On Monday, February 14, 2011, three CPWV officers gave some Valentine’s Day love to our state legislators by spending the day at the Capitol Complex in Charleston and lobbying for Senate Bill 417. S.B. 417 (LINK: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb417%20intr.htm&yr=2011&sesstype=RS&i=417) was introduced earlier in the month by Senator Clark Barnes and would expand political party qualification nine-fold to any statewide office candidate who garnered at least 1% of the vote. Currently an organization of voters only has one (1) chance every four years with one (1) candidate for governor. Additionally, this bill provides a tenth way to qualify the party via voter registration numbers.
Personal Liberty Platform Position Adopted
When America proclaimed that all men are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights, it was a repudiation of the European system of a self-righteous royalty. The people were to assume “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them.” However, people cannot enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness unless they are sovereign and government is their servant. Sovereignty is being “the king of one’s castle,” constrained only by righteous laws harmonious with the directives of the Creator. That is why the Ten Commandments were etched in stone in numerous places including the edifice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The prime directive of all government bodies must be the protection of our ordained unalienable rights where the word unalienable is understood to mean incapable of being subject to the stipulations or modifications of a lien – a manmade statute. Thus, the CPWV espouses that personal liberty encompasses but is not limited to the following ten areas:
1) Freedom to express our opinions: Other than reckless endangerment of the physical well being of others such as falsely yelling fire or inciting a riot, and within the standards of community decency, we are at liberty to espouse our views even if others find them objectionable. And, public officials have no authority to limit this speech to some arbitrary zone.
2) Worshiping without interference: The First Amendment espouses freedom “of religion,” and “the free exercise thereof,” not freedom from religion, and specifically applies only to religious establishments which are churches. Reading or use of words such as “God,” “Lord,” “Creator,” or scripture, which is literature, is not a church to be separated from the state.
3) Political freedoms and freedom of assembly: Our freedom of speech, thought, and civil and private action should be unrestricted as to group size. As long as there is no impediment to normal public traffic, no permits shall be required of us to gather anywhere we please. Voter disenfranchisement is to be vigorously combated through the proper application of election laws, and our government servants are obligated to respond to our petitions in a timely fashion.
4) Keeping and bearing arms without infringement: The founders crafted the Bill of Rights, and in particular the Second Amendment, to protect people from the tyranny of oppressive government. It is ludicrous for that same government to reinterpret the wording of these basic rights so as to limit or change their original meaning as they see fit. “Well regulated” simply means trained, not government controlled. “We the people” are the militia.
5) Private property ownership without annual tax: Recurring taxation of an asset is feudal ownership of it and repugnant to “the pursuit of happiness” (originally worded as “the pursuit of property”). In the past, limited government has functioned just fine with revenues from only tariffs, duties, imposts, and one-time sales taxes on voluntary purchases.
6) Being secure in our affects and not monitored, tracked or traced in our daily movements, communications, and associations: We seek a halt to Homeland Security’s unconstitutional intrusions into citizen’s lives without court order. The Real ID Act has created a defacto national ID and must be rescinded. The Fourth Amendment must be respected and upheld in its entirety.
7) Control over our own bodies: People should decide for themselves what nutrients, medical protocols, vaccinations, and medications are in their best interest. Prosecutions of victimless crimes must stop. It is not the government’s job to protect citizens from themselves.
8) Freedom to exercise the sacrament of matrimony as ordained by God without state intervention. We seek a simple return to publicly recorded engagements and marriages, by churches or county clerks, with common law witnesses to satisfy the requirements of basic legal recognition. As Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary rightfully states, “Marriage was instituted by God himself for the purpose of preventing the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, for promoting domestic felicity, and for securing the maintenance and education of children.” We seek an end to the perversion of marriage into a commercial system of state-issued privileges through the so-called government third party “marriage license” whereby incorporated “courts” presume the “right” to trespass on families and render control over their children.
9) Raising our children as parents or guardians see fit. It is an awesome responsibility of the family, the foundational unit of society, to decide what is in their own best interest. Only when there is clear criminal behavior resulting in physical injury should a local elected sheriff become involved after sworn affidavit and a judge-issued warrant. The government shall not be involved in a family’s agreed-upon medical protocols for any family members, whether they be adults or children, nor shall it interfere with the family’s responsibility for all educational decisions. The people possess divine rights of nativity irrespective of any State birth certificate ownership claim or the CPS.
10) Freedom to travel and use public spaces: End street assaults against the sovereign people for failing to exhibit a State-issued confession of subject-class citizenship. In place of these, substitute sovereign identification to facilitate safe and free passage throughout the land. Traffic control and roadblocks for revenue generation are detestable and are to be prohibited.
We must jealously guard our liberties. As William Pitt said, “Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.” Likewise, we must heed Benjamin Franklin’s dire warning when he said, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” Our duty is to know what real liberty is, and to proclaim our resolve to guard, exercise, and if need be, re-establish it.
Community Decency Platform Updated
The voting membership of the CPWV has greatly expanded and updated their platform position on Community Decency at a duly called meeting at Beckley, Raleigh County, January 22, 2011.  This position was originally approved in an abbreviated form at the September 23, 2006 Executive meeting.
John Adams said âOur Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.â To which his cousin Sam added, âWhile the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but once they lose their virtue they will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader,â and âif we are universally vicious and debauched in our manners, though the form of our Constitution carries the face of the most exalted freedom, we shall in reality be the most abject slaves.â These sentiments echo those of over a century earlier when John Milton, in his classic novel, Paradise Lost, narrated manâs fall from Grace and subsequent need to be obedient to Gods laws of Holy Scripture. âSo many and so various laws are givân; So many laws argue so many sins,â said Milton.
What, then, is public virtue? It is clear from the writings of our founders that they intended temperance within the bounds of natural law in the establishment of a republican form of government rather than a theocracy. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders. As such, the CPWV maintains that the State and local governments have the right and legitimate authority to restrict and prohibit obscenity and obscene material in any format and local establishments in accordance with community standards of morality and decency. To wit, we specifically address community decency in the areas of pornography, homosexuality, and gambling.
Pornography and homosexuality are a distortion of the true nature of sex created by God for the procreative union between one man and one woman in the holy bonds of matrimony. They are destructive elements of socity resulting in significant and real emotional, physical, spiritual and financial costs to individuals, families and communities. Until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association correctly regarded homosexuality as a mental disorder, and thus schools and the military have every right to prohibit persons with this condition from their ranks. The same is true for the gender confused. It is abominable that homosexual radicals, aided and abetted by the corporate media, promote this sinful behavior as normal and harmless through the perversion of our language by calling it âgayâ and using the rainbow as their symbol. This is nothing more than deceptive trickery to corrupt the innocent. Homosexuals must be prohibited from adopting children.  Legal marriage is between one man and one woman.
While we fully respect the constitutionally protected right to privacy of consenting adults, all sexually suggestive material must be kept as far away and out of reach from children as possible. This includes the location of menâs clubs, library and store books, and the content of public airwaves. Likewise, while we fully respect the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech, consideration must be given to undesired exposure to racy public advertising and offensive or suggestive attire and behavior. This includes the appearance of road signs, promiscuous clothing styles and slogans, vehicle decorations, profanity, graffiti, and general blight.
Gambling promotes an increase in crime, destruction of family values, and a decline in the moral fiber of our country. We are opposed to government sponsorship, involvement in, or promotion of gambling in the name of economic development or for any other purpose.
House Bill Says Special Governor's Elections In May and August
House Bill Says Election Days In May and August
ORIGINAL STORY AT: http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=42643
01/19/2011
State Capitol
A bill introduced in the House of Delegates Wednesday sets the timeline for a primary and general election for governor this year.
The bill, HB2552, says the primary election will be held on May 14 and the general election August 6.
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, one of the bill’s sponsors, says the bill would change state code that allows for party conventions to determine the nominees in a special election for governor.
Armstead said during a floor speech Wednesday he doesn’t believe conventions would be the proper way to choose nominees for governor.
“I think it’s so important today, as we move forward, that we determine what our direction will be and we move forward quickly in that direction and I believe that direction should be a primary election,” Armstead said.
Bill supporters say the cost of a primary election would not be prohibitive.
“A convention will not give the people of West Virginia adequate input into this process,” Armstead said.
The bill also sets out to change the current gubernatorial succession language and would require any future state Senate President acting as governor to give notice of a special election within 10 days of the vacancy occurring.
The state Supreme Court handed down an order Tuesday ( COURT DECISION CAN BE READ AT: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/docs/spring11/101494.pdf ) that said acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin would have to issue a proclamation to have a special election before Nov. 15.
Constitution Party urges special election
January 11, 2011 @ 12:00 AM
The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON — The Constitution Party of West Virginia has issued a resolution urging a special election for governor, according to a release from the party.
Officers of the party voted on Sunday to pass the resolution, citing references to the state constitution. The resolution also “resolves that the acting governor (Tomblin) cannot perform legislative duties while serving as interim governor.”
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin became governor late last year after Gov. Joe Manchin was elected to the U.S. Senate post vacated by the death of Robert C. Byrd. Tomblin will continue to serve as Senate president, but has said he will not conduct any legislative duties while serving as governor.
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is considering a lawsuit requesting a special election and will hear arguments on Tuesday.
LINK TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x5953812/Constitution-Party-urges-special-election
Party Calls for Special Election for Governor
By a majority vote of their duly elected officers, the Constitution Party of West Virginia adopted a resolution on Gubernatorial Succession today calling for a special election to replace acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. The resolution, shown below, is based on detailed analysis of the West Virginia State Constitution and also addresses the issue of Mr. Tomblin’s attempt to maintain dual legislative offices.
WHEREAS, Article V § 1: Division of Powers, of the West Virginia Constitution states; The legislative, executive and judicial departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither shall exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of the peace shall be eligible to the Legislature, and
WHEREAS, Article VII, § 4: Eligibility, of the West Virginia Constitution states in part; none of the executive officers mentioned in this Article shall hold any other office during the term of his service…, and
WHEREAS, Article VII § 16: Vacancy in Governorship How Filled, of the West Virginia Constitution states in part; Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of governor Before the first three years of the term shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place to fill the vacancy, and
WHEREAS, Article VII § 2: Election; of the West Virginia Constitution states; an election for governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and attorney general, shall be held at such times and places as may be prescribed by law, and
WHEREAS, there seems to be controversy in the procedure of filling the vacancy of governor and the permitted duties of the person filling the vacancy, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, by the Constitution Party of West Virginia that an election should be held to fill the remainder of the term of governor because three years of the current term (of Gov. Manchin) have not passed (Article VII § 16). Such election shall be established by law pursuant to Article VII, § 2 by the Legislature, and be it further
RESOLVED that the acting governor cannot perform any legislative duties, while acting as governor (Article V § 1 and Article V § 4 of the Constitution of West Virginia).
January 22 Meeting – BECKLEY
The postponed January 8, 2011 CPWV meeting, originally planned to be held in Lewisburg, has been RESCHEDULED FOR Saturday, January 22, 2011 at the Ryans Family Steak House on US 19 in Beckley. This was due to severe weather and travel advisory issues. Please note the NEW meeting location, see directions below. Note that this decision was made via Executive Committee conference call on Sunday, January 9, 2011. The Lewisburg Shoney’s is not available due to floor remodeling later this month.
Again, our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Read More
Term Limits Platform Position Adopted
By unanimous approval of its voting membership, at meeting duly assembled in Weston, Lewis County on November 13, 2010, the CPWV has adopted the following platform position on Term Limits.
America’s founders never intended politics to be a career. Public service was meant to be a short term civic duty upon which one then returned to private life. In 1776, the maximum service in the Pennsylvania General Assembly was set at “four years in seven.” Similarly, in an October 2, 1779 letter, Thomas Jefferson urged a limitation of tenure “to prevent every danger which might arise to American freedom by continuing too long in office the members of the Continental Congress.” Subsequently, the fifth Article of the Articles of Confederation stated that “no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years.” Benjamin Franklin referred to term limits as “mandatory vacation.” George Mason stated that, “nothing is so essential to the preservation of a Republican government as a periodic rotation.”
And, politics was never meant to be a source of personal profit. About our federal constitution, historian Mercy Otis Warren warned that “there is no provision for a rotation, nor anything to prevent the perpetuity of office in the same hands for life; which by a little well timed bribery, will probably be done….” Likewise, novelist James Fennimore Cooper described the common view that “contact with the affairs of state is one of the most corrupting of the influences to which men are exposed.” With homesteading in Congress and its associated corporate and lobbyist influence made possible by reelection rates that now approach 100%, history has proven these men uncannily prophetic.
As a result of the reforms of the early 1990s, fifteen state legislatures presently have members serving in rotation. In accord with this wise practice, but rather than debating an arbitrary number of terms to limit, we propose simply prohibiting reelection to any particular office until the candidate has occupied himself elsewhere for a period of time equivalent to the term sought. Under this plan, no one will be campaigning for his or her current office while still serving in it thus yielding the most efficient use of time for public benefit. Therefore, there will be no two consecutive terms.
Our object is not to prevent good people from serving, but to prevent politics as a lucrative way of life. With no incumbents, the focus of elected officials will be exclusively on the proper affairs of the people. Enthusiastic freshman will undoubtedly bring a plethora of new ideas to the political arena. As to concerns of maintaining continuity of rules of procedure, these neophytes will surely be balanced by plenty of seasoned statesmen who will find themselves in demand alternating between different offices of public trust and their private professions. Honor, integrity, and competency will be restored to government service.
Second Amendment Platform Position Adopted
By unanimous approval of its voting membership, at meeting duly assembled in Weston, Lewis County on November 13, 2010, the CPWV has adopted the following platform position on the Second Amendment and Personal Defense.
We affirm Article III, § 22 of the Constitution of West Virginia whereby all men have the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home, and state and for lawful hunting and recreation use. As such, we support the Castle Doctrine which holds that law-abiding citizens should not be forced to retreat in the face of criminal attack, and should be legally entitled to meet force with force to save their own lives and the lives of others or for the protection of property. State laws should be reformed to prohibit criminals from suing for “damages,” prohibit employers from firing workers who lawfully store their firearms in locked vehicles, and prohibit firearms confiscation or use in a time of local or national emergency.
Furthermore, such arms are not limited to just those functional via gunpowder, but include any variety of implement which a free person may choose to employ in repel of unwanted aggression, or for a tool, hobby, or collectible purposes. Such property shall be free of any sort of arbitrary size, shape, configuration, or quantity restrictions, and may be kept in any safe controlled location of its owner’s choosing, anywhere on his person or otherwise.
National “instant check” information should not be retained in any form of database. We strongly oppose the collection of names of gun show attendees for forwarding to federal government authorities, as this is a form of surveillance. We oppose the licensing of gun owners, all forms of gun registration, and any form of rationing of firearms, munitions, component sales or limiting the production thereof. Additionally, we advocate Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont style freedom where no permit or fee is required to exercise a person’s right to open or conceal carry a weapon, and seek reciprocity with the several States for the same. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
In his original draft of the Bill of Rights, George Mason wrote “… a well regulated Militia, composed of the Body of the People, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe Defense of a free State; that Standing Armies in Time of Peace are dangerous to Liberty, and therefore ought to be avoided as far as the Circumstances and Protection of the Community will admit; and that in all Cases, the military should be under strict Subordination to, and governed by the Civil Power.” And, in Federalist 46, James Madison wrote, “Let a regular army, fully equal to the resources of the country, be formed; and let it be entirely at the devotion of the federal government; still it would not be going too far to say, that the State governments, with the people on their side, would be able to repel the danger. …To these [a standing army] be opposed a militia amounting to near half a million of citizens with arms in their hands, officered by men chosen from among themselves, fighting for their common liberties, and united and conducted by governments possessing their affections and confidence. It may well be doubted, whether a militia thus circumstanced could ever be conquered by such a proportion of regular troops.” It is clear, therefore, that our founders intended for the militia to be our peacetime force comprised of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers.
In accord with this original intent, we advocate that sheriffs in every county, under the leadership of the governor, make provisions for the reestablishment of a properly trained and equipped, volunteer, and physically fit citizens militia of West Virginia people; Mountaineers who are readily available for call to service to assist the public in any urgent situation preliminary to Congress organizing any other armed force under formal declaration. This country was founded by patriots who fought with both pen and sword in order to give their posterity the freedoms we enjoy today- a revolution won by common individuals temporarily organized yet considered enemies by their imperial government for their object of resisting the established tyranny. Lexington and Concord stir the hearts of real Americans. We must heed George Santayana’s wisdom, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
W.Va. Senate candidate: Leave education to states
Constitution Party Senatorial candidate Jeff Becker criticizes Federal meddling in State and local prerogatives.
by VICKI SMITH, Associated Press Writer
Read the full article.
An abridged version is featured in the Charleston Gazette.