I love constitutional law! I love when celebrity/political gossip strays into constitutional law and it’s not about the First Amendment (free speech/freedom of assembly) or the Second Amendment (apparently, the right to carry machine guns into any Waffle House). But what about that long-forgotten but equally important amendment, Mr. Third Amendment? Per the Bill of Rights:
Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.”
Which basically means that Trump’s Bigly White Army can’t parachute into American towns and cities and demand food and lodging. It means that if Trump – or any governor – wants to throw the United States military into a civil rights protest on American soil, no citizen has to house those military peeps. And since corporations are people now – thanks Mitt Romney, thanks Republicans – corporate hotels can kick people out, Third Amendment style, especially when the DC Mayor orders it:
Just heard that Mayor Bowser is kicking the Utah National Guard out of all DC hotels tomorrow. More than 1200 troops from 10 states are being evicted. This is unacceptable. 1/2
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 5, 2020
These brave men and women have risked their lives protecting DC for three days. Rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared bc these soldiers served. And now they are being kicked to the curb by an ungrateful mayor. This must be stopped. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/YYyctKvUqN
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 5, 2020
First of all, pretty sure that “tear-gassing, flash-grenading and violently assaulting lawful protesters, journalists and members of clergy” does not qualify as “risked their lives protecting DC.” They were the ones risking other lives, black lives, brown lives and white lives through their willingness to undertake Donald Trump’s authoritarian measures. But still, it’s a good day for Third Amendment stans.
The guy who had Third Amendment on his apocalypse bingo pic.twitter.com/oouMZuHECE
— Dani K 🤍 (@dani_kerley) June 5, 2020
Third Amendment comin' in after nearly 300 years "Surprise, bitch!" pic.twitter.com/IprI4nmW89
— Mark Martinez @ BLM + ACAB (@MarkElDude) June 5, 2020
and the third amendment was there, right when America needed her most https://t.co/Mi2fb0Efrg
— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) June 5, 2020
absolute fucking scholar James Madison dabbing on everyone who ever made fun of the Third Amendment pic.twitter.com/vtC8vmrNQy
— GLADIO Nation (@SchrafftVortex) June 5, 2020
Third Amendment showing up like pic.twitter.com/xfvKaWMxie
— The Cheese is Old and Moldy (@pal_read) June 5, 2020
2020 woke up the third amendment pic.twitter.com/Nhl8mHmR36
— . ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 (@darthcab) June 5, 2020
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Bold move. Bravo, D.C. Mayor! Maybe they can bunk at La Maison Blanche.
in the bunkers that were recently inspected?
LOL
Trump Hotel can house them . It’s down the street from WH which makes commuting easy. It never dull occupancy anymore
He’ll charge them $1K a room and the federal government will pay, unfortunately. But I still do love the third amendment right now.
And at Trump Hotel, they’ll be allowed to wee on the beds! So there’s that…
LOL Nana!
I have always loved the Third Amendment.
I’m giggling maniacally at those tweets. These human shaped turds want to bring the constitution into it? Well third amendment it is, my dudes! I’m impressed beyond belief that the mayor pulled this off.
This is amazing.
Yep. Effing glorious!
Constitutional Law is meant to protect its citizens. Kinda sucks when the tables are turned and they use you’re own playbook 🤣
I weep For what is going on in this country. I will show my age but ROCK THE VOTE this November!!!!
I love those tweets, its nice when Twitter can be a bright spot over something like the third amendment lol.
This is when twitter is at its very best.
From the other side of the Atlantic, this is looking more and more like an undeclared civil war… IMHO. Seeing this move I believe even corporations are starting to worry about the militarization of cities and are testing if they can still count on the law of the land to avoid being coopted into the repression effort. Super scary.
(I want to write “stay safe”, but I do understand that protesting might be more important than personal safety right now…)
I think when BLOTUS retweeted a comment from a supporter that said the only good democrat is a dead democrat the declaration was made. Truly super scary over here. And the heaviness of seeing it all fall apart is hard to describe really. The only choice is to march forward, VOTE, and pray a little.
But as Mr. Rogers taught me, I try to look for the helpers – the people who are standing up on the front lines are breathtakingly brave. The protests where I am are fairly calm and the cops aren’t overtly dickish, but the video I see around the country of people both protesting and those supporting them being forced to go against the armed forces… Enormous courage. Hopefully this is what will shape the 21st century.
Retired military here. And I’m absolutely here for this. Yes it’s gonna cause problems in DC and also give the right wingers something to rally against. But this is the right move.
I also love that the “corporations are people” is now gonna bite the government toadies who wanted it in the butt. Unintended consequences for the win!
There are those of us who have served and are still serving who are disgusted with the politicization of the military. It’s complicated for those who still serve and cannot speak what they really want to say. Keep those 1200 in your thoughts. They now have to be braver then they ever thought they would have to be.
Jaxonmeh,
Thank you for weighing in!
I am all for the 3rd amendment being brought in, but was also feeling bad for the military who don’t have a choice but to follow orders. Glad to see someone who “knows better” comment as I honestly didn’t know how to feel about that aspect.
It’s hard to watch but it’s also interesting. And military members are feeling the effects already. I’ve heard of rocks being thrown at private vehicle windows. Traveling in uniform to and from work is starting to change due to harassment, etc. I won’t be parking in Mil Retiree spots right now.
I get it though. And there’s a mix of people in those uniforms. Some get what is going on. Some don’t. And they permeate the officer and enlisted ranks. I feel for them but I still believe they will do the right thing by this nation. I don’t have hope for much these days, but it’s the one thing I still hold on to because I was “indoctrinated“ for so long.
Black Lives Matter. Also there are too many people of color in the military right now for the right wing to turn them against the American people. And too many people who have seen the ugliness of war. We don’t want it here. And we don’t want to be used against our country.
Also this may get to a point where those orders aren’t legal. We may already be there. I don’t know what orders are being given to the military on site.
But just so you know “just following orders” is not an acceptable legal defense either for a military member. Military members are legally obligated to not follow an illegal order. We may be in a gray area but I feel like it’s going to be tested soon if it’s not already.
I also feel bad for the individuals who think they don’t have a choice. But as the Nuremberg trials taught us, “just following orders” is not an acceptable excuse. The people in the military are brave, so they should use that bravery to stand up and say “no” to illegal orders. Blind support of illegal military action is, itself, an (insidious) attack on America.
Do they pay for the lodging ?
The military pays it for them. They make funds available to the individual member if they are authorized off base accommodations. There’s also lodging on base too that is considered a hotel. And dorm facilities on base.
Usually that’s through a government authorized credit card for things like this or they get reimbursement after the fact or they file for it in chunks if whatever is going on last long enough.
There are bases nearby If need be. But if necessary they can build tent infrastructures on base to accommodate. I mean who doesn’t want to camp out in DC area in the summer with the cicadas coming.
The taxpayer paid, regardless of how they paid. That’s where the military gets its money. That’s who gives them their paychecks. Nobody should forget that.
@Veronica I was explaining the actual logistics. And everyone in the military knows where they get their pay from.
And people on both sides of these issues pay that salary. Never forget that. That’s why we have rules and laws to do the right thing even when that actual right thing is hard to do. Because that salary and who pays it should not be influencing a military member from doing the actual right thing.
No, I understood exactly what you said. I was adding on to your point. My point being that these are American citizens who are paid by the money of other American citizens. The uniforms they are wearing are paid for by American citizens. The weapons they use are paid by tax money. The military is created by the American taxpayer and funded by the American taxpayer to protect American citizens against threats to the society, not the people of this country exercising their right to protest.
So if illegal order comes down to fire on their fellow citizens, they have a responsibility not to forget that. Not that they should be put in that position in the first place. Military personnel get used by this country as canon fodder often enough in foreign wars. They deserve better than being treated as a hired gun against their fellow citizens.
@Veronica I’ve explained that in another comment above as well. I get you’re mad, so I’ll let you just be mad.
We’re on the same side though. But the military are already feeling vitriol. Our military core values are going to be tested though through this. I still believe the military values that they will do the right thing when push comes to shove.
My response was an attempt to clarify that I agreed with your position and was elaborating on the complexity of the ethical issue of the troops being in DC, given that I grew up in a military home and am aware of the precariousness of their position. I’m not certain why that necessitated condescension in response, but have at it.
Your very first response is the problem. And your second. I answered a question, you decided to make it about something else.
As I said everyone (Who pays taxes atleast) pays the military their salary. Including people you disagree with. They also think it gives them the “right” to make the call what is right what they should be doing and use that pull of paying them to do what you’re saying. It’s just a “Karen” at a different level.
That pay has nothing to do with doing the right thing, regardless who is making the demand. It’s why we have laws and rules dictating our behavior in uniform. And if they violate them, they will be held accountable.
As a retired military member I do have actual first hand experience on dealing with issues like this internally. But then I feel you are being very condescending towards all military members with the statements in this thread.
I said what I said.
Jaxonmeh nothing Veronica said contradicted what you said. She was affirming the view that the military should not be used against American citizens on American soil. American citizens in the military should not be put in a position to harm American citizens who are civilians. You explained it from a military perspective. She explained it from a taxpayer and citizens perspective. Wtf @ telling her “what the problem is” with her response when there was no actual disagreement?
And given the visuals of the last week or so nobody else is quite as confident that military laws or training would stop some of the gung ho military personnel from firing upon protesters being vilified by your commander in chief. That you continued badgering Veronica about her response which actually supported yours doesn’t lend any confidence in the military to be sensitive to the current situation. The drill sergeant routine was unnecessary and unimpressive.
Third Amendment gets its day! Step off First and Second. Awww, legal humour.
Sometimes the law doesn’t work for justice….and sometimes it does. Sometimes it really really does. 😁
Hi Folks – I’m a DC resident and taxpayer without Congressional representation in the Senate. It’ll bullshit. Mayor Bowser has shown how much of a badass she can be at moments of crisis. Please call your member of congress and demand for DC statehood. https://statehood.dc.gov/page/contact-congress#/3/.
As a fellow DC resident and taxpayer can I just say amen. No more taxation without representation. Also, hi neighbor!
The DC Mayor is a badass. Trump loves to bully other leaders. He loves to bully women and you can imagine what he thinks of a woman of color. She has stood up to him foot to foot. Or she would if he wasn’t hiding in the bunker. Badass! I have been an attorney for almost 20 years you don’t get a fun 3rd amendment case often 🙂
Which means all troops sent to D.C., NYC, or Florida will be put up, on the US taxpayers dime, in Trump hotels. He’ll make even more millions off the taxpayers because the emoluments clause lawsuits aren’t going anywhere.
If I remember correctly (and I was not finance when I was active duty, but this did impact me due to what I was authorized when traveling or working under official government orders), each unit that is sending troops has a budget for spending on temporary duty assignments. If this is not getting supplemented, they’re not going to want to waste their money on egregiously priced hotels. One offs in an emergency for an overnight, sure. But accounting for said expenditures is a pain in the ass.
So it’s going to be interesting to see how this is dealt with from that perspective. There’s a butterfly effect funding wise that will be interesting to watch.
Retired military here. I’m disgusted with this as you are, just throwing out info that I Hope might be helpful to the masses.
There is a limit for hotel reimbursement. The maximum is 150% of the lodging rate which automatically disqualifies bunker bitch’s hotel because it surpasses the limit. No one will authorize reimbursement for that without getting in trouble.
June’s lodging is $256/night. 150% is $384/night. That can’t even buy a shoebox in turd hotel.
Looks like the Mayor one upped that turd.
Doesn’t matter if there is a limit. If there is a way for Trump to make money off this, he will. They’ll lower the cost per night to the exact amount the military is allowed to spend.
Hasn’t Trump already profited off this in Scottland and the U.S. with both military personnel and Secret Service??? I remember it being in the news.
I’m a lawyer and all my geeky law school classmates are excited that the Third Amendment is coming into play lol. Is the statement “And since corporations are people now – thanks Mitt Romney, thanks Republicans” just a throw away reference to Romney’s infamous “corporations are people” quip?? because corporations have legally been defined as individuals long before Romney said it lmaoo… Anyways, go off Mayor Bowser!
I wonder if the Pritzker family who privately own the Hyatt chain got on the hooter with Bowser about this? Just wonderful.
Senator Mike Lee is unfortunately my jack*ss Senator. He touts himself as a constitutional law expert, while simultaneously bowing & bending over anytime Trump asks. He’s okay with Trump bribing Ukraine for dirt on Biden and with Trump tear gassing peaceful protestors for a photo op with the Bible, but not this. Insert eye roll.
These tweets are :fire:! Oh my goodness this just made my day!
I am just trying to figure it out. I am from outside US. Does this mean the citizens dont want a police force anymore. And if there is looting or vandalism I know a lot of Americans are ok with this but for how long do they not want the police to protect small businesses ? Until the police fire all their staff and rehire newly trained ? I dont understand. And do Americans think all police are awful ? No where do I see people saying with exception….no one knows a police officer who is a good person in the states ? Is it so bad there? And will this lead to less funding for police and also less likely for young people wanting to join the police force ? I cant figure it all out. If there were no police at the protest sites would this be ok? There would be no issue for crowd control and crushing from crowds? Confused foreigner !!
@Thinking
I’m not sure what sources you’re consulting that prompt you to say “nowhere do I see people saying with exception… no one knows a police officers who is a good person in the states?”. I am in America, and I see TONS of people who are speaking up for the police. Heck, on national TV we just had the head of Homeland Security state that most policemen are upstanding citizens, with a few bad apples. I certainly understand that America, as well as any country, can be confusing from the outside and without context, and that you have no obligation to read all of our news and follow our in-fighting, but please then refrain from drawing conclusions from incomplete information.
The police force as it currently in most parts of the country is an entrenched arm of white supremacy that is poorly trained, overly violent, and protected by powerful unions that have enough sway with other parts of the legal system that they have no reason to answer to law themselves. People want police – but they want police that are subject to the same laws as everybody else, that are properly trained and thoroughly vetted, who are not hauling around weapons designed for actual warfare rather than urban conflict, and who will answer to overweight committees. All Americans are subject to police brutality at this point, but the vast bulk of the abuses occur in minority communities and most obviously with black Americans. Most Americans want reform not absolute dissolution of the service. We can make as many arguments as we want about “good police,” but realistically, people shouldn’t have to play Russian roulette with what officer they encounter.
What the mayor is doing here, however, is not specifically related to the police. Washington D.C. is the seat of the federal government, but it has no actual representational power as a state in the American union. That’s why it has no national guard of its own and others are being brought in for use of force against protesters in defiance of the will of the elected representation of D.C. (i.e. the mayor and council). The mayor has stated she wants them out. Therefore, the argument being put forth is that the mayor will likely utilize the third amendment, which bars use of the private property of citizens by military, in order to evict them from their established bases. The reason she can do this is because of a court case a few years back that allowed corporations to be designed as having citizen rights, which, for all intents and purposes, was a bad thing but now may backfire in their face.
You sound so similar to my aunt (from south east asia who now lives in Japan), she just keeps banging on about the looters and rioters, even supporting and liking posts about how the police/army/military/other civilians just shoot them/blast them off. Agrees to the dehumanising references(racoons, pests, etc) towards them which is ironic since she was an illegal immigrant for a couple of years in Japan before she met her now husband.
Basically, she’s more outraged about property being damaged than systemic racism and police brutality.
In many cases, the people that are looting are not the people that are protesting. The protests have been VERY peaceful. The violence is coming FROM the police. There are so many videos of peaceful protestors being fired upon by police with rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, etc.
I will post links to 2 videos that demonstrate the police opening fire on peaceful people.
Here are 2 videos. One shows multiple instances of police violence in various cities. The other shows a crowd in Iowa City.
https://twitter.com/numbcolby/status/1268556330832461831?s=12
https://twitter.com/djpaimon/status/1268399580753858561?s=12
I have sent her numerous links regarding police brutality on peaceful protestors, pointed her to reports of people who are not protesting but inciting violence, opportunists who are looting, people with agendas wrecking and defacing properties to discredit the protesters and BLM movement but it’s a waste of time as her mind is closed. She’s not even American but is posting about how she supports dump45 and no one can change her mind.
She’s brown and south east asian, I doubt dump and his cohorts would give her the time of the day but what do I know. I’ve given up on her and others on my feed who are immigrants, brown skinned yet they won’t empathise with black people’s suffering instead they are angry about the looting and destruction and voice support for the cretin currently occupying/desecrating the white house. It makes me rage because even when our ancestors have been colonised/enslaved for hundreds of years most of us still cannot let go of the racism inherited from our white colonisers (Spanish, British (for a short period of time), Japanese, Americans) towards people with a darker skin tone than us.
The media in my country keeps showing pictures of all the fires so I worry everyone in the states is ok. And I worry too coz I heard Covid was bad in the States and all those people coming together. It could spark a scenario like Italy. But like everyone wrote the media isnt telling the whole story.
The objection here is to the military putting down protests – not police. The mayor believes the police can keep the protests safe and doesn’t want the military coming in full combat mode.
Please cite a news source for this. I am not seeing one article about it on Huff Post, WaPo, etc… so would like a citation to confirm this.
You’re right, actually. She requested them to remove troops but has yet to do anything with the third amendment. That’s just the legal grounds some people suggesting may follow:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/politics/dc-mayor-requests-trump-remove-troops/index.html
Honestly, this really highlights the need of D.C. to have federal representation.
and why we need to be very careful of misinformation right now.
It should also be mentioned that invoking the Third does not force them to vacate local lodging – it gives the ‘owners’ of those enterprises the legal means to ask them to leave if they choose that option. The Mayor cannot invoke the Third amendment on behalf of someone else’s property.
Having said that, if I owned a hotel, I’d be all over it.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/05/washington-dc-mayor-trump-withdraw-troops-muriel-bowser
Military sister and husband was former Army Captain, they both are of the mindset that the military is supposed to protect the constitution and not the particular person in office. In other words, F$!& 45.
The Mayor of DC did not come to play on this day! She just renamed the street Trump has to use to leave the WH Black Lives Matter Plz
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-paints-black-lives-matter-on-street-near-lafayette-square-street-renamed-black-lives-matter-way/2323647/
That is awesome.
That’s awesome!!
John Mulaney voice: “The army can’t come in ya hooooouse!
That clip was hilarious. Who’d a thunk it, the 3rd amendment? Sneaky little bastard.
Mayor Bowser is the hero we need! Get those guys out of there.