Articles by Richard McDonald
Researcher and Educator on state Citizenship
(active link)

The Buck Act
(federal as opposed to state jurisdiction)

Zip Code
(invokes federal jurisdictrion)

Comments on Colgate v. Harvey

 The State Owns and Controls Your Car

Legal Words and Consequences



The Story of the Buck Act

by

Richard McDonald

edited by

John E. Trumane

     In order  for you  to understand  the full import of what is happening, I must explain certain laws to you.

When passing  new statutes,  the Federal  government  always does everything according to the principles of law.  In order for the Federal  Government to  tax a  Citizen of  one of the several states, they  had to create some sort of contractual nexus.  This contractual nexus is the "Social Security Number".

In 1935,  the federal government instituted Social Security.  The  Social  Security  Board  then  created  10  Social  Security  "Districts".   The combination of these "Districts" resulted in a "Federal area"  which covered all the several states like a clear plastic overlay.

In 1939,  the  federal  government  instituted the  "Public  Salary Tax  Act of  1939".   This Act  is a  municipal law of the District of  Columbia for taxing all federal and state government employees and those who live and work in any "Federal area".

Now, the government knows it cannot tax those state Citizens who live and work outside the territorial jurisdiction of Article 1, Section  8, Clause 17 (1:8:17) or Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2 (4:3:2) in the U.S. Constitution.  So, in 1940, Congress passed the "Buck  Act", 4 U.S.C.S. Sections 105-113.  In Section 110(e), this Act  authorized any  department of the federal government to create a  "Federal area" for imposition of the "Public Salary Tax Act of  1939".   This tax is imposed at 4 U.S.C.S. Sec. 111.  The rest of  the taxing  law is  found in  the Internal Revenue Code.  The Social  Security Board  had already  created a "Federal area" overlay:

     4 U.S.C.S.  Sec. 110(d).   The  term  "State"  includes  any
     Territory or possession of the United States.

     4 U.S.C.S.  Sec. 110(e).   The term "Federal area" means any
     lands or  premises held or acquired by or for the use of the
     United States or any department, establishment, or agency of
     the United  States;   and any  Federal  area,  or  any  part
     thereof, which  is located within the exterior boundaries of
     any State,  shall be  deemed to  be a  Federal area  located
     within such State.

There is  no reasonable  doubt that  the federal  "State" is imposing an excise tax under the provisions of 4 U.S.C.S. Section 105, which states in pertinent part:

     Sec. 105.  State, and  so forth,  taxation affecting Federal
     areas;  sales or use tax

     (a) No  person shall  be relieved from liability for payment
     of, collection  of, or  accounting for  any sales or use tax
     levied by  any State,  or by  any  duly  constituted  taxing
     authority therein,  having jurisdiction to levy such tax, on
     the ground  that the sale or use, with respect to which such
     tax is levied, occurred in whole or in part within a Federal
     area;   and such  State or  taxing authority shall have full
     jurisdiction and  power to  levy and collect any such tax in
     any Federal  area within  such State  to the same extent and
     with the  same effect  as though such area was not a Federal
     area.

     Irrespective of what the tax is called, if its purpose is to
     produce revenue, it is an income tax or a receipts tax under
     the Buck Act [4 U.S.C.A. Secs. 105-110].
     Humble Oil & Refining Co. v. Calvert, 464 SW 2d. 170 (1971),
     affd (Tex) 478 SW 2d. 926, cert. den. 409 U.S. 967, 34 L.Ed.
     2d. 234, 93 S.Ct. 293.

Thus, the obvious question arises: What is a "Federal area"? A  "Federal   area"  is   any  area  designated  by  any  agency, department, or  establishment of  the  federal  government.  This includes the  Social Security  areas  designated  by  the  Social Security Administration, any public housing area that has federal funding, a  home that  has a  federal bank  loan, a road that has federal  funding,  and  almost   everything  that   the  federal government touches  through any  type of  aid.    Springfield  v. Kenny, 104  N.E. 2d 65 (1951 App.).  This "Federal area" attaches to anyone  who has  a Social  Security  Number  or  any  personal contact with  the federal  or state  governments.   Through  this mechanism, the  federal government usurped the Sovereignty of the People, as  well as  the Sovereignty  of the  several states,  by creating "Federal  areas" within  the boundaries  of  the  states under the  authority of Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2 (4:3:2) in the federal Constitution, which states:

     2.   The Congress  shall have  Power to  dispose of and make
     all needful  Rules and  Regulations respecting the Territory
     or other  Property  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and
     nothing in  this Constitution  shall be  so construed  as to
     prejudice any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any
     particular State.

Therefore, all  U.S. citizens [i.e. citizens of the District of Columbia] residing in  one of  the states  of the  Union, are classified as property, as franchisees of the federal government, and as  an "individual entity".  See Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Fox, 298 U.S. 193, 80 L.Ed. 1143, 56 S.Ct. 773.  Under the "Buck Act", 4 U.S.C.S.  Secs. 105-113,  the federal  government has created a "Federal area"  within the  boundaries of all the several states.  This area is similar to any territory that the federal government acquires through  purchase, conquest  or treaty, thereby imposing federal territorial  law upon  all people in this "Federal area". Federal territorial  law is  evidenced by  the Executive Branch's yellow-fringed U.S.  flag flying  in  schools,  offices  and  all courtrooms.

You must  live on  land in one of the states in the Union of several states, not in any "Federal State" or "Federal area", nor can you  be involved  in any activity that would make you subject to "federal  laws". You  cannot  have  a  valid  Social  Security Number, a "resident" driver's license, a motor vehicle registered in your  name, a  "federal"  bank  account,  a  Federal  Register Account  Number   relating  to  Individual  persons  [SSN],  (see Executive Order  Number 9397,  November 1943), or any other known "contract implied  in fact"  that  would  place  you  within  any "Federal area"  and thus  within the  territorial jurisdiction of the municipal  laws of  Congress.  Remember, all acts of Congress are territorial  in nature  and only apply within the territorial jurisdiction of  Congress.   (See American  Banana Co.  v. United Fruit Co.,  213 U.S.  347, 356-357  (1909);   U.S. v. Spelar, 338 U.S. 217,  222, 94 L.Ed. 3, 70 S.Ct. 10 (1949);  New York Central R.R. Co.  v. Chisholm, 268 U.S. 29, 31-32, 69 L.Ed. 828, 45 S.Ct. 402 (1925).)

There has  been created  a fictional Federal "State within a state".   See Howard v. Sinking Fund of Louisville, 344 U.S. 624, 73 S.Ct.  465, 476,  97 L.Ed. 617 (1953);  Schwartz v. O'Hara TP. School Dist., 100 A. 2d. 621, 625, 375 Pa. 440.  (Compare also 31 C.F.R. Parts 51.2 and 52.2, which also identify a fictional State within a state.)  This fictional "State" is identified by the use of  two-letter   abbreviations  like  "CA",  "AZ"  and  "TX",  as distinguished from  the authorized  abbreviations like  "Calif.", "Ariz." and  "Tex.", etc.   This  fictional State  also uses  ZIP codes which  are  within  the  municipal,  exclusive  legislative jurisdiction of Congress.

This entire  scheme was accomplished by passage of the "Buck Act", 4  U.S.C.S. Secs.  105-113, to implement the application of the "Public Salary Tax Act of 1939" to workers within the private sector.   This subjects  all private  sector workers  who have  a Social Security number to all state and federal laws "within this State",  a  "fictional  Federal  area"  overlaying  the  land  in California and  in all other states in the Union.  In California, this is established by California Form 590, Revenue and Taxation. All you have to do is to state that you live in California.  This establishes that you do not live in a "Federal area" and that you are exempt  from the  Public Salary Tax Act of 1939 and also from the California Income Tax for residents who live "in this State".

The following  definition is  used  throughout  the  several states in  the application  of their municipal laws which require some sort of contract for proper application.  This definition is also included  in all  the codes  of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New York:

     "In this  State" or "in the State" means within the exterior
     limits of  the State ... and includes all territories within
     such limits owned or ceded to the United States of America.

 This definition concurs with the "Buck Act" supra which states:

     110(d) The term "State" includes any Territory or possession
     of the United States.

     110(e) The  term "Federal  area" means any lands or premises
     held or  acquired by  or for the use of the United States or
     any department,  establishment,  or  agency  of  the  United
     States;  and any Federal area, or any part thereof, which is
     located within  the exterior  boundaries of any State, shall
     be deemed to be a Federal area located within such State.  

Congressman Ed Bryant Says. . . TENNESSEANS OUGHT TO BE TAXED FAIRLY

APRIL 18, 1997

The old saying that the process of taxation is akin to the plucking of a goose -- trying to get away with as many feathers with the smallest amount of hissing -- could not be more applicable than to the Commonwealth of Kentucky's ongoing practice of levying its state income tax upon hundreds and hundreds of Tennesseans who happen to work on the Kentucky portion of Fort Campbell.

I think this tax policy on the part of Kentucky is inherently unfair. That's why I have introduced legislation to correct this highly unique situation. Its aim, should it become law, is simple: Kentucky should not be permitted to impose its income tax upon Tennesseans who happen to be employed on its portion of Fort Campbell.

The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law on which I sit held a hearing this past week to examine this aspect of Kentucky's tax policy. Joining me in the hearing were Senator Fred Thompson and two Clarksvillians, Worth Lovett and Ed Wilson. Each of us testified about the unfairness of this economic inequity which has burdened too many Tennesseans for too long. For years, Kentucky has been taking advantage of this multi-million dollar windfall, thanks to a World War II-era piece of legislation known as The Buck Act.  When The Buck Act became law in the early 1940's, it provided states the authority to levy their income tax upon federal officers and employees who were residing in federal areas and benefitting from being exempt from a given state's income tax.

When the act became law, there were only two military posts straddling state lines, Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Bliss, Texas, and the portions which straddled state lines were used primarily for gunnery ranges. In fact, Fort Campbell had not even been formally established until very late in 1942 -- right around the time The Buck Act became law.

History aside, though, let's consider the present.  Kentucky provides no services to its portion of Fort Campbell -- no roads, no water or sewage services, no schools, no police or fire protection, nothing.  Not that I nor anyone else for that matter is suggesting it should.  But what I am suggesting is that federal law reflect the fairness this situation unquestionably deserves.

Moreover, despite the fact that Kentucky is obliging itself in taxing these Tennesseans without providing any services in return, it will not afford them the benefit of considering their children as ‘in-state' for tuition purposes within its higher education system.  And this is supposed to be fair?  I think not.

This past week's hearing was a well deserved forum for these unfairly taxed.Tennesseans, and I'm optimistic it will not be the last during the 105th Congress.

Jurisdiction Over Federal Areas Within the States
(click to go)

ZIP Code Use Invokes Federal Jurisdiction

by

Richard McDonald

     Use of  the ZIP  Code  is  voluntary.    See  Domestic  Mail Services Regulations,  Section 122.32.  You should also know that the Postal service cannot discriminate against the non-use of the ZIP Code.   Postal  Reorganization Act,  Section 403, (Public Law  91-375).   The federal government utilizes the ZIP code to prove that you  reside in  a  "federal  district  of  the  District  of Columbia".   This is  why the  IRS and  other government agencies (state  and   federal)  require  a  ZIP  Code  when  they  assert  jurisdiction by  sending you  a letter.   They  claim  that  this speeds the  mail, but this is a sly and subtle TRICK.  It is also PRIMA FACIE  evidence that  you are  a subject  of Congress and a "citizen of the District of Columbia" who is "resident" in one of  the several States.

     The  receipt  of  mail  with  a  ZIP  code  is  one  of  the requirements for  the  IRS  to  have  jurisdiction  to  send  you notices.   The government cannot bill a Citizen of California, as he is  not within  the purview  of  the  MUNICIPAL  LAWS  of  the District of  Columbia.  In fact, the Internal Revenue Service has adopted the  ZIP code  areas as  Internal Revenue Districts.  See the Federal Register, Volume 51, Number 53 , Wednesday, March 19, 1986.

     You must  remember that  the Postal  Service  is  a  private corporation, a quasi-governmental agency.  It is no longer a full government agency.   It  is like  the Federal Reserve System, The Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Marshall Service. They  are   all  outside   the  restrictions   of   the   Federal Constitution, as  private corporations.  They are all powerful in their respective  areas of  responsibility to  enforce collection for  the  federal debt.  So, if you are using a ZIP code, you are in effect  saying openly  and notoriously that you do not live in the State  of California,  but, instead  are a  resident  in the california area of the District of Columbia (a federal district). There are  some so-called  Patriot groups  that I  consider to be patriots for  money.   They advocate  the use  of Title  42 suits (which are  for federal  citizens only),  send mail to you with a ZIP Code,  and ask  you to  do things  that place  you within the municipal jurisdiction of the District of Columbia.

     Remember these  individuals may  be agents of the government or, even  worse, are advocating a one-world government by the use of the Social Security number and the ZIP code.

     So you  must be  aware of  the movement  towards a one-world government through  annihilation or elimination of State Citizens by use of the so-called 14th Amendment and its related laws.

     This movement  can be  halted by  the efforts of everyone to return to  the status  of Primary  State Citizens.  By becoming a State Citizen  and not a citizen of the United States you can get the federal government off your back and out of your billfold.

     I myself  want the  Original  Constitution  for  the  United States of  America put  back in  force, as  applied  against  the federal government,  and the  States restored  to their  original status as Republics.

     So, all  you have  to do  is to  study  and  determine  your status, whether  you are  a "slave"  and a  second class  citizen (commonly referred  to as  a "federal  citizen") or  a Citizen of California.  You must decide who and what you are!!!!!


"The government of the United States is a
foreign corporation  with respect to a state."

In re Merriam, 36 N. E. 505, 141 N. Y. 479,
affirmed 16 S. Ct. 1073, 163 U. S. 625, 41 L.Ed. 287.


Comments on Colgate v. Harvey

by

Richard McDonald

     Everyone should  take time  to read the published court case Colgate v. Harvey.  This case is often utilized by U.S. Attorneys in their  briefs.   The following is a quote from page 309 of the Lawyers Edition:

Thus, the dual character of our citizenship is made plainly apparent. That  is to say, a citizen of the United States is  ipso facto  and at  the same  time a citizen of the state in which he  resides. And while the Fourteenth Amendment does  not create  a national  citizenship, it  has the  effect  of  making that  citizenship "paramount and dominant" instead of  "derivative and dependant" upon state citizenship.
Colgage v. Harvey, 296 U.S. 404, 427 (1935)
80 L.Ed. 299

     Now, if  the Fourteenth  Amendment DID NOT create a national citizenship, then  WHAT did  it create?  It created a citizenship in the  District of Columbia, commonly called the "United States" in legal terminology.  So, by law, a "United States" citizen is a citizen of  the District of Columbia, which is not a State of the Union of  several States;  it is not a star on the American flag. Therefore, the  District of  Columbia is  alien and  foreign with respect to  the 50  common-law States  of the Union.  In law, the term "resident"  means "alien".  I shall now establish that this is correct:

     When America  sends an  Ambassador to  France, he  is then a  "resident" in France and alien to France.  He is just like a  U.S. citizen  who is  "resident" in California and therefore  alien to the common-law and to California.

       Now,  as a  citizen of  the District  of Columbia, you are subject to  ALL the  municipal laws  that Congress passes for the District  of  Columbia.    This  means  that  ALL  of  Titles  7, (Agriculture),  8   (Immigration),  12   (Banks  &  Banking),  15 (Commerce  &   Trade),  16   (Conservation),  19   (Customs),  20 (Education), 21,  (FDA), 22  (Foreign Relations) 24, (Hospitals), 25 (Indians),  Title  26  (Internal  Revenue),  27  (Liquor),  29 (Labor), 30  (Mining), 33 (Navigation), 36 (Patriotic Societies), 40 (Public Buildings), 41 (Public Contracts), 42 (Public Health), 43 (Public  Lands), 45 (Railroads), 47 (Telegraphs & Telephones), 48 (Territories  and Insular  Possessions), 50  (War and National Defense);   all the  above attach to you personally regardless of where you  "reside" in  the world.  (See Cook v. Tait, 265 U.S 47 (1924).)  There are some individual paragraphs that attach to the common-law Citizens  of the several States, but they are very few and far between.

       If you recall, the President can send his troops (citizens of the  District of Columbia) any place in the world and make war without   the approval of Congress.  This is a fact of law, since he is NOT sending any Citizen of one of the several States who is a member  of the  Sovereignty;   he is only sending his subjects, just as the Queen of England can do to her subjects.  No approval is needed.

      You must remember that the Fourteenth Amendment is not law. It was  never properly  adopted or ratified.  It is a martial law amendment adopted under martial law.  When martial law ceases, so do all the laws that are promulgated under military authority.

Madden v. Kentucky, this case  was decided  in 1940.   I  would like you to read what the court said:

This position  is that  the privileges and immunities clause
protects all citizens against abridgment by states of rights
of national  citizenship as distinct from the fundamental or
natural rights inherent in state citizenship.
Madden v. Kentucky, 309 U.S. 83 (1940). 84 L.Ed. 590, at 594; 

       Again, I must refer you to Colgate v. Harvey, 296 U.S. 404 (1935), 80  L.Ed. 299,  56 S.Ct.  252, 102  ALR 54.   The Supreme Court of  the United States of America always states the truth in their opinions.  In the Madden case, it is telling you that, as a State Citizen,  you  have  natural  sovereign  rights  which  are fundamental.   But, as  a "citizen  of the United States" a/k/a a citizen of the District of Columbia, you have a different type of rights;   these are  called "privileges  and immunities" and they  are different  from  those  "natural  rights  inherent  in  state citizenship."

       Previously,  the California  Supreme Court also arrived at these same  conclusions in  K. Tashiro  v.  Jordan,  256  P.  545 (1927).   It is  a fundamental  Right to be a state Citizen.  The Supreme Court  of Maryland  in Crosse  v. Board of Elections, 221 A.2d. 431, at 433 (1966), stated:

     Both before  and  after  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the
     federal Constitution, it has not been necessary for a person
     to be  a citizen  of the  United States  in order  to  be  a
     citizen of his state.

     Now, if it is not necessary to be a U.S. citizen (citizen of the District  of Columbia)  which is  a "privilege" (see Ex parte (Ng) Fung  Sing, D.C.Wash., 6 F.2d 670), then WHY should you give up a 1st class Citizenship to accept a 2nd class citizenship as a subject of  the  District  of  Columbia?    This  "privilege"  is regulated and controlled, as are all privileges.

Is it  possible that you have not been told the truth of the matter?

The “Conspiracy Theory” of  the Fourteenth Amendment
(click to go)



 The State Owns and Controls Your Car

by

Richard McDonald

     It has  been brought  to my attention that the license plate sticker that you voluntarily put on your property has imbedded in the background  "For Official  Use Only."   You have to look very hard to  see it  but it  is there.   Now every one knows that all municipal vehicles (City, County, State and federal) all have the sign on  the vehicle  "For Official Use Only."  This implies that the corporate state has an interest in your personal property.

     I myself  do not  have plates on my personal property, but I do travel in it.   I  have a  bill of  sale that  this piece  of machinery has  been sold  to me  free and  clear  with  no  other outside interests.   The corporate state  now has  to prove that they have obtained an interest in my personal property.

     The corporate  state when a car is first sold, requests that Original Certificate  of Origin, either be destroyed or forwarded to them.   The  purchaser is  not to  receive it.   The corporate state then,  has he  purchaser sign  a power of attorney over the vehicle to  them.   The state  then, assigns  a license number to that item.   Then,  the corporate  state  can  control  and  tell everyone how to drive the state vehicle that they have leased for a yearly  rental fee (an excise tax, commonly called registration fees).  If you read the California Statutes, you will see that an individual who  carries his  own property, or travels for his own reasons and  pleasure is  exempt from such fees.  The DMV Code is just an administrative interpretation of the Statute that created the code.  The DMV Code is legally correct, they just do not tell the whole  truth of the matter.  The code is specifically written for commercial  users.  So, if you are leasing a vehicle from the corporate state or from any one else you are operating a vehicle, (remember that  they  have  combined  the  terms  "operator"  and "driver" to mean the same thing).

     A Citizen  of one  of the  Several  States,  does  have  the absolute right to travel, this is unquestioned.  But, an alien be it a Citizen of Japan, Germany, or the District of Columbia, does not have  this right,  for them  it is  a privilege to travel, as they are  outside the  scope of  intent of the Original State and Federal Constitutions.   This  the Supreme  Court has  ruled upon numerous times.

     Now that  you have  this information, what are you going to do???   You have  to decide who and what you are, the government assumes that  you are  an  alien  (citizen  of  the  District  of Columbia) as  you  have  admitted  such  by  obtaining a  social security number,  driver's license, and registering your personal property.   There are  numerous other legal attachments that also entrap you, so as the highest court has stated, "Those that sleep on their rights, do not have any."

 

Legal Words and Consequences

by

Richard McDonald

     This is  a newsletter  that may  be dangerous  to your  well  being, as  it contains  some truth  that  you  were  or  are  not supposed to know or understand.

     To begin  with, I  must tell  you that all words used in any type of  law have  a specific  meaning attached  as it relates to that specific  law.   They do  not  mean  the  standard  everyday dictionary  meaning  at  all  times,  as  you  are  mislead  into thinking.

     First, you  must understand  that  this  is  an  educational forum, and  I will give you the meanings that are utilized by the various governmental  agencies, to deprive you of your rights and property.

     The word  "person" as  it is  used in  most of  the statutes refers to  the same  person as  defined  in  the  so-called  14th Amendment.   It does  not include  everyone, as  you are  led  to believe.   There are  several court cases that define who is that specific "person,"  and one  of those  cases is Van Valkenburg v. Brown, 43 Cal. 43.

     Next the  term  "United  States"  has  three  (3)  different distinct, and  separate jurisdictional  meanings.   This has been stated in  Hooven &  Allison Co.  v. Evatt, 324 U. S. 652.  There the court stated:

     The term  "United States"  may be used in any one of several senses.   It may  be merely the name of a sovereign occupying the position analogous  to that  of other sovereigns in the family of nations.   It  may  designate  the  territory  over  which  the sovereignty of  the United  States extends,  or  it  may  be  the collective name  of the  States which are united by and under the Constitution.

     Each  of   these  definitions   have  completely   different jurisdictions and  cannot be  mixed.   Do you  know which  of the meanings are  being utilized when they say "United States"?  When in doubt,  ASK!   This always brings some type of answer, and you will at  least know  for yourself what they are doing to you with your permission.

     There are  several groups  that are claiming federal rights, that originate in the 1866 Federal Civil Rights Statute, 14 Stat. 27.  They should read and understand the law before claiming such statutory rights and privileges.  They might be surprised to find out what they are stating and claiming.

     The law states the United States is a foreign corporation in relation to  one of  the several  States.    Remember,  that  the District of  Columbia is  not one  of the  States of the Union of several States, but is a foreign nation (corporation).  See 20 C. J. S.  sec. 1785,  p. 11.  So under these facts of law the "U. S. citizens" of the District of Columbia are only alien residents in any one  of the  several States.   So,  if all state agencies are operating under the purview of the municipal laws of the District of Columbia, have they registered with this State's Department of State as  an agency  of a  foreign power  doing business  in this State?

     The original  Political Code  of 1872,  states that  you are either a Citizen of this State, a Citizen of another State, or an alien.   So, if  you do  not possess  Primary and Paramount State Citizenship, then  you must be a resident alien, who can and must be controlled  at all  times when,  where, how,  and  why  to  do anything affecting the public (Citizens of the State).

     I am a Citizen of this State first, then as a consequence, I am a  Citizen of  the United States of America, as defined in the Original Constitution  for the  United States  of America (1787), and have  full, complete  and unencumbered  access to  all of the Bill of  Rights (1791),  Amendments 1  through 10.    The  U.  S. Supreme Court  has stated that since 1969, Amendments 1 through 8 have limited application to the States through the 14th Amendment for the  U. S. citizens.  They as citizens of a non-state (notice a difference  of status  between the  State and  the District  of Columbia) have  no access  to the  9th and 10th Amendments.  As a Citizen of  a State,  I have  all the  powers not  given  to  the governments.   I am a sovereign and as the courts have stated the Constitutions are  a limitation upon the government as it relates to the  Citizen of  the State.   But  this is not so if you are a citizen of  the District  of Columbia.   SO, just what are you???  If you  are a  slave on  the  Federal  plantation  known  as  the District of Columbia, then act like one.  If you are a Citizen of this State  then act  like the sovereign you are by heritage and Birthright.  Read and understand the laws that apply to you.  You must always  obey these  laws under  all circumstances.  I do not obey the laws of Japan, Germany, England or the municipal laws of the District of Columbia for the very simple reason that I am not one of their citizens.

   So read the law, understand it and ask questions if in doubt of your status.