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As An Attorney, I Cannot Fill Out This Form

Feb 9, 2010
By .
Politics & Current Events, WTF?

It would jeopardize my law license.  I swore an oath many years ago to support the Constitution of the United States.  South Carolina is one of those states.

You may not so encumbered.  You may wish to fill out the form, and send five dollars to the South Carolina Secretary of State.  As an attorney, I must advise you that doing so may have adverse repercussions should you wish to enter certain professions or to form certain associations, but at the same time, the First Amendment protects you from criminal prosecution should you merely fill out the form and send your five dollars.

In its ironic way, it may be the best five dollars you ever spent.  If ever an American government needed to be overthrown, it was the government of South Carolina.

H/t: TJIC.

Last 5 posts by Patrick

12 Comments
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11 Comments

  1. Ken  •  Feb 9, 2010 @11:15 am

    I would say that you should fill out the form, as the law is so broad that it applies to anyone who belongs to any political group or party that seeks to "control" the government.

  2. whomever  •  Feb 9, 2010 @11:37 am

    I think your law license is OK. The form asks if you advocate … the duty of … controlling … the government of the US. Well, who doesn't advocate that the voters control the US gov't?

    Alas, I am not in SC.

  3. CTrees  •  Feb 9, 2010 @12:53 pm

    I *am* in SC, but… I'm pretty sure filling this out would have a negative impact on my security clearance.

  4. Dwight Brown  •  Feb 9, 2010 @1:46 pm

    I was thinking that filling out that form might cause problems when it comes to fill out a form 4473. But then I took a closer look at the 4473, and it doesn't ask if you've ever advocated the overthrow of the United States Government by force or violence; it only asks "Have you ever renounced your United States citizenship?".

  5. Charles  •  Feb 9, 2010 @2:17 pm

    Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm a registered Democrat and we do control the government.

    In theory, anyway.

  6. matthew  •  Feb 9, 2010 @4:55 pm

    Actually, South Carolina provides fairly hefty criminal penalties for simply being an unregistered subversive (punished by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or by both fine and imprisonment – see SC ST 23-29-90). Five dollars for piece of mind? That's a deal I'd take.

  7. Tim Osbon, MD  •  Feb 9, 2010 @9:57 pm

    As a physician in the sovereign state of SC (too small to be a Republic, too large to be an insane asylum), and practicing medicine mere yards away from where the Civil War was begun (the "War of Northern Aggression" and the"Late Unpleasantness" in the parlance of Charlestonians), I shall file a Subversive Agent Form so as to avoid the criminal penalties of being unregistered. Though not an anarchist, strictly speaking, I am a studious fan of Chaos Theory – I will keep you posted on the ramifications…

  8. Jim  •  Feb 10, 2010 @6:59 am

    Will I get a certificate suitable for framing?
    A card I can carry in my wallet?
    Bumper sticker?
    T-shirt would be cool

  9. Dwight Brown  •  Feb 10, 2010 @8:35 am

    "T-shirt would be cool"

    I sense a great money-making opportunity. "State of South Carolina Registered Subversive" t-shirts.

  10. Corporal Lint  •  Feb 10, 2010 @9:58 am

    "I would say that you should fill out the form, as the law is so broad that it applies to anyone who belongs to any political group or party that seeks to "control" the government."

    It also applies to "every member" of "an organization subject to foreign control", which I would presume includes the state's sixth-largest employer, Bayerische Motoren Werke in Greer, SC.

  11. Sensei  •  Feb 17, 2010 @1:20 pm

    This probably started by him saying: "If I had five dollars for every subversive organization in this state…"

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