From the July 2001 Idaho Observer:

Utah town declares “UN-Free Zone”

Laverkin City Council adopts ordinance at July 4 celebration

by Daniel New

The city of Laverkin, Utah, struck a spark for liberty July 4, 2001 when its city council passed a local ordinance declaring the town a “United Nations-free Zone,” effective immediately. It is now illegal to fly the UN flag on city property. The city has forbidden itself from doing business with the United Nations in any way. It also forbids doing business with contractors who do. As soon as possible, Laverkin will post a sign on the city limits signs at all approaches to the city, stating, “Welcome to Laverkin - a United Nations-free Zone by city ordinance, 2001.”

The City Fathers of Laverkin were careful to preserve the First Amendment rights of all citizens to fly any flag from their private property. Mayor Dan Howard and Councilmen Allison Snow were particularly pleased with the community support. Where normally five to ten people show up for a city council meeting, there were 150 citizens present for this 225th birthday of the USA.

The Laverkin version has modifications from the version drawn up by Dr. Herb Titus and myself. I am waiting to see what changes they made. The original version forbids the paying of any levy, tax or fee to any United Nations agency, forbids any judgement by any International Court to be imposed upon local citizens, forbids the quartering of United Nations troops in the city limits and forbids the forcing of local citizens for involuntary servitude as soldiers under a United Nations.

Mayor Jay Lee, of nearby Virgin, Utah, expressed his support, even though he was disappointed that Virgin did not beat Laverkin to the punch. In a conversation with Mayor Lee tonight, he told me that nearby Toquerville has asked for someone to present the ordinance to their next town council meeting.

Can city councils do something like that? Well, there's a pretty good precedent, which apparently withstood several court challenges in the 60s, when Berkeley, California was declared a “nuclear-free zone.” It really didn't affect the city of Berkeley so much as it affected national debate on the issue.

Supporters of this ordinance agree that the psychological effect is probably the greatest. It expresses the way people feel about the United Nations, and about their own nation's sovereignty. As one in Virgin told me last week, “America has a lot of problems, and nobody's saying it's perfect, but I would rather they be fixed by Americans than by some foreign bureaucrat who has no clue about what makes America work.”

The legal doctrine of “interposition of the lower magistrate” is well recognized. When a higher governmental authority either breaks the law, or refuses to enforce it, it is the right and the duty of lower magistrates to intervene and function as a check and a balance on the system.

That is how the Magna Carta was passed in 1215. It's how the Declaration of Independence was passed in 1776. It's how Sheriff Richard Mack sued the U.S. government over the Brady Bill, and at great personal cost, wound up with a Supreme Court decision declaring Brady as unconstitutional.

It's how Army Spc. Michael New said, “No, I'll not violate my exclusive oath of allegiance to my country by wearing a United Nations patch and headgear, and serving under foreign (illegal) officers.” And it's how the town of Laverkin, Utah, tells “elected servants of the The People” that they have gone too far.

Inquiries from towns all over the United States are beginning to roll in. The question now becomes, “What will this nation do with such a spark?” Will it die for lack of tinder? Will others nurture it, and add fuel to the fire, and strike other sparks in their communities?

What can I do? If you know your city councilors, or county commissioners, and if they are already informed on the threat the United Nations poses to our national sovereignty, to our very concept of private property, to freedom, then get a copy of this ordinance and urge them to pass it.

If they aren't informed, then don't go in and badger them with this out of the blue. Start today, educating them to this issue, and their role in protecting the private property of our local citizens.