Saturday, March 20, 2010

Census Quesitons and the Fifth Amendment

As many of you probably guessed, I have some major problems with the way the Census is handling their Constitutional job this time around.
They do not need to know my race or the status of my living arrangements.

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3:

[Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons]. The Actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years in such a Manner as they shall by Law direct.

The phrase "in such manner as they shall by law direct" refers to the manner in which the Census is executed, NOT what they can ask.
I found a letter on Lew Rockwell's Blog.
I want to warn, that I am not saying that you SHOULD do as this letter writer is espousing, only you can determine the risks for your own actions; however, I will be adopting the plan of stating only the head of household and the number of occupants in the household; this is what the Founding Father's wanted from us, nothing more. As the Blogger stated, anything more, and I'm pleading the Fifth Amendment.
The letter is as follows:

To Whom it May Concern,

Pursuant to Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the only information you are empowered to request is the total number of occupants at this address. My “name, sex, age, date of birth, race, ethnicity, telephone number, relationship and housing tenure” have absolutely nothing to do with apportioning direct taxes or determining the number of representatives in the House of Representatives. Therefore, neither Congress nor the Census Bureau have the constitutional authority to make that information request a component of the enumeration outlined in Article I, Section 2, Clause 3. In addition, I cannot be subject to a fine for basing my conduct on the Constitution because that document trumps laws passed by Congress.

Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brimson, 154 U.S. 447, 479 (May 26, 1894)

“Neither branch of the legislative department [House of Representatives or Senate], still less any merely administrative body [such as the Census Bureau], established by congress, possesses, or can be invested with, a general power of making inquiry into the private affairs of the citizen. Kilbourn v. Thompson, 103 U.S. 168, 190. We said in Boyd v. U.S., 116 U. S. 616, 630, 6 Sup. Ct. 524,―and it cannot be too often repeated,―that the principles that embody the essence of constitutional liberty and security forbid all invasions on the part of government and it’s employees of the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of his life. As said by Mr. Justice Field in Re Pacific Ry. Commission, 32 Fed. 241, 250, ‘of all the rights of the citizen, few are of greater importance or more essential to his peace and happiness than the right of personal security, and that involves, not merely protection of his person from assault, but exemption of his private affairs, books, and papers from inspection and scrutiny of others. Without the enjoyment of this right, all others would lose half their value.’”

Note: This United States Supreme Court case has never been overturned.

Respectfully,

A Citizen of the United States of America

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I just hope most Americans exercise the 5th amendment when it comes to the census. Hopefully, if enough do so it could send a clear message to WA.

Jeannetta said...

I know, me too.