State Resolutions Asking Congress To Get the U.S. Out of the U.N.

The following arrived in my email box this afternoon from Albert Burns:

There is a rising awareness of the threat which the U.N. poses to the continued independence and sovereignty of the U.S. As a result of that awareness, there are presently resolutions in the State Legislatures of Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. The Utah Resolution HJR 3 has already passed the State House of Representatives and has now gone to the State Senate. The Arizona Resolution currently has 50% of the State Legislature as co-sponsors of the Resolution!

I strongly urge anyone receiving this email to start a movement to have a similar resolution introduced and passed in your own state legislature. If there is already such a resolution pending, please do everything you can to get it passed and sent to Congress.

I am appending a sample letter below which was sent to the Utah State Senate in support of HJR-3. You can use these reasons or come up with your own. We must get the U.S. out of the U.N. if we are to remain a free nation!

Al Burns
P.S. The wording of the Utah Resolution HJR 3 is at the end of this message.


State Senator_____________
Utah State Senate
319 State Capitol
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-0111

Dear State Senator ____________,

Please vote to send HJR 3 out of the Senate Rules Committee so that it may eventually be considered on the floor of the Utah Senate. If you haven’t read HJR 3, please do so before making your decision. It will only take about 2 minutes of your time. HJR 3 is a resolution urging Congress to consider withdrawing the United States from the United Nations and was recently approved by the Utah House of Representatives.

Below are some of the most common objections I have heard from legislators to debating the membership in the United Nations followed by a brief rebuttal.

Objection No. 1: It’s a waste of time because only Congress can get the US out of the UN.

Rebuttal: By this same reasoning, writing a letter to any Congressman requesting that they support or oppose a certain bill would also be a waste of time because the act of writing and sending the letter would not by itself cause the bill to pass or fail. Of course, that’s not the point of writing a letter to Congress; the point is to influence how congressmen vote so they can represent their constituency accurately, not to usurp Congress’ power. The same can be said for HJR 3.

Objection No. 2: It’s a waste of time because this is not a state issue; we have more important matters to discuss, such as education, roads, and health care.

Rebuttal: Ignoring this issue would be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic while it is sinking -- a tragic case of misplaced priorities. Utah is part of the United States. If the United States loses its sovereignty, so does Utah. If this issue is ignored by Congress, debate on so-called “state” issues will be meaningless and a true waste of time because decisions made by state legislatures will always be subject to international norms set by unelected international bureaucrats. The UN is quite eager to implement its own plans when it comes to education, roads, health care, and many other “state” issues.

Objection No. 3: The timing is not right.

Rebuttal: When exactly is the right time to discuss threats to our nation’s sovereign independence? When is the right time to ask Congress to defend it? When is the right time to honor your oath of office and “support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State?” With all due respect, Senator, the time is now, not later.

Objection No. 4. A resolution from the state legislature is not an effective way to build support for Congressional action. Congress would listen to us if US senators were still elected by legislatures as they were before the 17th Amendment was passed in 1913.

Rebuttal: The Declaration of Independence was nothing more than a resolution. Before that, individual colonies had petitioned the British parliament for a redress of grievances. Eventually, enough colonies petitioned that their cries could not be ignored, and Parliament began to take action. Similar resolutions to HJR 3 are being considered by the Idaho and Arizona legislatures. Once a block of State Legislatures voices concern over the United Nations, the people, the media and the Congress will be forced to see the urgency of this issue.

The only objection I have even heard from legislators that even attempts to defend the UN itself is:

Objection No. 5: We need to still be at the table and use the UN as a forum to communicate with other nations.

Rebuttal: If the UN were simply a place where representatives from different countries come to discuss the world’s problems, it might not be so bad. But the problem is that the UN claims to be the apex decision-making body for the entire world and expects all nations to abide by its decisions. It even claims power to make war to enforce those decisions. Before the UN came into existence we communicated freely with other nations all around the world through diplomats without “airing out our dirty laundry” in front of the entire world. It was a policy of minding our own business or non-interventionism, not isolationism. Withdrawing from the UN would mean a return to this more sensible way of communicating with other nations, not a rejection of the concept of communicating with and making agreements with other countries on a bilateral or multilateral basis.

Objection No. 6: Constituents want the legislature to discuss other issues.

Rebuttal: Represenative Ron Paul, sponsor of HR 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, a bill before Congress that provides for the complete withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations, recently came to Utah to speak in favor of US withdrawal from the UN. Between 600 and 700 people came to hear him speak, including talk radio hosts, political candidates and many activists. This indicates that US membership in the UN is not an issue that only a handful of people are interested in. Even if this were not the case, your primary concern should be to uphold your oath of office. There will be time to discuss many other issues, too.

So, please read and support HJR 3, a resolution urging Congress to consider withdrawing the United States from the United Nations, by sending it on to the Senate floor for debate. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,


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Utah Legislature Resolution HJR 3:
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
WHEREAS, the United States is known for its compassionate people who are generous and kind in caring for the needs of those in other countries and whose resources are used worldwide to alleviate hunger and poverty;
WHEREAS, United States military forces are called upon to bear the brunt of any conflicts that may arise, which costs the lives of many American armed forces members, while other nations stay on the sidelines;
WHEREAS, the United States provides the largest share of the financial burden for the United Nations, amounting to hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars each year which could be used to address many of the nation's own needs;
WHEREAS, many of the countries who are members of the United Nations are not only
unfriendly to the United States, but also support ideas and interests that are detrimental to the
United States;
WHEREAS, member nations that are among the worst human rights violators are members of, and even chair, the committee to investigate human rights violations while the United States is denied membership;
WHEREAS, the secretary-general of the United Nations, as well as most other leaders and committee chairs, are chosen from nations who do not share the values of the United States, but this nation is expected to follow their decisions and programs;
WHEREAS, the United States was founded, and the constitution was created, for the purpose of PROTECTING GOD-GIVEN h freedoms and rights and for protecting the nation's values and way of life;
WHEREAS, the United States was created to be independent from, not subject to, the laws and rules of other nations;
WHEREAS, the United Nations has further imperiled the sovereignty of the United States' military serving abroad by adopting an International Criminal Court, which violates both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the United States Constitution;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court has no legitimate authority and lacks any body of laws by which to adjudicate cases since the authority to enact laws rests with sovereign nations;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court merges the functions of prosecutor and adjudicator into one office, which is contrary to the United States Constitution;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court fails to provide any appeal from adjudication at the trial level and fails to provide for a trial by jury;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court fails to provide that the accused be confronted by his or her accusers, providing instead for the use of hearsay evidence;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court fails to provide for the accused the right to compel the production of witnesses;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court allows evidence obtained from the accused by compulsion;
WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court denies other fundamental rights recognized in the constitutional jurisprudence of the United States;
WHEREAS, even though the United States has not signed the agreement to abide by the decisions of the International Criminal Court, when two-thirds of the member nations sign,
it will be binding on all members;
WHEREAS, the United States Constitution, which provides America with the greatest form of government known to humankind, and which was made possible and protected by much sacrifice and bloodshed throughout the nation's history, is not recognized as a governing document by the United Nations;
WHEREAS, the continual use of the nation's resources and armed forces to enforce its
resolutions and to police the world as a result of failed United Nations peace overtures may
eventually weaken the United States to the point where it can no longer defend its freedoms;
WHEREAS, the absolute failure of the United Nations to support the United States in the war against terrorism in Iraq is but the latest affront to the citizens of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the United States has nothing to gain and everything to lose by continuing as a member of the United Nations:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that BECAUSE THE UNITED NATIONS
EXERCISES POWER AND AUTHORITY TO OVERRIDE THE SOVEREIGNTY AND SELF
DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLE OF OUR NATION the Legislature of the state of Utah
respectfully but firmly requests that the United States Congress consider dissolving the
membership of the United States in the United Nations, thereby freeing the nation from a large
financial burden and retaining the nation's sovereignty to decide what is best for the nation and
determine what steps it considers appropriate as the leader of the free world in full control of
its armed forces and destiny.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of
the United States Senate, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the
United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States, and to the members
of Utah's congressional delegation.

Legislative Review Note as of 12-16-03 2:52 PM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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