Armed Forces Tea Party ‘In No Way Supports A Military Uprising’

Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots founder Gary Stein (inset) and unaffiliated Tea Party protesters in Washington, D.C.
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The organizer of the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots is offering reassurance that his group doesn’t support a military uprising, views President Obama as the legitimate commander-in-chief, and will follow all constitutional orders.

But Gary Stein, an active duty Marine Corps sergeant, affirmed his belief in his group’s right to voice its opinion.

In a press release sent this morning that misspelled the president’s first name, Stein wrote that in recent days his group had been “attacked by many people calling us traitors.” And he declared:

Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots in no way supports a military uprising or anything to that subject, further more we recognize Barak (sic) Obama as the Command-in-Chief and we do not support disobeying orders that are lawful with Constitution, and will continue to follow orders given to us….We do understand that there is a time and place for expression and the military work place is not one of them.

But Stein added:

[J]ust because we have volunteered to serve our country in a camouflage uniform we do not strip away our rights as Americans to express our opinion on the polices of the current or future administrations.

We reported yesterday on the Armed Forces Tea Party, and its pledge to “defend our Constitution that is threatened by a tyrannical government.” The military restricts political speech and activism by active duty personnel, and some military law experts told us that Stein’s Tea Party activism may be close to the line of what’s prohibited.

Here’s the full statement sent by Stein this morning:

Over the last day we have been attacked by many people calling us traitors after we included our selves in the press release that was published yesterday.

This is beyond untrue, we have served or are serving honorably and will continue to do so. The fact remains that above all else we are Americans, and we to enjoy the rights that every American enjoys. Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots in no way supports a military uprising or anything to that subject, further more we recognize Barak Obama as the Command-in-Chief and we do not support disobeying orders that are lawful with Constitution, and will continue to follow orders given to us. We are here to say that we are Americans, We have rights, We sworn to uphold the Constitution, and just because we have volunteered to serve our country in a camouflage uniform we do not strip away our rights as Americans to express our opinion on the polices of the current or future administrations. We do understand that there is a time and place for expression and the military work place is not one of them.

We believe in

-Fiscal Responsibility

-Constitutionally Limited Government

-Free Markets

Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots is a non-partisan grassroots organization of individuals united by our core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, the Bill Of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers and our Military service to our country. We recognize and support the strength of grassroots organization powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. We hold that the United States is a republic conceived by its architects as a nation whose people were granted “unalienable rights” by our Creator. Chiefly among these are the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots stand with our founders, as heirs to the republic, to claim our rights and duties which preserve their legacy and our own. We hold, as did the founders, that there exists an inherent benefit to our country when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual.

As I close out this press release, I do so with a heavy heart. I have just tied up my boots, buttoned up my cammies, and am ready to answer the greatest act of American Patriotism for the 2,430th consecutive day. Although I will not be on the front lines today, as I come to you from Southern California, the actions that I and all members of the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots take each day on duty, or in the civilian world, will save lives, promote freedom, uphold orders and continue to make America the greatest country with greatest Military in the world. We will continue to put duty to country and it’s citizens before personal politics as we would never hesitate to give our lives on the battlefield for our country, its people, or for our President.

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