Amendment to the Bill of Rights of the Constitution:

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.

This was largely in response to British abuses of writs of assistance, a type of general warrant that the British would grant to customs officers in order to enforce the Navigation Acts, which restricted the use of foreign shipping for trade between the colonists and England.  These writs were non-specific and very easily abused, and became one of the major reasons for the American Revolution.The Bill of Rights  does not grants rights as much as it clearly defines rights that already exist upon one's birth.  The 4th Amendment along with the rest of the Bill of Rights applies to all citizens and all states, and it's correct for the Indiana legislature and Governor Daniels to reaffirm this with the passage of this bill.  The bill is not a "license to kill cops"; rather it is a reminder that the police are beholden to the law as well. They are not special citizens that don't have to follow the same rules as the rest of us.  If the police want to enter a home, they must do so under the pretext of an issued warrant.  Otherwise, that badge and uniform identifying them as armed enforcers of the state in no way makes them any different from any other criminal attempting to break into someone's home.There are many in law enforcement who join for the right reasons - to protect their fellow citizens and enforce the laws of the land (have you heard about those Oathkeepers?)  But who enforces the enforcers?  Unfortunately stories of police completely abusing their powers to the detriment of citizens are becoming more and more commonplace.Last year, a U.S. Marine was shot and killed when a SWAT Team busted down his door and, upon seeing he was holding a gun, shot him 22 times as his wife and son hid in a closet.  The Marine, Jose Guerena Ortiz, was holding the gun because his wife heard a noise and saw a dark-suited man walk by a window. Mr. Ortiz had no way to know these were police officers - the only thing on his mind at that point was protecting his family from intruders. The police did have a warrant they were supposedly executing as part of a drug investigation.  However, they did not walk up to the house and present this warrant and ask to be let in as any reasonable person would do.  Instead, they dressed in all-black and busted in the door in the middle of the night, guns a blazin'.  To this day they have made no arrests related to this investigation nor provided any evidence suggesting Mr. Ortiz was involved with anything illegal.  Predictably, the prosecutor said the shooting was justified and no charges were filed against police.  The state protects the state. Rest assured, if Mr. Ortiz had fired upon one of the officers entering his home and somehow lived to tell about it, he would receive no such protection.Stories like the above are far too commonplace nowadays, and it's important that law enforcement officials be forced to abide by the same laws they are sworn to uphold.  And in an age where the federal government is throwing the Bill of Rights out the window, it's even more important for States and local governments to make sure the rights of everyone are protected equally, regardless of what uniform they wear.  The Indiana "Deadly Force" bill isn't reinventing anything, it's merely reaffirming that police are citizens and beholden to the same laws as the rest of us - they aren't special.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!