The Constitution of Federalized States of Freedom Haven (Draft Version 0.29 10/29/2018. More at: FreedomHaven.org ) goo.gl/6prK68 goo.gl/NQJLdE goo.gl/qt1jkn PREAMBLE ---- We the individual People, in order to secure the right to defend ourselves, to limit the size and scope of Government, and to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, so that we can have the chance to learn, grow, and work towards achieving our greatest individual divine potentials (so that through our efforts, and without compulsory means, prosperity may flow unto us forever and ever), do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Federalized States that form the Country of Freedom Haven. We recognize that: * Freedom is an essential ingredient for individuals to achieve their greatest potential. We hold to the Philosophy of Liberty as a means to improve upon the Life that we have. * The initiation of Force is immoral and harmful. * Any Government, or any system of Force/Compulsion/Coercion, will naturally try to grow in size and scope over time. We oppose such expansion. This Constitution is established for the purpose of preserving the highest degree of Freedom possible for each Individual while preserving the Individual’s right of self-defense. It is also meant to be chains to limit what Government can do. ARTICLE I: DEFINITIONS ---- These definitions are written in logical order, not in order of importance. Understanding all of these definitions is essential to understanding the intention of this Constitution. * FORCE (or COMPULSION/COERCION) is defined as taking/destroying or threatening to take/destroy someone else's Life, Freedom, and/or Property. * FREEDOM (or LIBERTY) is defined as living Life with the least amount of Force (or threat of force) used against you as possible. - Freedom is a God-given natural right, and exists in the absence of any Government. - Government cannot create Freedom – it can only preserve, protect, restore, or suppress it. - Freedom is the ability to use your Life and Property according to your will, as long as it does not take away from someone else's Freedom to do the same with their Life and Property. Freedom is what you are naturally able to do in the absence of someone threatening to Murder you, Kidnap you, or Steal and/or destroy your Property. - For example: We claim the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. * LIFE means sentient human Life. This is any human (with human DNA) that has their own unique brain activity. - A human body that does not have any brain activity for a documented extended period of time (aka: “brain dead” or “vegetative state”) is the Property of their legal guardians. * PROPERTY (or TANGIBLE PROPERTY) is anything that you can touch which can be owned. - You cannot own another sentient human being. You (and only you) own your body while you are alive. > Long term actions that are deliberately intended to produce sleep deprivation can cause brain damage (which is property damage), and if that leads to deliberate death then this is Murder. > Deliberately damaging someone’s hearing through loud noise is also Property damage, but it is expected (in certain areas where loud noise is expected) that people take their own precautions (within reason) to prevent hearing damage. - The only items Government recognizes as Property are Tangible Property. - Control over intangible (or “virtual”) items (which you cannot touch), such as information, perceived value, ideas, processes, etc, are not God-given natural rights. People may choose to keep their intangible items concealed from others or secure them within their rights of their own Tangible Property, but they may not attempt to control intangible items through the use of Force on others. You are not justified in using Force to control what happens with intangible items once they have left the control of your Tangible Property. - Tangible Property shall exist as either LAND (non-portable Property) or PORTABLE PROPERTY. - LAND Property Ownership: > Multiple public decentralized databases should be kept by the people that record who owns which lands in Freedom Haven, with clear boundaries defined so that conflicts can be avoided. > Where two or more individuals assert a claim to the same Property, the right of the claimant able to assert the best claim is to be respected. The criteria by which the best claim is determined shall include: the time at which the claim was first publicly asserted, and the use to which the claimants have put the Property to (the greater the use, the greater the claim). > Lands shall extend above to the height of the space occupied by the tallest owned solid structure, and below to beyond the depth needed to maintain a very stable foundation of all structures on the owned land. > No person, or group of people, may own all of the Property surrounding someone else’s Property without allowing them (and their portable possessions) instant reasonable access to enter or exit their Property at that person’s own will and timing. - PORTABLE RESIDENCE Property: > Any piece of Portable Property that can house one or more humans is considered a RESIDENCE Property. > The laws of a Portable Residence Property are the same as the laws of the Land that they reside on. If they do not reside on an owned piece of Land, then the laws are the same as the outer-most Residence Property they reside in/on. If they do not reside on an owned piece of Land, nor on/in another Residence Property, then they can choose their own laws within the limitations of this Constitution. - Any Property that people own (and can give legal consent regarding) may be voluntarily exchanged between consenting individuals, but they bear the legal burden of showing proof that such a voluntary transfer took place. - Violation of mutually voluntarily consented contracts involving Property can be seen as Theft of that Property and therefor may sometimes justify the use of Force to (by anyone the Property owner authorizes) to ensure all Property ends up with its legal owner, according to the contract. - A Property owner may evict anyone on that person’s Property for any reason at any time, unless a voluntarily signed contract removes some or all of this eviction right, but a realistic amount of time must be allowed to reasonably vacate the premises with any Property they own. Contracts are responsible for covering what happens regarding reimbursement, if any, if an eviction occurs. - A Property owner controls the use of their Property. * MURDER is ending sentient human Life without consent, unless it is needed for self-defense. * KIDNAPPING is taking away Freedom (without consent, unless it is needed for self-defense), which includes (but is not limited to) the following examples IF no consent is given: - restraining (which includes Rape), - imprisoning, - blocking access to enter or exit Property (that you have authority or permission to enter), - providing addictive recreational drugs or other addictive substances. * THEFT is taking, destroying, using, or damaging Property without consent (unless it is needed for self-defense). This includes the following: - robbery - invasion/trespassing - arson/vandalism - using someone else's Property without their consent. This includes RAPE, which is physically using someone else's body for sexual intercourse without their consent. * DEFENSIVE FORCE (or Self-Defense): is using Force only to defend your Life from a Murderer, your Property from a thief/invader/trespasser/arsonist/vandal/rapist/etc., or your Freedom from a Kidnapper/rapist/etc. * GOVERNMENT is any person, or group of persons, using Force, regardless of whether the use was justified or not. To the people of Freedom Haven, Government and Force are synonymous. Anyone using Force is Government, and Government only exists when Force (or the threat of Force) is present. * EXTRADITION is capturing an individual and sending them to a foreign Government to answer for crimes against that foreign Government that are not also crimes against the laws of Freedom Haven. * POLLUTION ***** TBD ***** ARTICLE II: RIGHTS ---- There are no rights but those that exist for all people. No third party can take away an individual’s rights. All rights are based on the truth of self-ownership. * LIFE, FREEDOM and PROPERTY - Each individual person has the right to maintain and control his or her own personal Life, personal Freedom, and personal Property. * DEFENSIVE FORCE - Force is only sometimes justified to defend someone’s Life, Freedom, and/or Property. - Since Governments naturally grow over time, this Constitution is established to block that growth, so that the least amount of Force needed is used (to defend Life, Freedom, and/or Property) and the greatest amount of Freedom is preserved. An imperfect execution of justified Government action does NOT justify an expansion of Government authority. - All people are permitted to arm themselves with whatever weapons they believe is needed to defend themselves and others, with the exception of nuclear and biological weapons (which are forbidden). Private Property owners are permitted to further restrict weapons within their boundaries for the safety of their Property. - Since we oppose the expansion of Government, only the minimal amount of force needed should be used in a particular situation so that the situation is not escalated – this requires self-restraint when using force. While it is good to be honest with your feelings, we should aspire to be full of love and compassion: it is better to act out of love for that which you are protecting than to act out of hate of the person who took away what you had. - All Property owners have the right to expel anyone on their Property, or deny access to their Property, for any reason they wish. Individuals may disagree with the reason the Property owner gives or may think the reason is invalid, but this does not justify violating another person’s Property. * WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE GOVERNMENT - Neither the Government of Freedom Haven nor any organization has any rights except for those rights which exist for each individual persons. - The Government may not use Force, except the minimum needed to stop Murder, Kidnapping, or Theft (as defined in this document). Any individual has the right to defend Life, Freedom, and/or Property (as defined in this document), but when such Force is used, that individual (or group of individuals) is (in that moment) part of the Government and is subject to the limitations contained within this Constitution. - The emphasis of Government should not be to punish or condemn people for their actions but instead to protect Life, Freedom, and/or Property. People can change and improve, and Government should not stand in the way of people becoming better than they were. The emphasis should be on providing mercy to those who seek to fix what they broke, and not on handing out justice. * ESTABLISHMENT OF STATES The boundaries of a privately owned Land, or Portable Residence, Property that doesn't exist inside the boundaries of another privately owned Land, or Portable Residence, constitutes a STATE. Each State owner may have his/her own specific laws for their State for implementing this Constitution within their boundaries, with the following conditions: - All people should have reasonable notification of, and access to, the documented laws that exist within a Land Property with reasonable advance warnings of law changes. All people should have reasonable timely access to what each State’s laws are. - Each individual who legally enters another State should be notified of the laws they will be required to comply with within the boundary of that Property. This suggests brevity of the laws. - States may use the laws of another State. Having multiple States using the same laws makes it easier for trade and goods to cross boundaries. - If one person’s Portable Residence Property is inside another person’s Portable Residence Property or Land Property, the laws of the outer-most Property takes precedence. If a Land Property isn’t part of the equation, then the outer-most Portable Residence will take precedence. A person should not bring their Portable Residence Property into another person’s Land Property or Portable Residence Property unless they consent to abide by the associated laws. - If individuals cause any damage to another individual’s Property, owners may also establish reasonable ways for people on their Land Property (or Portable Residence) to fully repay any damages. The same may also be explored for loss of Freedom or loss of Life. - Government or voluntary non-Government mediation may be used to resolve issues between States of Freedom Haven, but this needs to be done in an orderly, publicly-understood and publicly-visible process. * CONSENT Consent must be recorded in a way that it can be proven in court that consent was indeed given. If individuals are accused of using Force, they shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty, but consent is assumed not to have been given unless it can be proven. If individuals are shown to have used Force, they must prove their self-defense justification, consent given, or else be in violation of the limitation on Force. Consent cannot be given to certain subject areas until after a certain age: - LIFE: You can give consent regarding your Life at age 21 (agree to assisted suicide, etc). You can defend your Life at any age. - FREEDOM: You can give consent to give up your Freedom/Liberty by using addictive substances, or trade your own slavery in exchange for products or services (indentured servitude or debt), etc. at age 18, on condition that an end-date is specified in the contract. (Overcoming any addictions acquired will be an individual responsibility.) - PROPERTY: You can give consent regarding your Property (minus your own body) at age 8 (your legal guardian can provide the consent until that age). You can provide consent regarding your body at age 18. - Consent can be legally granted to another (like "power of attorney") if the person wishes, after that person is old enough to legally give that consent themselves. In all things, consent is required to be documented in a way that would hold up as evidence in court if needed. Consent can only provided by the individual unless consent was given for a time to another through a “power of attorney” type of contract with sufficient witnesses and proof to hold up in court. Consent CANNOT be determined by the vote of the majority. * NO TAXATION. NO RIGHTS TO GOVERNMENT SERVICES. - Taxation is Theft and is forbidden – the Government may not steal to fund its efforts. - No Government services are a right. If individuals want a service, but do not want to pay for it, they will have to find someone who is willing to offer that service for free. If no one volunteers to do the service for free, then the service does not have to be offered. Individual people bear the ultimate responsibility to defend their own Lives, Freedoms, and Properties. For example: Individuals may choose to pay for their own security. - An individual’s right to self-defense shall not be taken away unless that individual can be proven to be initiating Force against others. For example: A shooter shots an innocent person and people nearby take the shooter's gun away and detain the shooter. - Each individual has the responsibility to be vigilant in order to protect his or her Freedoms, Property, and Life. Each individual is encouraged to document each instance of tyranny, so that Force is not used beyond self-defense. - Only the Property owner may impose fees for physical access to, or use of, their Property. No external Government, group, or individual, may impose any such fees or tariffs. * PRIVACY - Government shall not have any rights to privacy. Government must provide timely public visibility into all actions it performs. - Individuals may choose to implement privacy, but not at the cost of another individual’s rights to his or her own Life, Freedom, or Property. Privacy is best achieved by having control over your own Property. * INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS TRUMP ANY VOTE OF THE MAJORITY - The vote of the majority shall never take away the rights of the individual, as listed above. * NO EXTRADITION There will be no Extradition from Freedom Haven. - The Governments of foreign nations which seek any individual, currently in Freedom Haven, who broke those foreign nation’s laws, may choose to arrest them in their own respective nations, but they should not come to Freedom Haven seeking to arrest them in Freedom Haven, neither should they expect Freedom Haven to Extradite said individual, unless the individual has committed crimes worthy of banishment from Freedom Haven according to the laws of the corresponding State of Freedom Haven. - Representatives of those foreign nations are welcome to visit the States of Freedom Haven, with the consent of the State Property owner, as long as they abide by the laws of that State and do not threaten another individual’s Life, Freedom, or Property. No individual, including the representatives of other nations, in Freedom Haven is given special rights that are not also available to all individuals. Representatives of other nations will be required to abide by laws in accordance with this Constitution of Freedom Haven, just like everyone else. - Foreign nations may choose to prosecute members of Freedom Haven for laws that individual has broken in the State they reside, in accordance with those State laws. Courts should be wary of evidence provided by foreign country’s since those countries may have an incentive to frame the innocent with falsified evidence, so that they can circumvent the “no extradition” restriction. * LIMITATION - Any use of Force or Government action not justified in this Constitution is forbidden and is in violation of individual rights. - Any laws/regulations/executive-orders/etc passed in Freedom Haven that are in conflict with this Constitution are considered null and void and shall not be recognized by Freedom Haven’s courts, security forces (police, army, etc), or residents. ARTICLE III: BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES ---- Freedom Haven claims all of the various “internal waters”, “territorial waters”, and “exclusive economic zone” areas that exist for sovereign nations. Any person and their Property is welcome inside these boundaries on condition on their adherence to this Constitution and the laws of any State they visit. * All people are considered visitors of Freedom Haven until they obtain status of citizen * To become a citizen, a person must have been present at Freedom Haven more than 50% of the time over the previous year, and sign an affidavit of governance that requests their mother or father country to stay out of Freedom Haven affairs, and additionally asserts Freedom Haven as an independently governed nation. Any private Property may also become an extension of Freedom Haven, as a new State member of the Federation of States of the country of Freedom Haven, upon their covenanting to uphold this Constitution and the Freedom of the people. Any Property owned by anyone not willing to follow this Constitution is not welcome within any of the above mentioned boundaries of Freedom Haven. In addition to whatever is granted as a country’s right according to global norms, the country of Freedom Haven claims ownership to all water, land, and air, within their Contiguous zone (24 miles out), until anyone (who is willing to abide by this Constitution) lays physical claim to that water, land, or air by enclosing it – at which point it will become property of that person and the State they represent. Any damages, such as pollution (as defined above), to the water/land/air before it is claimed (as stated above) is not allowed, and any claimed water/land/air that is damaged in this manner may not be returned to the area owned by the country of Freedom Haven.