Joe, with all due respect, the Declaration is not Law.
The people do have the right to overthrow members of the Government through elections. But we are a Republic, we elect representatives to run the Government. The Constitution provides the remedies for those that break the rules when the electorate does not respond, ie, impeachment.
We do not have the right to overthrow the Government. I think that fits the definition of Sedition. If you try to actually attempt to overthrow the Government, you will probably end up in a prison, or a grave.
Originally Posted by Jackie S
I understand that The Declaration of Indepence is not law. Jefferson wrote, in the Declaration of Indepence that we have the right to overthrow the government under certain conditions. My understanding is that at some point, if the federal government completely abandons the Constitution, at least by Jefferson's reckoning the people have a right to overthow it.
If the government abandons the Constitution, it no longer has legitimate authority to rule the people. This is why Congressmen, the President and the judges on the Supreme Court have to swear to uphold the Constitution. The understanding is that they are only being given power on the condition that they agree to abide by the Constitution . If they operate outside the Constitution, they have violated the contract.
I certainly don't advocate violence. Sedition is by definition the advocation of overthrowing a government by violence.
Sedition is the crime of revolting or inciting revolt against government. However, because of the broad protection of free speech under the
First Amendment, prosecutions for sedition are rare. Nevertheless, sedition remains a crime in the United States under 18 U.S.C.A. § 2384 (2000), a federal statute that punishes seditious conspiracy, and 18 U.S.C.A. § 2385 (2000), which outlaws advocating the overthrow of the federal government by force. Generally, a person may be punished for sedition only when he or she makes statements that create a
Clear and Present Danger to rights that the government may lawfully protect (schenck v. united states, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]).
Ghandi regained India's freedom from Great Britain non-violently. Martin Luther King used Ghandi's non-violent revolution as a model for his successful campain to gain freedom. Eventually the American people may have to follow his lead to reclaim our freedom.