Paul Jacob, who writes a column for TownHall.com and has his “Common Sense” column published each week at Sam Adams Alliance.com. is in trouble with the law in Oklahoma. Paul is a political activist and is a very active advocate for term limits and other libertarian/conservative issues. He was arrested along with Susan Johnson of National Voters Outreach, and Rick Carpenter, the head of Oklahomans in Action, and may well serve 10 years in prison for circulating a petition in Oklahoma.

Apparently it’s against the law, a felony, in Oklahoma to circulate and collect signatures on a petition if you are not a resident of the state, and it is also a felony for state residents who sign a petition that they knowingly know is a legally false petition.  The definition of resident was defined to mean a person with intentions to be a resident.

In 2005 a petition (Stop Over Spending) was circulated in Oklahoma along with a campaign to place on a state wide ballot a measure for TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) restoring fiscal responsibility at the state government level as had the state of Colorado. Those known as the Oklahoma 3, all from out of state, worked together to get the petition process moving within Oklahoma. A big stink occurred. The opposition brought in people (known as blockers) from as far away as Oregon to demonstrate against and hinder the collection of signatures.

Why would anyone fight against a policy requiring the government to be responsible for their expenditures? But they were there blocking the petition using tactics to intimidate and hinder a right as guaranteed in our national constitution.

“Government of the people, from the people, for the people is the crux of the entire Taxpayers Bill of Rights. The TABOR petition to limit government spending in Oklahoma was sponsored by an Oklahoman. More than 1,000 Oklahomans collected petition signatures and 300,000 Oklahomans signed it. But it only took a handful of political-judicial power brokers to deny Oklahomans their right to limit legislative spending from reaching the ballot.” Susan Johnson.

The people of Oklahoma lost out. Justice for citizens to insure their government operate fiscally responsibly loses out.

The power brokers and the big government people won. Believe it or not there are numerous folks who really think that bigger and more expansive government is the answer to problems people face. I know that’s hard to believe, but it is so. They are everywhere wanting more and more infringements into our rights.

Drew Edmondson, as the AG of Oklahoma has arrested these three fellow citizens on felony charges.

“Jacob, Johnson and Carpenter are charged with violating a state statute requiring petition circulators to be residents of Oklahoma. Jacob is the president of Citizens in Charge, which defends citizen initiative rights, and a senior fellow with the Sam Adams Alliance. Johnson is president of National Voter Outreach, a petition management firm who has successfully completed several previous petition drives in Oklahoma. Carpenter is president of Oklahomans in Action, which promoted a 2005 initiative to cap state spending.” Sen. Brogdon says Oklahomans Should be Dismayed by Politically Motivated Indictment of Citizen Activists.

This is an outrage. As a resident of Tulsa County, I am deeply disturbed and angered that our Attorney General would play around with definitions of the law in order to stop a group of citizens trying to petition the government for a redress of grievances which is guaranteed under the 1st amendment of our national constitution. The AG did not stop the outside the state group from coming in and hindering the petition signature collections. Why not? The actions of Edmondson can be described as terrorist intimidation. Using the strong arm of the government to harass and intimidate the lowly citizens from exercising the right to assemble, the right to express their opinions and the right to redress the government for grievances (petitioning the government to allow people to vote on a measure important to them). Edmondson should be impeached, fired and run out of town the way the olden Okies used to do. And, if he has been pressured into these actions, then the people need to know by who and why, and they should be run out of the state also.

More links and background articles.

We the Oklahoma 3. 10/07/2007

NVO the National Voters Outreach Journal Article 05/02/2007

Paul Jacob blog.

Free Paul Jacob

What have you heard about this on the mainstream media?

Have the liberals come to the defense of Oklahoma 3 in the name of personal rights? Why not?

Has the ACLU stepped up to defend them? Why not?

Do we want our government to be so powerful that they can stop citizens from speaking out against the government, that the powers to be can use police force to stop ordinary citizens from signing and circulating petitions amongst themselves, that a City, County, State or the Federal government can use police force to restrain a law-abiding citizen from expressing a grievance against any level of government?

I would side with the citizen rather than with the government even though the citizen may be by the letter of the law legally wrong because it is the right of citizens to protest. Oklahoma is wrong for having such stringent rules. Edmondson is wrong for pursuing this matter. Getting rid of the criminals who harm and violate innocent civilians should be enough to keep him and our courts busy 365 days of the year.

It has the same smell as Johnny Sutton prosecuting Ramos and Compean. An injustice.

As I see It.

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