To: Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Chief Justice John Roberts
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543

It has become standard practice on the part of the state to deny nonviolent citizens and peacefully-protesting activists their civil rights, and to force them to prove that their rights were violated in a court of law. This, in conjunction with the rapid and ubiquitous militarization of police forces nationwide presents a grave danger to the people of this country.  

Lack of police restraint and a passive court system have resulted in a rash of police brutality against unarmed, nonviolent citizens, and have become an obvious threat to liberty, freedom of expression, and public safety. These abusive tactics stand in direct contradiction to the social contract under which we live, and the very presence of police in, for example, a peaceful demonstration, is an act of coercion on the part of The State. The purpose of this coercion is to create a chilling-effect, and to silence protest against critical issues affecting the people of this country.

In the case of non-protesters, the ever-present threat of police violence colors all citizen/police interactions, and often intimidates people into surrendering their rights unwittingly, when, in fact, rights should not be surrenderable under any circumstances.  The ever-growing number of cases of such violations, as well as the unwarranted killing of civilians and wanton disregard for civil rights bears more than a cursory glance.  

Because this coercion and brutality take the form of strong vs. weak, because the victims of such violence are legally prevented from defending themselves against physical assault by these officers, and because often, even egregious examples of police brutality fail to lead to criminal prosecution, We The People must absolutely be granted the right to defend ourselves and each other with non-lethal force against runaway law enforcement.

This is not to be taken as carte blanche to disable officers of the law. The tasing of police officers is only to be undertaken when an officer is actively violating an American's rights, and may be utilized for self-defense, or the defense of another person. This is intended to act as a placeholder for the civil rights protections we are being denied, and should remain in place until such a time as our rights are recognized as inalienable and universal by the U.S. government and its agents.

The action of tasing a police officer as a form of protected expression should not be undertaken lightly. It should not be used to prevent the apprehension of criminals who have been involved in victim-based crimes, but rather to add teeth to our Bill of Rights.  Baby teeth.

Thank you for your time.