o the Washington State Patrol Detachment at the Washington State Capitol:

We as patriots have worked with you several times now.  We came on the 13th of December, and we coordinated with you.  We came on the 15th of January, and in both cases you showed us respect and recognized that we are citizens with unalienable rights.  In return we offered you our respect as well, and while the 15th had its issues, we appreciated the way you chose to handle it, and publicly saluted you for your class and your upholding of the Constitution of our state and our nation.

Now there are “rules” barring us from exercising our right in the galleries of our own legislature.  We have talked to you, and we know you understand that we have the right to be there.  People that We elected to represent us and uphold our rights have decided that We, the People of the state of Washington, are no longer allowed to exercise our rights in a building that We own, while viewing the proceedings of the people We elected.  We are told that we will be arrested if we carry an open firearm into the galleries to view the proceedings of a government that only has power by the people’s consent.  This is not right.  It is not in line with the Constitution of the State of Washington, and it is not in line with the Constitution of the United States of America.  In your hearts, you know this to be wrong.

We know that many of you are prior military.  You took an oath to defend the Constitution against all threats, both foreign and domestic.  We know that you are now in a position that no American should ever have to be in—having to choose between enforcing the “rules” of an out of control government that you work for, or upholding the rights of the citizens you serve.  We do not envy your position, but we ask that you do the right and Constitutional thing.

On February 7th, we are coming to the Capitol.  We have no other choice but to do so, because We the People cannot allow this blatant assault on our rights.  We do not want a confrontation.  We have no ill will toward you, and we have no fight with you.  We come in peace, with resolve.  There is not a one of us who wants trouble of any kind.  But we will stand.  We will not allow our elected representatives—who only derive their power from the consent of the governed—to dictate to the people they serve how and when they will exercise their rights.

You were born with the same birthright as we were; liberty was purchased for you with the same blood.  Some of you may have even bled for that liberty, or lost friends and family in its defense.  Are you now willing to arrest your own countrymen to enforce a rule that even you know is wrong?  Are you willing to stand against your brothers and sisters, cousins, friends?  Have we fallen that far?

We are coming on the 7th, and we ask you to stand with us.  We ask you to remember your heritage, the legacy of freedom that so many have died to give you.  We ask that you look at our faces and see that we mean no harm, no malice.  We implore you, in that last moment, when you have the choice to arrest us or stand with us, that you reach into your heart of hearts and remember that we are all Americans, with a debt of blood-bought liberty that we can never fully repay.  As a veteran, I ask you to remember your oath to the Constitution, and your loyalty to freedom.  As a mother, I ask you to stand with us now so that my son and yours do not have to bleed for their liberty because we gave it away.

You do not have to do this.  You can still do the right thing, and uphold the Constitution and the principles of our liberty.  We understand your difficult position…but we ask you to understand ours as well.  We MUST stand; we have no other choice.  We want no fight, but we will not comply.  We will stand.

Stand with us.

http://www.patrickhenrysociety.com/an-open-letter-to-the-washington-state-patrol/