Reference to HJR-192

Sovereign citizens often reference House Joint Resolution (HJR) 192 as a way to bolster their arguments against the legitimacy of the U.S. government or specific laws. However, there’s a misconception about the nature and significance of HJR-192.

Here’s my analysis:

• What is HJR-192? HJR-192 was a resolution introduced in 1933 in the U.S. House of Representatives. It proposed cancelling the gold clauses in public and private contracts. The gold clause was a provision in some contracts that specified payment would be made in gold coins.
• Why did it exist? The resolution emerged during the Great Depression, when the U.S. government suspended the gold standard. This meant the government was no longer guaranteed to exchange dollars for gold at a fixed price. HJR-192 aimed to remove the gold clause from contracts to reflect this change.
• Sovereign citizen claims: Sovereign citizens misinterpret HJR-192 in several ways:
  
  • Misinterpreting the Resolution’s Purpose: Sovereign citizens believe referencing HJR-192 somehow strengthens their false claims about the resolution. They misunderstand HJR-192’s purpose (taking the U.S. off the gold standard) and invent justifications for their beliefs [1, 2].
  • Fictitious National Bankruptcy: They often claim HJR-192 proves the U.S. government is bankrupt and debt is illegitimate. Referencing it becomes part of their fabricated narrative [2, 3].
  • Debt Discharge Ploy: Sovereign citizens might use the phrase “Reference to HJR-192” in pseudo-legal documents or arguments to support their theory that all debt can be cancelled because of the resolution. This theory has no legal validity [3].
  • Smoke and Mirrors Tactic: The reference can be a way to confuse or distract people, particularly those unfamiliar with HJR-192. They aim to create an air of legitimacy around their arguments by referencing a real document [4].
• Why these claims are wrong:
  
  • Limited Scope: HJR-192 was a narrow resolution dealing with gold clauses in contracts, not a declaration of national bankruptcy.
  • No impact on individual obligations: HJR-192 has no bearing on the legal obligations of individual citizens. Taxes and other laws remain enforceable.
  • Resolution, not law: It’s important to distinguish between a resolution and a law. Resolutions express the opinion of Congress but don’t have the force of law.

In essence:

• Sovereign citizens misuse HJR-192 to spread misinformation about the U.S. government’s legitimacy.
• HJR-192 was a resolution about gold clauses, not a declaration of bankruptcy or a cancellation of legal obligations.
• If you encounter someone referencing HJR-192 as part of a sovereign citizen argument, it’s best to avoid engaging and rely on factual information about the resolution and the legal system.

Citations:

• [1] Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (.gov): The Federal Reserve System: Purpose and Function [https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/the-fed-explained.htm ]
• [2] Anti-Defamation League: The Sovereign Citizen Movement [https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/sovereign-citizen-movement-united-states] 
• [3] Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts: Sovereign Citizen Use of Documents [https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/pr/2022/pr22-23-order.pdf ]
• [4] Southern Poverty Law Center: Sovereign Citizens [https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moorish-sovereign-citizens]