Second Term - A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series Book 1) (22 page)

FORTY
NINE

ATF
Redemption Centers

The next day after
the appointment of ATF Director Humless, who would serve in an acting capacity
until the Senate confirmed him, the ATF issued a list of ‘ATF Hate Weapon
Redemption Centers’. It had been previously determined by bureaucrats at the
ATF that establishing a sufficient number of new locations for turning in guns
would not be cost effective. Therefore, the ATF list included virtually every
existing federal facility in the nation, in order to obtain the widest
compliance with the new law. On the list were all post offices, military bases
and installations, federal courthouses, FBI offices, Social Security centers,
EEOC offices, Department of Agriculture facilities and other offices operated
by the federal government. Left off of the list were any offices related to
Medicare, as it was felt that the turning in of guns at such facilities could
be seen as inconsistent with their medical purposes.

ATF planners devised
a system for collection of guns that they hoped would avoid the highly likely
possibility of some federal employees at the Redemption Centers pilfering guns
as they were redeemed by their owners. Each gun was tagged with a digital read
bar code specific only to that gun, with a copy of the same bar code imprinted
on a receipt given to the owner and also on the federal check reimbursing the
owner for the owner’s redeemed weapon. Guns were deposited in a locked metal
box for later disposal. As the checks were cashed or deposited, they made their
way back to the issuing agency, the ATF, who would then check the bar code
numbers with guns that were redeemed. Any discrepancy at a redemption center
would soon show up and alert ATF headquarters in DC that it had a problem at
that Redemption Center. The system was supposed to be fool-proof, but like many
fool-proof systems it didn’t turn out exactly as planned. Many guns turned in
by their owners seemed to just disappear before they could be smelted down,
with police departments in many cases finding the missing guns in the hands of
criminals who then admitted they had purchased them from federal employees.

After Australia
banned most private gun ownership following the ‘Port Arthur Massacre’, many
thousands of guns were turned in to their government by Aussies, who were then
paid from the levy imposed on Australian Medicare. By all reports, compliance
was steady and effective during the time period allowed to turn in weapons. On
the other hand, no one could know how American gun owners would respond to the
new law. ATF records eventually would show that compliance looked like a ski
slope upward shaped curve with increasing numbers each week. In the first two
months of the six month period redemption was modestly low in numbers. It
apparently took owners some time to decide to comply with the new law. There
was a drum beat for redemption which increased in intensity from the mainstream
media and from all government agencies, steadily increasing the number of
firearms turned in by their owners. Public service messages conveyed by the
Administration to American gun owners varied, but they had three common themes
– safety, patriotism and fear of prison:

TURN IN YOUR GUN -
IT’S THE LAW!

TODAY’S PATRIOTS OBEY
THE LAW

SAVE A LIFE – TURN IN
A GUN

IS IT WORTH TEN YEARS
IN PRISON?

JOHN WAYNE WOULD HAVE
REDEEMED HIS GUNS

MAKE AMERICA GUN
VIOLENCE FREE!

Television spots
claiming that John Wayne would have redeemed his guns were pulled when his
heirs filed suit, claiming that the Duke “would have gone down shooting before
he would have turned in his guns”. The other public service announcements
appeared to have an increasing effect, though, as more guns were turned in each
week than the preceding week. The ATF was faced with a difficult accounting
problem, of course, because no one knew, with any reasonable specificity, how
many firearms were owned by Americans, or by persons illegally in America.
Estimates had always varied widely, and there was literally no way of
determining the actual count, as gun registration had never become the national
law that some had tried to impose. Because of this fact, widely known to be
true, many gun owners thought they would be safe in holding on to their
firearms. After all, many thought, ‘who knows if I own a gun?’ It was this
‘nobody will know’ reluctance that led Senator Blevins to include Section 4.4
in his bill, to reward tipsters who turned in non-compliant gun owners, with generous
monetary payments.

With two months to go
in the Redemption Period, ATF officials were concerned. Almost one hundred
million guns had been redeemed, as far as they could calculate, but they
estimated that left almost the same number still not turned in, or more. So the
agency began to air public service announcements in all areas of the country,
promoting compliance by stepping up the ‘fear factor’. A typical thirty second
spot asked how sure gun owners were that they wouldn’t be turned in, by
friends, by neighbors, by shooting buddies, by their own family?

SCRIPT FOR TV AD – GUN REDEMPTION

Setting – Jail Cell – Low Lighting
– Inmate Speaks – Cellmate in background of shot – heavy beard – cellmate
frowns through most of shot – wicked grin at end as he puts his hand on
shoulder of speaking cellmate. Both in orange jail attire.

“I know, I know. I didn’t think I
would get caught. I thought that I was the only one who knew that I owned guns.
I only had two guns. But, I forgot that I went shooting at the range a few
times. I didn’t remember that I had shown my newest gun to my brother-in-law,
my
former
brother-in-law. Yes, I had talked about guns and ammo with some work buddies. So,
who turned me in? Who knows? The tipster stays anonymous, but he gets the big
bucks. I’ve got a lot of time to think about it now. Ten years….You’d better
think about it while you still have time. Turn in your guns, for cash money, while
you still can. Don’t end up like me, ‘cause you
will
get caught....Count
on it, ol’ buddy.”   
 

The purchase of the
television ads was a saturation buy in all mass markets. Within forty-eight
hours of its airing, more Americans had turned in more guns than in the prior
two months, combined. Many Redemption Center officials reported that most
turn-ins were either directly by wives, or by husbands who appeared to have
been hauled into the centers by their wives, not wanting to lose their spouses to
prison. Petitions for dissolution of marriage shot up following the ads, as spouses
couldn’t agree on redemption versus possible jail time.

FIFTY

Washington,
DC – Department of Justice

Throughout the
history of the world, government leaders have chosen to imprison persons who
opposed their rule. That bears repeating. Throughout the history of the world,
government leaders have chosen to imprison persons who opposed their rule.

John Madison was one
of those persons.

Early in his
incarceration, the official word issued by John Madison’s captors was that
Madison was an enemy of the State, a danger to national security and he had
possible ‘ties with terrorists’. Very few people come to the aid of a person
accused of such serious crimes. Over time, however, as John Madison was not
officially charged with committing any federal crime, many began to change
their mind, and instead saw him as a political prisoner.
A
political
prisoner
is generally regarded as someone who is in prison because
they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country, and not
because they have committed a crime, as such. No one was more surprised than
John Madison when Amnesty Universal labeled him as “America’s best-known
political prisoner, who should be released forthwith.” Madison didn’t know much
about this foreign human rights group calling for his release, but he had heard
of it and vaguely thought of it as a liberal group. Now, however, he was
appreciative of any help he could get.

The White House, apparently stung by criticism
from abroad, issued a media release denouncing Amnesty Universal for
“interfering with American domestic criminal cases”. John Madison was once
again in the headlines.

New York Times

ATTORNEY GENERAL DENIES

MADISON IS POLITICAL PRISONER

White House Suggests Madison is

Linked to Right Wing Terrorists

CBS

AMNESTY UNIVERSAL

INTERFERES IN AMERICA

MSCNB

JOHN MADISON - TIES TO AL QUEDA?

FOX

AMERICA’S #1 POLITICAL PRISONER

Friends of John Madison in Tyler contacted other
friends around the nation and formed a FREE JOHN MADISON Committee. Though the
mainstream media largely ignored the Committee’s efforts to draw public
attention to John Madison’s extended incarceration, by e-mail and social
networking millions of Americans were reminded that John Madison was still in
federal prison, and was still not charged with any crimes. As more people
learned that Madison’s writ for habeas corpus had been denied, the drumbeat
increased to either charge Madison and try him, or alternatively, to release
him. Even totalitarian governments are sensitive to criticism, especially from
abroad.

The heat from Amnesty Universal, along with
increasing pressure at home, led the Attorney General of the United States to
convene a strategy meeting in his office at the Department of Justice on
Pennsylvania Avenue in DC, seven blocks from the White House. To say that the
AG was not in a good mood would be a clear under-statement. He had not been an
early proponent of arresting and imprisoning Madison, but had taken his orders
to do so from the White House, which was quite insistent on the issue. As an attorney,
the AG knew that he was on shaky legal ground, but his loyalty to his old
friend, the President, forced him to do what he would not have otherwise even
considered. The AG had given serious thought to resigning and going to work for
a DC law firm, with a large income. Of all of the President’s friends, cronies
and buddies serving in his Administration, the AG was the least enamored with
what he saw his old friend doing.  He was caught between a rock and….and he
didn’t like it, not a bit.

“Let’s get on it, folks. Madison has been in
prison too long without charges. Our end run on avoiding habeas corpus worked,
but it made us look bad with people who were paying attention. We’re starting
to look like Guantanamo, but here onshore. I don’t like it. Amnesty Universal
has butted in, as you know. The President’s getting heat from some of his
European diplomatic buddies. The White House even had a call from the New York
Times yesterday. They’re considering doing a story on why we are holding a
prisoner without charges. When the President gets heat, we get heat, so I’m
looking here for some creative ideas. Come on, people. What do we charge this
troublemaker with? Something that passes the snicker test.”

The Deputy AG tasked with supervising the
prosecution of Madison briefly reviewed the contents of John Madison’s October speech
in Austin. After he did so, he looked up at his boss, the AG, who was holding
his head in his right hand.

The exasperated AG said, “Yeah, that’s what I
recalled. Some nasty words, but how can they
possibly
be crimes ?”

“Mr. Attorney General, I’ve been working on it.
We have five possible options….treason, misprision of treason,
rebellion/insurrection, seditious conspiracy and advocating the overthrow of
the government.”

The AG’s mood was not improving, “Forget treason,
that arises from war and giving aid and comfort to the nation’s enemies.
Likewise, forget misprision of treason, which means having knowledge of
treason, but not turning someone in. Stop wasting our time. What about rebellion
and insurrection?”

“That’s all in one statute, sir, 18 USC Sec.
2383. It makes it a crime to incite, set of foot, whatever that means, assist
or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the government or its laws.
Keep this in mind, because….”

“Come on. That clearly doesn’t pass the snicker
test. We’d be laughed out of court. We don’t have a scrap of evidence linking
Madison to rebellion, or to insurrection. This statute might work if he was
part of an armed insurrection, but not to a speech by a political figure.”

“OK, it was a little weak, so let’s look at
seditious conspiracy, section 2384. Maybe we can show that Madison conspired
with one other person, that would be easy to prove, to overthrow, put down or
destroy by force the US government, or levy war, or
oppose by force the
authority of the United States
. He definitely opposed the authority of the
United States. Judge McDermott could be counted on to deny a motion to dismiss
a charge like that.”

The AG looked like he might have a stroke, “Stop.
Stop. You’re killing me here. You left out the phrase
by force. Of course
he opposed the government, that’s what any political candidate or speaker does.
But he didn’t use force, at least that we know about. Even if McDermott lets
the charge stand, so what? Don’t forget, people, we will be facing a jury,
someday, and a jury won’t convict if
force
is a required element to
convict.  What’s the fifth choice, again?”

“Mister Attorney General, our last choice is
really our only choice….I think. Section 2385 of the criminal code prohibits
advocating the overthrow of the government. The statute prohibits knowingly or
willfully advocating, abetting, advising or teaching the duty, necessity,
desirability or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the
United States. Yes, it does include the phrase ‘by force or violence’, but it
adds ‘or by the assassination of any officer’ of the government. It also
includes organizing or helping to organize any group of persons to overthrow
the government. It provides for a twenty year sentence. I think we can make
this one work. He did say to ‘take out’ the President. The Vice President was
in fact taken out.”

“I’m listening. How do we charge Madison, or
anybody for that matter, with advocating the overthrow of the government, if
they don’t use force and violence?”

“Admittedly, we have to be creative, but that’s
what I understood was the purpose of this meeting. The indictment would simply
say that Madison obviously advocated the overthrow of the government in his speech
at Austin. He said ‘we have to take him out’. Also, we can say that he
essentially advocated the assassination of federal officers by telling the
nation that they would lose their right to own firearms if they voted for the
President and he won. The people who owned guns, and who might lose them, he
was implying, should do something about it. Which they
did
, lest we
forget, several days later. He established an atmosphere of violence by raising
voters’ fears against their elected officials. He aided and abetted the
shooters by his violence-laden speech. His speech was delivered
before
McAlister, so we can’t charge him with violating McAlister, though that would
be sweet if we could. What do you think?”

All eyes in the AG’s Conference Room were on the AG. It was
obvious he was thinking. On the one hand, if he charged Madison with conspiracy
to overthrow the government, the White House would be happy, and would get off
his back. On the other hand, if he released Madison, his friend at the end of
Pennsylvania Avenue would be upset with him, as it would look like the
Administration had no reason to hold Madison all those months. It reminded the
AG of the old joke that his next attorney would only have one arm, because he
was tired of attorneys always saying ‘on the one hand, but then again, on the
other hand’.

“Alright, people, here’s what we’re going to do. Draw up the
indictment for advocating the overthrow of the government, but juice it up a
little, plus let’s add a count of conspiracy to overthrow. Do a third count for
conspiracy to violate the federal hate crimes act, that statute can apply to
almost anything. I’ll run it past O’Dayson at the White House, unofficially, of
course. If it gets approved, we’ll release it Saturday night, on the media graveyard
shift. We’ll push it hard in Europe through our buds in the media there. That
should shut up Amnesty and the diplomatic set. Tell our District Attorney that
due to his extremely busy schedule he won’t be able to try the case for several
months, maybe next year. If this case goes south, I’d rather have it go south
later, rather than sooner. This case is not going to win any of us any prizes
for high standards of justice, you know what I mean? We’re dismissed. God bless
America, because we sure didn’t bless it today.”