Do Not revise the Posse Comitatus Act

This Post First ran in June 0f 2005!





OK, so now the US government is looking at the possibility of amending or, in some other way gutting, or as we say down south: “doing away with” the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

That should be the last thing freedom loving Americans should want! We southerners understand what the Posse Comitatus Act did for us during reconstruction and if we are so weak as to drop the one thing standing between Americans and a military takeover of the local, state, and eventually, the US government we will fight any attempt to amend or, in any way, change the PCA as it is currently written.

Let’s take a look at the PCA itself:

June 18, 1878 US CodeCHAP. 263 - An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, and for other purposes.SEC. 15. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress; and no money appropriated by this act shall be used to pay any of the expenses incurred in the employment of any troops in violation of this section And any person willfully violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years or by both such fine and imprisonment.
10 U.S.C. (United States Code) 375
Sec. 375. Restriction on direct participation by military personnel: The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that any activity (including the provision of any equipment or facility or the assignment or detail of any personnel) under this chapter does not include or permit direct participation by a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in a search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activity unless participation in such activity by such member is otherwise authorized by law.
18 U.S.C. 1385
Sec. 1385. Use of Army and Air Force as posse comitatus Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act ofCongress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise toexecute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
The PCA is an act passed by Congress to ensure the separation of military and civilian authority. Under the Act, the military cannot enforce civilian laws. Look, this is a fundamental building block of the American form of government! In America civilians control the military, not the other way around.

I don’t know about you, but I have major concerns about the overreaching of Federal law enforcement as it is. Well, Dear Reader, do away with the Posse Comitatus Act and as Al Jolson said: “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Two things would immediately happen; the line, which currently divides military and civilian law, would become blurred. Believe me, those of you of the Liberal persuasion, especially, do not want that in your wildest dreams! There are much fewer gray areas in military law than in civilian law.

The other thing, which should also concern every American, is the effectiveness, and readiness of our military to fight, and win, wars would be greatly impaired. If the military is doing anything, at all, other than fight wars, or training to fight wars, they are not fully trained, and they are not ready to go to war. We cannot allow that to happen.

After the fiasco in Louisiana before, during, and after hurricane Katrina, Americans saw how effective the US Military is, and, can be, handling major logistical problems. They moved quickly to stifle the violence and bring comfort to those suffering as a result of the storm. But do not be misled. This is not their mission. It cannot be their mission if we are to remain free Americans.

I’m very afraid there is a move afoot to revoke or, in some other way, gut the PCA. Don’t allow it to happen. Insist that your Congressperson and Senator stand against any such action against the Posse Comitatus Act.

If the citizens of the US want a national organization to stand ready to respond to civilian disasters then let us organizes, fund, and equip a National Disaster Response Corp… or some such. But leave the military out of this. We seem to be able to create a Peace Corp to send aid overseas and Americorp to do something or, other. I have yet to figure out what Americorp does. The point is… we can do this without the military.

We are living in a very dangerous world. We can be attacked at any moment, as 9-11 taught us. We need the US military in top “war fighting” condition. We do not need them sloppy as a result of doing disaster relief work.

The President hinted at my concerns in a speech in New Orleans a short time ago. We need to stay aware of the undercurrents in Washington. I am convinced this Posse Comitatus Act is swiftly flowing in those undercurrents and will surface soon.

“Longstreet”