The US Constitution

The primary responsibility of any elected official is to protect the individual rights of citizens. As a former commissioned Texas Peace Officer, I swore an Oath to the U.S. Constitution to protect and defend and uphold the laws of the State of Texas, as well as our great nation, and I applied it  on  every citizen interaction, traffic stop, call for service, warrant service, and process delivery. Even as a Justice  Court bailiff, I didn’t take that allegiance lightly.  Some, perhaps many of our previously elected officials have forgotten their duty or simply considered it a nuisance.

Article VI, Clause  3 , Oath or Affirmation: “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned………… shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Again, the primary responsibility of any elected official is to protect the rights of the citizens.

According to Deputy Director Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, Ronald Mann, “Adherence to the spirit and intent of our Constitution was so important to our Founding Fathers that one of the first acts of the First Congress in 1789, was to pass the verbiage for the Oath or Affirmation of office in compliance with Article VI of our Constitution. George Washington was administered the Oath or Affirmation of office, as prescribed by Article II Section 1, on April 29, 1789, to which he added, “So help me God.”

“Sadly, with the passing of time, the Oath or Affirmation of office has become perfunctory. It has long its meaning to many of our elected leaders.” Mann  further stated, “It is hoped that this publication will awaken a desire within  the  inhabitants of this nation to restore to the Constitution the eminence given it by our Founders that we may as a nation be blessed with continued freedom, security, and happiness.”

Today, the Oath is codified as 5 U.S. Code § 3331 – Oath of office: “An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: “I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” This section does not affect other oaths required by law. (Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 424.)