1. Civil Statutes and the Erosion of Constitutional Equality: A Critique from the Sovereignty Movement

In the legal field, there are two great classes of statutes: CIVIL and CRIMINAL. CIVIL is voluntary and CRIMINAL is not. CIVIL is based on voluntary domicile, CRIMINAL is based on the commission of a harmful act that itself constitutes consent to the punishment. In a nation founded on the principle that "all men are created equal," the expansion of civil statutes into every corner of life poses a profound challenge to that founding ideal. According to the Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry (SEDM) and affiliated sites like FamGuardian.org, civil statutes—far from being a neutral instrument of justice—have become a vehicle for collectivism, coercion, and spiritual enslavement that undermines both equal protection and equal treatment under the Constitution. There is NO SUCH THING as "the rule of law" where civil statutes are involved. Only servitude, hypocisy, privilege, collectivism, idolatry, and inequality. We therefore don't call civil statutes "law" because real "law" does not derive its authority from consent as described below:

What is "Law"?, Form #05.048
https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/WhatIsLaw.pdf

CIVIL statutes PRESUPPOSE that:

1. Privileges and obligations are PUBLIC property that attach to civil statutory statuses. Such statuses include "person", "citizen", "resident", "taxpayer", etc.
2. The act of DEFINING the civil statutory status is an act of CREATION.
3. The CREATOR of a thing is always the OWNER.
4. Whatever civil statutory statuses the government legislatively creates it therefore owns as property.
5. If you ASK for or USE a civil statutory status the government legislatively created, you are asking for the "benefit" of government/PUBLIC property.
6. The government has the right as the creator and owner of the civil statutory status to place ANY condition it wants on the USE or "benefit" of the property, REGARDLESS of the requirements of natural law or natural rights.
7. Thus, civil statutes act as an unconscionable "adhesion contract" that can and usually do DESTROY any and every constitutional PRIVATE right you have and replace them. That is the implication of the Constitutional Avoidance Doctrine and the Public Rights Doctrine of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The article below describes how the above process works from a taxation perspective:

Effect of Definitions Upon OWNERSHIP and CONTROL of Property, FTSIG
https://ftsig.org/how-you-volunteer/effect-of-definitions-upon-ownership-of-property/

In contrast, law systems and statutes that derive their authority from OTHER than consent are not the problem or subject of this article. Such systems include the common law, equity, and the criminal law. In NO WAY may it ever truthfully be said that we are "lawless" or seek to evade responsibity for the injuries we might cause others. We simply insist that in a truly free society, you can't delegate to any government an authority you personally don't possess, and that any government that has more powers or law making authority than the people who created it individually have implements a civil religion in violation of the First Amendment and is a source of LAWLESS ANARCHY as documented in:

1. Your Irresponsible, Lawless, Anarchist Beast Government, Form #05.054
   https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/YourIrresponsibleLawlessGov.pdf
2. Socialism: The New American Civil Religion, Form #05.016
   https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/SocialismCivilReligion.pdf
   

1.1. Civil Statutes as a System of Unequal Privilege

From the SEDM perspective, civil statutes today is not applied equally to all but is structured around voluntary franchises that erode sovereignty and equality. By opting into government benefits—such as Social Security, federal employment, or taxpayer status—individuals are said to consent to a secondary, inferior legal identity. This system creates a two-tiered society:

• Those who retain unalienable rights by remaining outside civil franchises;
• And those who, by accepting benefits, become public persons under statute, governed by privilege rather than right.

This paradigm transforms equal protection into a legal fiction. The government is seen not as a neutral arbiter of justice but as a merchant dispensing privileges at variable prices, divorced from any constitutional restraint on fairness or proportionality.

1.2. Collectivism by Legal Design

Civil statutes—particularly in the form of social insurance schemes and administrative regulations—is viewed by SEDM as a gateway to compelled collectivism. Redistribution of wealth through taxation, forced inclusion in government programs, and administrative enforcement actions are interpreted as assaults on the right to self-determination and private property. According to SEDM:

“Imposing equality of outcome by law, such as by abusing taxing powers to redistribute wealth, is not justice but injustice.”

Here, collectivism is not seen as a political theory but as a practical legal regime that erases the individuality and accountability required for a moral, sovereign citizenry.

1.3. The Death of Equal Treatment

True justice, from this vantage point, demands equality of treatment, not engineered equality of outcome. SEDM asserts that civil statutes destroys this balance by:

• Enforcing special protections for certain classes while penalizing others;
• Creating public citizenships with less constitutional protection than private persons;
• Mandating obligations without clear contractual consent, thereby violating natural law.

This bifurcation results in an unequal application of law—anathema to the 14th Amendment’s promise of equal protection.

1.4. Consent, Franchises, and the Disappearing Constitution

At the heart of the critique is the claim that civil status—such as becoming a “taxpayer,” “resident,” or “driver”—is a legal trap that converts voluntary participation into lifelong subjugation. By merely using government services or identifying under government classifications, individuals may unwittingly surrender:

• Inalienable constitutional rights;
• Equal standing before the law;
• The ability to challenge administrative enforcement with common law defenses.

In this system, equality is not denied outright—it is commodified, contingent on accepting the role of a public ward rather than a sovereign individual.

1.5. The Constitutional Antidote

SEDM advocates a return to private law, common law remedies, and religious sovereignty. Equality, under this view, is preserved not by expanding government guarantees but by:

• Avoiding civil franchises entirely;
• Retaining private ownership of property and identity;
• Enforcing obligations only through verifiable, voluntary consent.

Their interpretation of constitutional justice is deeply influenced by Biblical law, insisting that real liberty flows not from state-granted privilege, but from God-given rights administered through moral self-governance.

1.6. Conclusion: Restoring the Architecture of Equal Protection

From the SEDM standpoint, the civil statutes—far from being the fulfillment of constitutional ideals—is their antithesis. They foster inequality through franchise, replaces justice with privilege, and subvert the promise of equal treatment with the coercions of collectivist administration.

The path back, they argue, lies in spiritual sovereignty, legal literacy, and a fierce defense of self-ownership. In their words: “Happiness and justice are impossible without private property, private identity, and private consent.”

2. Authorities on this Subject

• Foreign Tax Status Information Group (FTSIG)-How to retain your PRIVATE nonresident status when interacting with the tax system
•  The REAL Social Compact, Form #08.030-SEDM
• The Jones Plantation
•  Why Statutory Civil Law is Law for Government and not Private Persons, Form #05.027-SEDM
•  Collectivism and How to Resist It Course, Form #12.024-SEDM
•  Administrative State: Tactics and Defenses, Form #12.041-SEDM
• Hot Issues: Common Law and Equity Litigation** (Member Subscriptions) -SEDM
• Communism, Socialism, Collectivism Topic-Family Guardian Fellowship
•  Common Law Writs -- Sometimes called Extraordinary Remedies, they are key to understanding the Constitution.
•  Common Law Practice Guide, Litigation Tool #10.013-SEDM
•  The Case for Common Law Marriage, Form #13.022-SEDM
•  Rebutted False Arguments About the Common Law, Form #08.025-SEDM
• Sovereigty and Freedom Topic, Section 10.4: Common Law

3. Equal Protection Warning

People of all races, genders, political beliefs, sexual orientations, and nearly all religions are welcome here. All are treated equally under REAL “law”. The only way to remain truly free and equal under the civil law is to avoid seeking government civil services, benefits, property, special or civil status, exemptions, privileges, or special treatment.  All such pursuits of government services or property require individual and lawful consent to a franchise and the surrender of inalienable constitutional rights AND EQUALITY in the process, and should therefore be AVOIDED.  The rights and equality given up are the “cost” of procuring the “benefit” or property from the government, in fact.  Nothing in life is truly “free”.  Anyone who claims that such “benefits” or property should be free and cost them nothing is a thief who wants to use the government as a means to STEAL on his or her behalf. All just rights spring from responsibilities/obligations under the laws of a higher power.  If that higher power is God, you can be truly and objectively free.  If it is government, you are guaranteed to be a slave because they can lawfully set the cost of their property as high as they want as a Merchant under the U.C.C.    If you want it really bad from people with a monopoly, then you will pay dearly for the privilege.  There are NO constitutional limits on the price government can charge for their monopoly services or property.  Those who want no responsibilities can have no real/PRIVATE rights, but only privileges dispensed to wards of the state which are disguised to LOOK like unalienable rights.  Obligations and rights are two sides of the same coin, just like self-ownership and personal responsibility. For the biblical version of this paragraph, read 1 Sam. 8:10-22.  For the reason God answered Samuel by telling him to allow the people to have a king, read Deut. 28:43-51, which is God's curse upon those who allow a king above them.  Click Here for a detailed description of the legal, moral, and spiritual consequences of violating this paragraph.

[Constitution Research]

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