RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT DANGEROUS INTERPRETATION OF MISSOURI GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT DANGEROUS INTERPRETATION OF MISSOURI GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Public outrage of the MIAC report seems to be growing. And while many, including myself, have offered their interpretations of problems with the document, I feel that there seems to be a lack of communication on how to improve relations between the Missouri Government and the Public.

The recent problems with public perception of the MIAC report on the Modern Militia Movement do not end at simple misinterpretation. It is the beliefs of many that misinterpretations can be avoided by the inclusion of carefully structured language or the lack of inclusion of information and language that could obviously be misinterpreted.

It is also believed that the intent of the MIAC report is to target skeptics or small government activism. By nature, those who hold these beliefs will continue to view this incident in a negative light. The State of Missouri could utilize this incident to re-affirm its commitment to Constitutionally Lawful Activity within the state which could de-escalate skepticism and prevent further radicalization of individuals with Constitutional Concerns about Missouri Law Enforcement. The following are recommended actions for the State.

*The State of Missouri should issue a public apology, affirming that it is aware of differences between Individual Free Speech, Political Action Groups or Political Parties, and the activities of Political Paramilitary Radicals.

*The State of Missouri should firmly define “Militia” in compliance with the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America and affirms that the term “Militia” does NOT refer to Political Paramilitary Radicals or Political Activism.

*The term “Militia” should refer to the freedom of individual residents of the state to willingly organize, prepare, and be able to aid in times of emergency or war.

*Future informative reports for State Law Enforcement should refrain from over-generalized use of proper names of individuals, organizations, media, and affiliations. When absolutely necessary this type of profiling should ONLY be used to identify sources, targets, or primary first person connections to those entities.

*State of Missouri officials publicly acknowledge the First and Second Amendment rights to Free Speech, Assembly, and Militia, and that these rights as documented in the Constitution are given by an individual's Creator and shall not be infringed by institutions.

*Require every individual employed or contracted by a State Law Enforcement Agency to swear and adhere to the same Oath to the Constitution of the United States that current Missouri Highway Patrol swear to.

*A document be issued to every law enforcement agency that received the 02/20/2009 “The Modern Militia Movement” from the Missouri Highway Patrol or the Missouri Information Analysis Center, clarifying that personal political opinion is NOT sufficient reason to suspect radicalism or violence.

*Future “profile” reports provide the following : sources of documentation, sources of images, encouragement for the reader to research the documented descriptions independently, and a disclaimer that the information is not to be used in violation of the law. (similar disclaimers to those on offender databases)

*Examples provided in reports clarify beyond the term “Arrested” when individuals have been convicted of a crime and when they have not.

Recommended Alteration of language:
1.Anti-Government -> Against Perceived Tyranny
2.You Are The Enemy -> You May Be Falsely Perceived As An Agent of Tyranny
3.Conspiracy Theory -> Alternative Political View
4.Militia -> Paramilitary Radicalism
5.Right-Wing -> (no recommended adjective should replace the use of this phrase, as it is used to imply political affiliation)