Constitutional violations to be debated in St. Charles

One of the leading groups behind the search for definitive proof President Barack Obama's place of birth arrived in St. Charles Thursday to announce a national gathering centered on their quest and issues of constitutional law.

St. Charles will be the site of Continental Congress 2009, an event organized by the not-for-profit We The People Congress.

The gathering will bring together nationally-elected delegates from every state to discuss what they see as government violations of the Constitution and what to do about them.

We The People Chairman Bob Schultz said the gathering isn't just a teaching session about the Constitution. The congress will feature a discussion about some of the most contentious issues in the country. Beliefs generally accepted by delegates include:

• all personal income taxes are illegal under the Constitution

• the military engagement in Iraq is illegal without a war declaration by Congress

• using public money for the bailout of private companies is illegal

• the Patriot Act is an invasion of birth-given rights

• failures to enforce immigration laws are a violation of the president's constitutional duties

• the current president is possibly not a natural-born citizen and ineligible for office

• computerized ballots counted in secret are a violation of the right to know your vote has been accurately counted

Schultz said delegates will have a discussion similar to meetings the Founding Fathers had in the years leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

Schultz stops short of encouraging people to not pay taxes, but also says simply electing all new members of Congress or taking their issues to the court system have not proven to be answers either.

"I can't speak for all these delegates," Schultz said of the November gathering. "I don't know what course of action they're going to recommend. But, clearly, it's reached the point where the government is going to do whatever it wants to do.

"You need a mass movement," he added. "What is that in America? I don't know, but I would venture that it's about 5 percent. If you get 5 percent, that's about 15 million people."

Schultz said he's not advocating any sort of violent revolution against the government.

"Yes, the Second Amendment is there if the First Amendment doesn't work," Schultz said. "But nonviolence is the key. People always start talking about the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment. And I say, 'No. No. No. No. Not yet. We've got to exercise our rights under the First Amendment.'"

National delegate elections are Oct. 10. The Continental Congress will occur Nov. 8 through Nov. 22 at Pheasant Run in St. Charles. More information is available at: www.cc2009.us