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Anyone who lives in South Carolina and considers themselves to be a subversive or terrorist is now legally required to register with the South Carolina Secretary of State for a $5 fee. If you are caught planning to overthrow the government without having registered, you could face a $25,000 fine and up to 10 years in jail. It seems strange though, given the fact that attempting to overthrow the government is considered treason, which is punishable by death. After all, what is another 10 years in prison going to matter to someone scheduled to die?
Of course, it’s uncertain whether the many subversive militias located in the state meet the requirements for this bill, or if it only applies to Islamic terrorist threats.
The law, called “bureaucracy for terrorists” by local news blog FitsNews, seems just as silly as those in Arizona and other states that demand drug dealers pay income taxes on their sales. Essentially, the laws punish the criminals even further because they didn’t tell the government they were criminals to start with.
Image courtesy of Simonov’s Flickr stream.
Comments (15)
Comment
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Wouldn’t the fifth amendment make that unconstitutional?
posted by Andrew on 3-11-2010 at 7:54 am
Why the picture of the Ruger Mk II target pistol? Not exactly the weapon of choice of revolutionaries.
posted by TBV on 3-11-2010 at 8:47 am
As a SC native, I have to say– nothing about this surprises me. But seriously, it’s a way to prosecute the plethora of slick, otherwise law-abiding terrorists in SC, whom most of the country affectionately refers to as “rednecks.”
This also reminds me of that old law in CA that required you to have a license to use marijuana, which was mostly illegal there at the time. It was abolished by the CA Supreme Court due to it’s conflicts with the Fifth Amendment, which protects you from self-incrimination and double jeopardy (since CA drug offenders would be tried for both possession and failing to register).
How long will this hold up in SC? Probably about as long as they flew the Confederate flag above the state house after the Civil War was over.
posted by Joel on 3-11-2010 at 9:02 am
Actually, as I recall the rules on sales tax on drug sales, the laws tend to state that making such a payment (in the form of purchasing drug “stamps”) cannot be used as evidence against a person making such a payment. Ergo, the drug tax laws are not in violation of the 5th Amendments self incrimination rules
posted by tkrausse on 3-11-2010 at 9:10 am
Sounds like a way to ensure that they have something to charge suspected terrorists with – even if they can argue that they didn’t manage to pull off a plot, they failed to register. Definitely sounds like there are some 5th Amendment issues…
posted by Catherine on 3-11-2010 at 9:26 am
If I were still a resident of SC, I’d make it a point to register, just in case.
I have no current plans to overthrow the government, but who knows where the country will be 10-15 years from now?
I mean, if there’s a sudden influx of registrants as a revolution is brewing, all it’s going to do is tip off the government. I think it’s best to plan ahead. And at only $5, being a revolutionary has never been so affordable.
posted by 8rustystaples on 3-11-2010 at 9:55 am
You’re sadly late to this party. This law was enacted during the communist hysteria half a century ago.
posted by Ben on 3-11-2010 at 12:21 pm
Do you get a certificate or license or anything?
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 3-11-2010 at 12:42 pm
Risible as these kind of laws seem, they do serve a sneaky purpose: to provide a simple charge that’s easier to prove and to convict on. Don’t forget that Al Capone only got put away because he was convicted of tax evasion.
posted by VM on 3-11-2010 at 12:50 pm
from the law:
“every corporation, society, association, camp, group, bund, political party, assembly, body or organization, composed of two or more persons, which directly or indirectly advocates, advises, teaches or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States [or] of this State.”
Each local government is a group that practices conducting the government.
Therefore, the government must register as subversive. Assuming that the governmental agencies did not register themselves, it is fair to state they are all criminals.
posted by Traci on 3-11-2010 at 1:12 pm
I recently moved from Louisiana to Ohio, and was shocked at the amount of silly paperwork that I had to fill out for the Department of Education to obtain an Ohio teaching license. One of those was a “Declaration of Material Assistance to Terrorists” form. Question 1 – Are you a terrorist? yes or no. I think it had 8 questions, all centering around – are you a terrorist or have you knowingly (or unknowingly) provided assistance to terrorist groups.
It’s probably the dumbest form I’ve ever filled out. What terrorist would actually say YES on that form? It’s the biggest CYA (cover your a**) paperwork I’ve ever seen. “We didn’t know he was a terrorist, Your Honor. He said he wasn’t when we hired him.”
posted by Sarah on 3-11-2010 at 1:41 pm
It reminds me that Al Capone was arrested on tax evasion charges. It’s a way to bust people who the cops aren’t good enough to catch wrong-doing
posted by hockey zombie on 3-11-2010 at 3:30 pm
If everyone would please take a minute to read the following article, it will clear a few things up:
http://www.thestate.com/2010/03/02/1182300/sc-bill-would-get-rid-of-filing.html
As Ben says above, this is actually a law enacted in 1951 that bloggers – and now Mental Floss – have mistakenly reported as recent legislation. In truth, the only recent legislation on the issue involves removing this archaic rule from the books.
Ms. Harness, please be more thorough in your research.
posted by Chance on 3-11-2010 at 4:55 pm
Boy did I pick the wrong article to read during a bout of misanthropy…
posted by Drew on 3-11-2010 at 8:35 pm
I personally know at least two people who purchased those California drug stamps for their stamp collections. They classed them as “revenue” stamps, similar to the US Govt-issued stamps that used to be on playing cards, bottles of booze, and so on.
-”BB”
posted by Bicycle Bill on 3-12-2010 at 10:03 am