What Is Martial Law?
Martial law consists of the imposition of direct military control over areas that are normally reserved as civilian functions of government. Martial law is used when the government wants to force its will upon the people. And we have seen martial law be enacted in a number of places for a variety of circumstances over the years.
One of the more notable circumstances was when martial law was declared over the Tiananmen Square protests many years ago.
When it comes to the United States, congressional approval is needed first before any national martial law can be declared, where the military takes over domestic law enforcement duties. However, it's also suggested that the Supreme Court has interpreted martial law as something which can be enacted by the President as well. Aside from being enacted on a national scale, martial law can also be triggered by a governor for their own state.
In the US, state leaders have taken it upon themselves to institute martial law on various occasions for their own regions. The typical sorts of situations that might escalate to such a situation would be things like labor strikes, political protests, riots, it could be used during an economic collapse, and more.
The scene below is from the response to the Boston marathon bombing several years ago.
What's the problem?...
When martial law gets enacted, it suspends civil liberties for everyone and not just those who are considered to be a threat who they are looking to find. Everyone has their liberty suspended.
We have seen that the public under these conditions, often are not free from unreasonable searches and seizure, neither are they free to move or associate with whomever they would like to during that time because of strict curfews. Many members of the public during a time of martial law are going to have their right to due process violated and there is never justification for this; in a society which parades itself as being a free one.
Law enforcement officials should not need to suspend the rights for 1 party in order to go about catching another.
When it comes to crimes being committed, law enforcement should be the one tasked with dealing with the situation; it shouldn't be dissolved into a tyrannical military-style occupation.
When the public accepts demands for them to suspend their rights and give up their civil liberties, that is not going to establish a safe environment for them. It will do the opposite and it's a very dangerous scenario to be in.
Political elites today all too often appear too eager to sacrifice liberty for the public. And they have for quite some time been engaging in a widespread violation of Constitutionally-protected rights of US citizens. The continued erosion of individual liberty in the US has been characterized by many as a means by which republics have been known to fall and such measures might fuel conditions that could contribute to the arrival of tyrants.
Whenever there is some sort of crisis that occurs, the government will often seek to increase its powers and even after the crisis has passed, we've seen that the state often doesn't relinquish that new power and won't resort back to the condition of things before the crisis. If an attack takes place, no matter the size of the event, we need to observe carefully how the state responds to that act and hopefully their actions are going to be in-line with promoting liberty, but we know that this often isn't the case.
Pics:
Pixabay
InvestmentWatch
Pinterest
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/04/22/the-police-response-to-the-boston-marathon-bombing/?utm_term=.e5cef4121397
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ron-paul-boston-bombings_n_3179489
http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/law/law-divisions-and-codes/martial-law
http://investmentwatchblog.com/historic-moment-this-is-what-martial-law-looks-like/
https://mises.org/library/martial-law-vs-market-law-reflections-boston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law#.C2.A0United_States
Any punishment of non-violent and victim-less crimes is tyrannical. #GovernmentRepent
Ohh, I don't think I've seen it summed up so nicely before. Fantastic!
Hey @johnyliltoe, I have read many Christian economists that essentially say what I put. I am not a genius, and as someone who is not a genius, I simply distill what greater men have written.
Only the pedophiles in power want martial law! #eviliscowardly
I agree. Movie "The Siege" shows how Martial Law looks like.
Some folks feel we have a soft martial law here in select parts of America. Martial Law was NEVER the right decision. Thanks for sharing,
I do not like martial law. I like martial arts. Upvoted. Resteemed.
Martial Law doesn't calm anything down, it puts people more on the offensive and they become high strung. Great post!
I live in Ukraine and now the question arises about the introduction of a military state! It is depressing and frightening me! Thank you for your thoughts. I love my peaceful land!
Love the way you put this it explains it so that I can understand it, thank you🌺
Agree with you 100%. Great read @doitvoluntarily :)
The US, UK and Australia (probably others but I know about these) all passed laws in the past 10 years which allow them to arrest and detain citizens under terrorism charges without any trial. Freedom for the press has since been abolished and anyone interfering with the governments agenda can be labeled a whistle blower or terrorist and held indefinitely without trial.
The PATRIOT act allows military deployment to be utilised against civilians within the United States. Our rights are slowly eroding under the guise of protection from terrorism.
People don't seem to care, they prefer convenience over sovereignty. Eventually you won't be able to commit even the pettiest of crime without being caught. Let's just hope by the time the surveillance state is in full power we recognise that most of the "crimes" we lock people up for aren't actually criminal. Stop the war on drugs.
Nice Post
@doitvoluntarily - You touched a cord in my memory. We have seen martial law applied once in my region due to communal riots. The military was out flag marching and all life came to a standstill. Though the riots were controlled, what I did not like was that the total authoritarian way in which everything was handled - Even school going kids were not spared harassment. Freedom of speech, even for most benign topics, was non-existent! You do a great job of bringing up these topics that every citizen and the authorities should think about. I do understand that it is necessary sometimes for authorities to take extreme measures for collective good but excesses should be avoided. Thanks. Upvoted.
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Soros paid riots.
such widespread coercive authority is not nec and is a threat to individual liberty.
Martial Law should be the reaction to only one thing; cival war. The military should not interfere with people's lives outside of that specific scenario. Even then it's good to use restraint, as you may end up fueling the opposition.
Agreed with you ! Its always a wrong choice and against democracy and freedom.
! Thank you so much for your effort !!
Upvoted !
Because the Martial Law does not want to promote violence,
Because the violence will take its toll. thank you for sharing.
I learned some karate before. Very good. Upvoted. Resteemed.
Unfortunately, we live in a world full of violence
I am all against the martial laws but sometimes in some situations it is good. All that hurts is not necessarily to be bad.
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That's the way we are heading my friend, unless people can get their heads out of the sand. Thanks
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