Author: markfirearmslawyernet

  • Posse Comitatus Act

    Will the Marines Stand With the President in a Dangerous War Against the American People and the Second Amendment? Which branch of the military constitutes the remnant most likely to uphold the oath to the U.S. Constitution against domestic and foreign enemies?

    The following is a summary of a document entitled The Posse Comitatus Act and Related Matters: The Use of the Military to Execute Civilian Law, by Charles Doyle and Jennifer K. Elsea. A 2012 report prepared for the Congressional Research Service. We will identify any opinions and conclusions that do not ysimply summarize the history & legal precedents contained in the source document.

    The U.S. Constitution provides for use of the militia to execute the Laws of the Union to suppress insurrections and invasions and to protect the states from usurpation of their “republican form of government.” Additionally, state legislatures may request federal military intervention to suppress domestic violence. Congress enacted the Insurrection Acts and other laws pursuant to its express Constitutional authority.

    Insurrection Acts. The Insurrection Acts have been invoked many times in history and outlining such events clears up some of questions while also raising a number of issues. There are several federal laws that also deal with authorizing land and naval forces. The most important law for purposes of the present discussion is the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.

    Posse Comitatus Act. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits use of the military to execute the law unless authorized by Congress within its Constitutional authority to suppress insurrection and invasions; thus, the Insurrection Acts and other laws that provide exceptions to Posse Comitatus Act. Violation of Posse Comitatus is a criminal offense.

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  • United Nations Reaches Into Local Schools

    United Nations Reaches Into Local Schools

    Many people, with some justification, believe the United Nations is just a harmless debating society without any teeth to it. The reality is that there exist a variety of conduits by which educator associations, UNESCO, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), and a host of UN and global NGOs influence American education. Woke education in Alaska looks just like the Woke education in New Jersey looks just like the Woke education in Kenya or some other Third World nations where UN influence more directly impacts the daily lives of citizens. DEI along with more or less subtle undermining of U.S. sovereignty (climate change propaganda and so-called Social Justice initiatives) are a global cultural onslaught in education, not just an American Progressive anomaly. Such initiatives need to end ASAP.

    The incoming administration is going to work like Eliot Ness and the Untouchables, exposing and indicting all these global educational initiatives—including Education for Global Citizenship, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in education, Education for Sustainable Development, and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), not to mention any vestiges of Common Core–derived from the UNESCO World Core curriculum. Many of the ideas summarized here have been culled from James Lindsay and he deserved kudos for his insights.

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  • Homeland Attacks Imminent?

    Mark Knapp Mark is a Spokane area based attorney who focuses on criminal defense, employment discrimination and advocacy on behalf of armed citizens regarding the use of lethal force and Washington state gun laws.

    Warrior Heart. Political discourse is often so focused on Constitutional Rights that armed citizens tend to forget that we have a Christian obligation to protect our own lives and the lives of loved ones. Mark wrote a book about what the Old & New Testaments teach concerning armed self-defense. The title of the book is The Warrior Heart.

    Training in Deadly Force. After potential clients in need of advice started asking questions about concealed carry and subjects related to gun rights, Mr. Knapp began to receive professional training at schools like the Firearms Academy of Seattle and Massad Ayoob’s Lethal Force Institute. This led to teaching his own classes and presenting use of deadly force in connection with Personal Protection classes sponsored by the NRA.  Mark began focusing his law practice on everything related to gun laws and use of lethal force.

    Cold War Government Preparation & the War on Terror. Around the time Mark was busy creating this website initially featuring guns and disaster preparedness, the War on Terror was getting into full swing. Since the 1950s, and even to a greater degree after the WTC attack in 2001, the U.S.  government has spent many billions to prepare the public for everything from nuclear holocaust to earthquake evacuations. But no funds have been spent to train citizens in the use of a gun, one of the most important survival tools.

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  • Trump & Section 3 of Fourteenth Amendment

    The following are notes and comments about Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment which is the authority on which the Colorado courts focused when deciding former President Trump’s name should be removed from the ballots in Colorado. The allegation is that Trump is not eligible to hold office because he allegedly engaged in an insurrection against the United State Government on Jan. 6, 2021. The fact that Trump was President of the United States at that time raises the issue of how he could be engaged in Insurrection. when he was the Chief Executive Officer of the military and in charge of the Executive Department’s law enforcement agencies. Nevertheless, the Colorado courts held a five-day trial and argued that Trump received more due process than he used, needed or requested.

    Due Process in the Colorado Courts. Nobody apparently argued that Trump was not allowed to present evidence or was denied opportunity to defend his case in the Colorado courts. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments from Trump’s lawyers and the State of Colorado last week and could announce its ruling at any time. Much of what follows is based on the writings of Law Professor Josh Blackman published at a link provided below.

    Is Section 3 Self-Executing? One huge question before SCOTUS is whether Section 3 is self-executing. For a defendant or other litigant to seek affirmative relief in a Collateral Proceeding (the Griffin case discussed below), Congress must provide a cause of action. But Section 3 can  be used as a shield in a trial court, or on direct appeal. For various reasons, Trump’s attorney was very tentative in answering questions that various Justices asked him regarding this issue. The issues herein seemed to serve Trump very well at the trial level of the Colorado courts and several Justices seemed to be open to ruling that Section 3 is NOT self-executing.


    See Josh Blackman at Volokh Conspiracy.

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  • Pedagogy of the Educational Mafia

    It is worth reading Blood Brotherhood about three Mafia networks that originated in Italy. Each of these organizations compete with each other but also cooperate, stretching their deadly violence across the world from prison gangs in Sicily, Calabria and Naples into the United States and other nations. Each organization has its own rituals and legends about the founding of these criminal organizations. Nevertheless, a constant theme is banding together to protect poor families from being exploited by the rich and powerful.

    Freemason Models. The problem is that the secrecy of the Mafia networks, modeled along the lines of Freemasonry, evolved into complex systems of extortion and political influence that still attract the most powerful politicians and industrialists in Italy, the United States and across Europe and other continents. Operating throughout the global economic system, such organized crime networks have long been adept at shifting allegiances and opportunistically provide support to opposing political movements.

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  • The Revolt of the Maccabees

    “Instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, to cause the lamp TO BURN ALWAYS. Aaron and his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is before the Ark of the Pact, to burn from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a due from the Israelites FOR ALL TIME, throughout the ages.”

     

    [Exodus (Shemot) 27. 20 – 21 Tanakh, Torah]

    The following account of the Maccabean battles is primarily from the “Battles of the Battle”, by Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon. The authors state that the purpose of the book is “to narrate the military history of the Bible in terms of modern military concepts and accepted terminology.” In the present essay we will suggest some examples as to how the Maccabean battles speak to principles of warfare over the centuries with special emphasis on the subject of how volunteer militia units stack up against professional armies. (more…)

  • Open-Carry of a Shotgun: A Good Idea in an Apartment Complex?

    Open-Carry of a Shotgun: A Good Idea in an Apartment Complex?

    The day before Thanksgiving (2023), the Law Office of Mark Knapp PLLC obtained an acquittal in a case alleging Second Degree Assault (with a firearm enhancement) in Snohomish County today. The three-day jury trial focused on open-carry issues and whether the complaining witness (the alleged victim) was justified in grabbing a loaded shotgun from our client. Grabbing a weapon is only justified where a threat of imminent deadly force exists.

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    Self-Defense or Criminal Assault? Grabbing a shotgun—other than in self-defense—constitutes Assault in the Second Degree and could include Robbery charges, and a Firearms Enhancement. Our client told the police and the jury that he just went to the parking lot to check on his motorcycle when his neighbor approached him aggressively, demanding to know why he was carrying a shotgun in a common area.

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  • Firearms Freedom Could Have Stopped Hamas

    Firearms Freedom Could Have Stopped Hamas

    A recent NY Times story tells a lot about Israel and the restrictions Israeli government imposes on its citizens:

    “They were rounded up and shot like animals within hours of losing themselves, and the pressures of Israeli life, in thumping soundtracks of mystical peace and love. “There were these crazy maniacs with guns and people falling one by one,” Ms. Fakliro said. “It was like a shooting range.”

    Authorities Lulled Into a False Sense of Security. The gruesome reports of how Hamas and Islamic Jihad infiltrated Israel’s well regarded security perimeter are shocking to the world. Despite the extreme risk of terror attacks from Gaza, Israel’s government apparently believed that Hamas was focusing on social programs to help the Palestinians living within Gaza’s borders.

    Disarmed Israeli Civilians. Israel’s government had been taking steps to disarm civilians who possessed rifles and still requires the few rifles permitted in a Kibbutz or other danger zone to be stored in a way that denies hinders access to the weapons in an emergency.

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  • Restoring Gun Rights & Vacating Convictions

    Petitioning for restoration of gun rights in Washington. We handle criminal cases, including felonies, and firearms law. We can also help get some convictions vacated:

    INSTRUCTIONS FOR VACATING MISDEMEANOR AND GROSS MISDEMEANOR CONVICTIONS

    Washington law permits vacating some misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor convictions.

    When the court vacates a conviction, you are released from penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense- but not from the prohibition against possessing firearms.

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  • Washington State’s Assault Weapon Law

    HB 1240 states that assault weapons are more deadly, “not suitable for self defense”, responsible for mass shootings, and “that the gun industry has specifically marketed these weapons as “tactical,” “hyper masculine,” and “military style” in manner that overtly appeals to troubled young men intent on becoming the next mass shooter.”

    The Law Office of Mark Knapp PLLC recently drafted an Opinion Letter analyzing certain issues raised by HB 1240. The so-called Assault Weapon legislation bans the sale, manufacturing, importation, and distribution of “assault weapons”.

    HB 1240 provides civil remedies under Washington State’s Consumer Protection Act. The new law does not prohibit gun owners from possessing such weapons.

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