WE THE PEOPLE
v.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT 

The Lawsuit to Restore Constitutional Order
 

History Making Lawsuit Proceeds
Legal Team Engaged

Law Professors Back Us:
Right to Petition is THE Cornerstone of Popular Sovereignty

Join & Support The Lawsuit
 

Five years ago, We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education was established by a group of ordinary Americans who deeply love our country, and are devoted to the eternal cause of human freedom.   

We are not political activists, nor are we aligned with any of the numerous special interest groups that conspire to undermine the essential principles upon which our great nation was established.  As sovereign American citizens, we do not define ourselves by any political label.  We are not Democrats, Republicans, or Independents.   

We, simply, are Americans, and we are dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, and that every human being on earth is endowed by his Creator with certain unalienable rights. As Americans, we believe that our right to life, liberty and property comes to us, not from government beneficence, but from God’s grace and love.  

Over the past few decades, we have painfully observed the deterioration of our nation’s moral fabric, and the insidious assault on our Constitutional form of government by powerful political, financial and industrial special interests.  With heavy hearts, we have watched our beloved Country drift from its moorings of personal freedom, equal justice, due process of law, and respect for private property.  We have observed, with great sorrow and consternation, America’s gradual transformation into a socialist welfare state, dominated by a ruling class of political and financial elites.   

In desperation, many of us have rushed into the arms of political parties and action groups in search of truth.  We felt the sting of helpless despair as our beloved Country fell prey to a governing class of power-hungry, self-indulgent prevaricators who view the People’s faith in God, our love of freedom, and our devotion to the principles memorialized in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, with utter contempt. 

We must recognize that America has become a divided nation.  The fabric of our society is no longer held together by the common threads of faith, justice, self-reliance and love of liberty that gave us strength as a fledgling nation.  

A large percentage of Americans—a numerical majority--have now grown dependent on government for their sustenance and well-being.  Americans no longer stand together in jealous defense of our unalienable rights and freedoms. We have turned away from a long and vigilant struggle to preserve the founding traditions of our Constitutional Republic.  We have traded our precious liberties, for which hundreds of thousands of American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice, to a corrupt, unaccountable and excessively powerful central government. 

And what did We The People receive in return for our liberty? Special government privileges and hand-outs that first had to be coerced from our fellow citizens.   We have conveniently forgotten that Government produces nothing, and has nothing to give us that it does not first take from someone else who works to produce it. 

We have voluntarily surrendered our dignity and self-respect as a People, and chosen instead, to assume the comfortable and secure lower station of indentured servants--of government owned chattel. We have been indoctrinated to accept the flawed notion that freedom is an illusion, and led to believe that self-reliance, personal responsibility, independent thought, and private property are “selfish”, “anti-government” and “unpatriotic”.   

Over the past 75-80 years, the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, abetted by the major media’s constant manipulation of public opinion, have colluded to promote the specious concept that moderation in pursuit of justice is a virtue, and that extremism in defense of liberty is a vice.  

We have come to accept that our unalienable rights as American citizens are not those which were recognized by our founding fathers and enumerated in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, but rather, whatever the ruling class in America determines them to be.   

How could this have happened to us as a free People?  Is it too late to restore our country to its rightful place as one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all?  

We The People must now decide who we are, and what we truly stand for as Americans.  It is our destiny to choose between the animating contest of freedom, and the tranquility of servitude.  Will we decide to passively accept the destruction of our beloved Country from within, or will it be our solemn conviction to defend our precious freedom against all enemies, both foreign and domestic?  Will we, together, stand in spirit with those brilliant and courageous men who gave us The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights?  Will we, together, resolve to pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to the restoration of the divinely inspired American Republic?   

It is by Divine Providence that we each possess the innate capacity to comprehend the relationship that should properly exist between sovereign People and their servant government.  In the dark history that preceded our founding as a nation, the cause of human freedom was subdued by the forces of tyranny, oppression and injustice.  At that critical moment in history, a fledgling nation was called forth as the light of liberty to the world.   

It is now our destiny as a free people, and our sacred responsibility as sovereign citizens, to preserve, protect and defend the precious liberties without which the concept of America has no meaning. 

After two and a quarter centuries, We The People, once again, stand at the crossroads of history.  The voices of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty, now call out to each of us to choose the path that will take America to its ultimate destination.  Will we choose the steep and rocky path that leads to freedom, or take the wide and heavily traveled path that leads to tyranny and destruction?  There are no alternatives.  There is no middle ground between slavery and freedom, between justice and injustice, between honor and perfidy, between life and death. We The People must now decide where we stand.  

If it is our destiny to live as a free people--to have honest, accountable and moral government--then we must act now.  There is no tomorrow, no next week or next year.   

Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are being violently assaulted by a class of people---a self-anointed governing class---that believes it is exempt from the lawful and moral obligations imposed upon it by our founding principles of Constitutional governance.  We must send a clarion message to career politicians, entrenched bureaucrats and the corrupt special interests that control them, that America’s servant government will be held accountable for its actions, and that We The People will never surrender our freedom.  We will not be denied our unalienable rights to life, liberty and property.  We will accept nothing less than a servant government that functions within the limits imposed on its power by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  

As sovereign American citizens, we must stand firm in our conviction that no person is free whose labor is owned by another. The fruit of a man’s labor is his most essential personal property.  Freedom cannot peaceably exist in the presence of slavery.  If we tolerate the insulting, spurious claim that government owns our labor, we are reduced to nothing more than chattel, government property to be exploited and dominated.  

Please listen, People of America….can you hear the distant cry of freedom?  The voice of those who came before us, who purchased our precious freedom with their blood and sacrifice, are calling us home.  

With all this in mind, we have decided the appropriate next step will be to test the attitude of the Supreme Court with a class-action lawsuit seeking a declaration of our Rights and injunctive relief. 

A few days ago we posted an open message to President Bush and the leaders of Congress, putting them on notice that we would soon file a class action lawsuit seeking a declaration of our Rights regarding the Petition Clause of the First Amendment.  

Here are a few of the questions that will be presented for the court’s determination in the lawsuit that we file in federal District Court in Washington, DC. 

• Do the People have an unalienable, First Amendment Right to Petition their elected representatives in the Executive and Legislative Branches for Redress of Grievances regarding abuses of their taxing, war-making, debt-incurring and police powers?
• Does the People’s Right to Petition for Redress of Grievances include the Right to have those Petitions heard and honestly answered?
• Does the Right to Petition for Redress include the Right to withhold taxes until the government hears and answers the Petition?
• Does the Right to Petition protect petitioners from government Retaliation?

 
How important is this lawsuit?  

At stake is the most unique system of governance on earth – a Constitutional Republic in which sovereignty resides in the People, not the government. Nowhere else on the globe or in history have People other than Americans enjoyed “popular sovereignty” – a government OF, BY and FOR the People. In no other country do the People have the Right to impose defined limits and powers on the government.

In America, the People are the source of all political power, and ALL those who serve in government are limited by written Constitutions. All those in government – elected or appointed -- can ONLY do what the law specifically authorizes them to do; if it is not written down, they cannot do it. This is what it means to be free. 

At stake is the only national Constitution intended to be a set of principles to govern THE GOVERNMENT.  

At stake are constitutional principles that are unique and essential to America’s greatness: that all individuals are created equal; that all individuals are endowed by their CREATOR -- nature’s GOD -- with certain unalienable Rights; that all individuals have these Rights for no other reason than they are alive; that all individuals have the Right to LIBERTY; that all individuals have the Right to FREEDOM from government that infringes on their unalienable Rights, or that otherwise steps outside the boundaries drawn around its power to tax, its power to make war, its power to incur debt and make money, its power to police the peace and enforce the laws, or any other power to which the People have consented. 

At stake is the AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE, the great American experiment in self-government that has served individual Americans so well and which so many individuals around the world have aimed to reach.  

Please remember this: Over 200 years ago, while thirteen independent, sovereign American States were struggling to develop their identity as the world’s first Constitutional Republic, every major European nation was moving toward a diametrically opposite form of government, one that is now commonly referred to as  “social democracy”, where sovereignty rests with the government, not the People; where the People have privileges granted by government, rather than unalienable Rights; where the purpose of government is to take money from those who earn it and give it to those who don’t earn it; where the government confiscates the fruit of the People’s labor and uses it to financially support and keep in power an elite governing class comprised of legions of privileged autocrats.  

Please know this: All nations in Europe are still socialist democracies and their self-serving governments have NEVER stopped trying to convert the American Way to the European Way.  

Please understand this:  if the People lose this lawsuit, we will lose OUR way.  

The Constitution is hanging by a thread. That thread is the Right to Petition government for a Redress of Grievances. 

We now have people like Rep. Henry Hyde saying “events have overtaken our Constitution”, and that our Constitution has become “anachronistic.” We now have law school professors like Allen Dershowitz teaching that “we have no unalienable Rights”, and that “government should not be limited by a written Constitution because government can do good things for People.” 

Simply put, we will not have another opportunity like we have right now to bring together the collective will of the People to peacefully restore our Constitution. 

Hanging in the balance is “popular sovereignty,” the ability of individuals to question the behavior of their servant government and to hold their servant government accountable to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, thereby limiting its enumerated powers and preventing its infringement upon the individual Rights of the People. 

Without the Right to Petition our servant government for a Redress of Grievances, and the government’s obligation to honestly answer, the only way the People will be able to have their voices heard will be on Election Day. What that means, of course, is our Republic will have been replaced by a Democracy, where only the majority’s voice will be heard by the government.  

Remember Germany in the 1930’s, when the majority voted to support the government.  The Petitions of the minority were ignored, and those who questioned the government’s authority were systematically persecuted or destroyed.
 

Please take a hard look at what is now happening in America: 

We have an ill-advised majority supporting a government that is routinely applying the armed forces in hostilities overseas without a congressional declaration of war as required by the Constitution, while taxing the labor of the working men and women of America to pay for the mischief. 

We have an ill-advised majority supporting a government that is routinely violating the individual’s speech, press, assembly, due process and privacy rights (for instance, spying on People in their homes, libraries and houses of worship, searching and seizing People’s property based on “reasonable cause” instead of “probable cause” as required by the constitution, and suspending habeas corpus, attorney, jury and speedy trial protections), while taxing the labor of the working men and women of America to pay for the mischief. 

We have an ill-advised majority supporting a government that is incurring public debt in spite of constitutional restrictions while taxing the labor of the working men and women of America to pay for the treachery.

We have an ill-advised majority supporting a government that, in spite of constitutional restrictions,
is directly taxing the labor of the working men and women of America, and forcing companies to withhold
that direct tax from the wages and earnings of their workers. 

We have an ill-advised majority supporting a government that, without legal authority, is collecting its direct tax on the labor of working Americans through a nationwide campaign of fear, intimidation and coercion, and by the use of swarms of armed agents to illegally search and seize private property, in violation of the People’s right to due process of law. 

We have a well-advised minority that has humbly exercised their First Amendment Right to Petition the government for a redress of these grievances, setting a high standard for such Petitions in terms of rationality, intelligence and professionalism.

However, we have arrogant Executive and Legislative branches that have utterly ignored the People’s Petitions
for Redress. The Executive and the Congress have refused to hear the People’s Petitions for Redress of Grievances, much less, honestly answer our Petitions, as the original intent of the Constitution mandates.

To make matters worse, we have an Executive Branch, which in spite of Constitutional guarantees, is harassing and penalizing those individuals whose Petitions for Redress of Grievances have gone unanswered and who now are acting to stop the withholding and payment of the illegal direct tax on labor.  And, we have ill-advised tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court that are cooperating in this abuse of federal power.  

The Lawsuit

The only thing standing between the People and total tyranny and despotism is the Constitution, and the will of the minority to defend it--no matter the degree of hostility or contention, no matter the cost.

We have been working behind the scenes for several months compiling and organizing the legal arguments and preparing to deploy the suit while simultaneously executing Operation Stop Withholding and conducting the normal business of WTP. 

This lawsuit takes America into un-charted legal waters, in that the First Amendment Right to Petition, until now, has never been squarely put before the Judiciary. 

The facts are not in question.  Our Petitions have been proper, containing both a declaration of significant grievances and a prayer for relief. The Petitions are of unquestionable public and Constitutional importance.  

We have completed a review of the case law and the historic literature on the People’s Right To Petition. While there is virtually no on-point case law regarding the Petition Clause we have discovered ten Law Review articles published since 1986. All authors appear to be in full support of our position that government must hear and honestly answer our Petitions, and that the constitutional Right To Petition trumps any government claim of sovereign immunity.   

We urge everyone to read each of these enormously important articles. Every American should know the history, meaning, effect and significance of the First Amendment’s Petition Clause – the “Holy Grail” of popular sovereignty. With this knowledge, you will be better able to understand, articulate and communicate the critical role that this Right will play in restoring our Constitution. Click here to access the Law Review articles. 

We have drafted a 46-page Verified Complaint, a 150-page Memorandum of Law and a 31-page Affidavit, which has 62 annexed Exhibits. These substantial documents will be made public following additional draft reviews by our legal counsel and their filing in court. 

We The People Foundation has entered into a Retainer Agreement with The Lane Law Firm. Mr. Mark Lane, an exceptionally qualified and nationally prominent attorney, will be in charge of the case. Click here for Mr. Lane’s curriculum vitae. 

The first phase of Mr.Lane’s work will be to prepare and file a complaint that will, in his words, “secure serious consideration by the United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.”  

We have also drafted and released a Preliminary Statement of the Case and a preliminary Class Definition.  

We will not seek money damages. We will seek a declaration of our rights and equitable relief in the form of temporary and preliminary court injunctions prohibiting and enjoining the IRS and Department of Justice from taking any enforcement action related to Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code, pending a final determination of the issues presented and raised in the lawsuit.  

The members of the class action will be rewarded by the knowledge that they acted to preserve, protect and defend our Constitution and way of life in America; that they served their country in its time of greatest need; that they restored honest, accountable, servant government to our nation.

As members of the class action, we will work together to achieve a permanent end to the government’s illegal direct tax on labor, its prosecution of undeclared wars, its abuse of domestic police powers, its unconstitutional and out-of-control debt spending, and its arrogant violations of the People’s unalienable rights to privacy, due process of law and equal justice. 

We have created an internet based “Information Center” for the class action lawsuit.  It will contain links to all the case documents, latest news, key information links and materials to help communicate with our nation about this historic undertaking.  

The class action lawsuit, and the associated support activities necessary to achieve our objectives, including a major mass media and public awareness campaign, will be financed solely by tax deductible donations to the We The People Foundation. 

We are not naïve. We know what we are up against. There will be no instant gratification. We know, for instance, that this lawsuit goes to the very heart of the government’s power, and that the government will not concede that ill-gotten power without a fight. We know that the IRS and DOJ will attempt to motion us to death, and that the federal courts have a vested interest in the status-quo.  We know that we will be jerked up and down, from the District Court, to Appeals Court, and to the Supreme Court, like a yo-yo over the next few years. But, be assured, We The People will ultimately prevail in asserting our rightful authority over our servant government. We will not be denied our freedom. 

We know that on the question of continuing the injunction against the IRS and the DOJ for the duration of the lawsuit, a balancing of the equities will weigh in favor of the plaintiff class. When presented with the facts, the courts should accept the fact that pending its final determination of the questions involved, the federal government can simply make up for any lost tax revenue by printing whatever amount of currency it needs – it owns the printing presses, the ink and the paper. The courts should also acknowledge that the government is Constitutionally authorized to impose excise taxes, tariffs, imposts and duties on corporate privileges and imports to defray its legitimate functions.

This class action lawsuit will be a watershed event in American history.  It will be a multi-million dollar, no-holds barred effort involving highly skilled and committed attorneys, extensive & sustained public communications (mass media purchases in print, radio and other mediums), technology development, logistical support, dedicated, professional staff management, and centralized physical offices.  The recent hiring of Devvy Kidd as the National Director for the WTP Congress and the opening of our new WTPC headquarters near Washington, DC are just the beginning of this effort. 

Since 1776, there has never been a time in America when We The People have had so much at stake.  Our resolve to secure the freedom that is rightfully ours will be fiercely challenged by the federal government.  The powerful forces that are entrenched in Washington, DC will not give up without a fight. 

Within the week, We The People Foundation will release a comprehensive, integrated plan of action that will explain how we intend to win this fight.
 

Here is what you can do now:

Join the Lawsuit:

We hereby invite all Americans concerned with restoring Constitutional order to support the class-action lawsuit by joining as members of the plaintiff class.   

There is no cost to join the lawsuit as a member of the plaintiff class.  

Members of the plaintiff class will not have to appear in court or file any papers, motions, etc.  The class is represented by the plaintiff attorneys at no cost to the class members. See the link above to join by mail.


Donate: 

As we stated previously, the entire cost of this history altering initiative will be funded solely through donations to the WTP Foundation and the WTP Congress. 

This struggle will be extended and will require a steady, predictable level of funding to execute and finance the sustained legal costs, nationwide public awareness campaign, logistical support and ongoing operations of our organization.  

The vision of raising several million dollars may appear difficult, but is readily achievable if each of us shares a portion of the burden.  Numbers count for everything and even small donations add up very quickly. 

We all know that nothing less than our Republic and our Freedom are at stake.  If each family would commit a regular, manageable portion of their monthly income to our common cause, we would immediately be able to reach out in a sustained and extensive manner, far beyond our current supporters to the vast expanse of America. This important commitment requires individual sacrifice and personal reflection on the priorities in our lives. 

We trust you have seen the results our organization has delivered over the last several years.
We trust you have seen our unwavering, deeply personal commitment to the protection of Liberty.
It is your generosity and commitment that have taken us this far, and it will be that same devotion that will ultimately enable us to prevail.

Reflect on this:  What is freedom worth to you and your family?  To what will you be called in life that will matter more than this?  

The lawsuit has started and the substantial legal bills have begun to arrive.  The support activities are proceeding. Without doubt, we need your immediate assistance.  Our commitment is unwavering, but we cannot succeed unless we join together and stand as one. 

We The People will publish periodic financial statements showing the sources and uses of all funds.  The first of such statements is currently being prepared by our outside auditors and will soon be released along with our new organizational brochure.

Click Here to make a donation.  You have our sincerest Thanks.

Our secure, on-line system supports one-time, monthly and twice-monthly e-donations. We support all the major credit cards and can process donations from your checking account and PayPal as well.  Our subscription-type donations can be stopped or changed by you at anytime either on-line or by request to our offices.  We can also process any form of donation via mail.  Our mailing address is:  WTP, 2458 Ridge Road, Queensbury, NY 12804.  All donations to the WTP Foundation are tax deductible.  

Spread The Word:

Concerned Americans need to hear the news. To this end, WTP has developed an initial series of public communications materials to inform, educate and attract support and participation in the suit. 

The initial set includes a flyer, a Media Kit, a color news insert featuring the Petitions and a 50–page information packet that includes forms and instructions on how to join the lawsuit as a member of the plaintiff class.  Right-Click here to download the 1.3 MB .pdf information package.   

We encourage wide distribution of the package electronically and in hard-copy format to reach those without ready, regular access to the internet.  

All of these materials can be found at the lawsuit Information Center.

Be At The Lawsuit Filing Event in DC

A large public media event is being planned to mark the filing of this historic legal action.

The suit will be filed in US District Court in the District of Columbia.  Although the date is subject to change, we plan to file the action on Tuesday, September 2^nd, 2003. 

Details of this event are being developed and will be released soon.  The filing will be marked by a press conference and public gathering to insure that history properly marks and records this important day.

Everyone is urged to begin to make arrangements to be in Washington in support of the filing of the lawsuit and the related media event.

Join the WTP Congress

The WTP Congress is the grassroots activist organization that is charged with raising public awareness and educating local communities about the lawsuit and its associated support activities.  The WTP Congress will  also engage in fund raising, the recruitment Plaintiffs for the class action and helping organize people everywhere to institutionalize vigilance in their own cities and states.

Click here to become a member of the WTP Congress and to work with local members of the We The People Congress.  Please also consider volunteering as a local or state WTP Coordinator.  We need your contributions of organizational, management and communications skills.

Be sure to also check out your local WTP Congress web pages for local contact information, scheduled meetings as well as local activist activities and news.
 

Click here to access the lawsuit Information Center:

Inside the Center, you will be able to:

• Read the published law review articles regarding the Right to Petition

• Print out the lawsuit flyers

• Join the lawsuit as a class member plaintiff

• Sign the Petitions for Redress of Grievances

• Obtain a copy of the lawsuit Information Package

• Make a donation

And much more. . .