No joke: South Carolina now requires anti-government ’subversives’ to register

[DamianTV]

http://rawstory.com/2010/02/south-carolinas-subversive-activities-registration-act-force/


Five-dollar registration fee for persons planning to overthrow US government

Terrorists who want to overthrow the United States government must now register with South Carolina's Secretary of State and declare their intentions -- or face a $25,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

The state's "Subversive Activities Registration Act," passed last year and now officially on the books, states that "every member of a subversive organization, or an organization subject to foreign control, every foreign agent and every person who advocates, teaches, advises or practices the duty, necessity or propriety of controlling, conducting, seizing or overthrowing the government of the United States ... shall register with the Secretary of State."

There's even a $5 filing fee.

By "subversive organization," the law means "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."

(story continues on link)

Yeah, let me run right down there and register! Oh wait, I dont have five bucks...

[Reason]

How is it that the person who wrote that law didn't realize how completely ironic and useless that would be....

[Young Paleocon]

"bund" as in the german for confederation?

[TonySutton]

I should drive down there and register as Thomas Heyward Jr :P

[low preference guy]

If you register, you pretty much prove that you're not a subversive. What a stupid law.

[haaaylee]

What is Sanford's take on this? Can't he veto it? And wouldn't he?

[TastyWheat]

I'm sure the Democrats and Republicans have already paid their fee.

[DamianTV]

I have a feeling any time we try to fight the politicians with words we are gonna lose.

[JeNNiF00F00]

lol This state is insanely backwards at times.

[nate895]

As it says later in the story, this is just a law to add to the time in prison for someone who wants to overthrow the government. They don't expect anyone will actually fill out the form, except maybe as a joke. I have no problem with making sure terrorists of any sort are never released again through means such as this.

[haaaylee]

wanting to overthrow the Government doesn't necessarily make you a terrorist.


"That whenever and Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter of abolish it, and to institute new Government." - Declaration of Independence.

[mczerone]

This will be held unconstitutional by the SCOTUS, no doubts.

[Rael]

This will be held unconstitutional by the SCOTUS, no doubts.

+1

It's not illegal to advocate overthrow of the government.

[Carole]

So does this mean the Democratic Party, the UN, the environmentalists, etc...will have to register? :D

[nate895]

wanting to overthrow the Government doesn't necessarily make you a terrorist.


"That whenever and Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter of abolish it, and to institute new Government." - Declaration of Independence.

Nevertheless, that is who the law is aimed to get. If a situation like that occurred, it is likely the government would either be overthrown or the leaders shot anyway, it wouldn't change that situation in the slightest, which is an unlikely situation to say the least.