Special/Attribute to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Special to TLE

In a recent article on NMPolitics.net, Heath Haussamen reported about a protest event at the Las Cruces Border Patrol station, where protestors were blocking the accessways in and out of the station.

The part that set me off was this snippet here —

"Midway through the protest about two dozen people, including Delgado-Martinez, blocked both entrances to the gated parking lot for employees at the Border Patrol station, preventing anyone from entering or leaving."

For anyone other than sworn law enforcement, stopping someone from leaving a location without first having personally witnessed that person committing a felony is itself a felony crime —

30-4-3. False imprisonment.

False imprisonment consists of intentionally confining or restraining another person without his consent and with knowledge that he has no lawful authority to do so.

Whoever commits false imprisonment is guilty of a fourth degree felony.

http://tinyurl.com/NMSA-30-4-3

What is a felony as per New Mexico law, you might ask?

30-1-6. Classified crimes defined.

1. A crime is a felony if it is so designated by law or if upon conviction thereof a sentence of death or of imprisonment for a term of one year or more is authorized.
   
   
2. A crime is a misdemeanor if it is so designated by law or if upon conviction thereof a sentence of imprisonment in excess of six months but less than one year is authorized.
   
   
3. A crime is a petty misdemeanor if it is so designated by law or if upon conviction thereof a sentence of imprisonment for six months or less is authorized.
   

http://tinyurl.com/NMSA-30-1-6

31-4-14. Arrest without a warrant.

The arrest of a person may be lawfully made also by any peace officer or a private person without a warrant upon reasonable information that the accused stands charged in the courts of a state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, but when so arrested the accused must be taken before a judge or magistrate with all practicable speed and complaint must be made against him under oath setting forth the ground for the arrest as in the preceding section [31-4-13 NMSA 1978]; and thereafter his answer shall be heard as if he had been arrested on a warrant.

http://tinyurl.com/NMSA-31-4-14

It gets even better — apparently State Representative Bill McCamley (D – Las Cruces) joined Mr. Delgado-Martinez in committing felony-level obstruction of the accessways —

Later at that entrance, state Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Las Cruces, sat with other protesters blocking the entrance. When a man in a white pickup tried to leave, McCamley, wearing a black suit and red tie, stared him down. Delgado-Martinez sat next to him.

The man got out of his car. "I can't leave?" he asked. He told the protesters he could arrest them before getting back in his truck and returning to the lot.

Here's the YouTube clip embedded in the article —

Click the picture to watch the clip

Libertarians have learned over the years that you just can't do whatever you feel like, at least without some sorts of consequences.

For example, we don't block the entrances of post offices or other buildings while we're gathering petition signatures or passing out literature.

And, as I've noted above, stopping people from leaving a building — unless you personally witness them committing a felony — is a felony crime itself.

Frankly, if I'm going to get a felony conviction, I want it to be for a damned good reason.

Still, this right in line with what we can expect from the "left" — they think that they can do unto others as they see fit.

NO, you can't simply stop people from leaving a facility just because you feel like it.

NO, you can't smash storefront windows and set cars on fire just because you feel like it.

NO, you can't block traffic on the interstate by forming a human chain across the roadway just because you feel like it.

And there are potential consequences besides the legal ones — standing or sitting in front of moving vehicles just might piss off the drivers enough that they might run you over. There are YouTube clips available of Black Lives Matter protestors being run over while they were blocking a given interstate.

What if you're blocking an ambulance carrying a patient who's just suffered a stroke or a heart-attack? What will you tell them — "At least you have health coverage due to Obama?"

I surmise that this is a big part of why elements of the "left" want to do away with the right to own and carry weapons, by hook or by crook —they want to be free to smash your storefront, set your car on fire or stop you from going about your business for whatever reason, without fear of consequences.

Copyright © 2017 Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.