Barack Obama On Martial Law: Did U.S. President State That America Was Better Off Under Martial Law, Sign Bill Into Action?

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President Barack Obama has been surrounded by lots of controversy and scandal, but perhaps none as big as this. Reports have accused Barack Obama of arguing that the country would be “better off” under martial law, and some even state Obama has already signed a bill into law. If the U.S. were under martial law, we’d know it, right?

Thankfully, Snopes.com cleared up this rumor for us. The rumor-reversal site reported that Barack Obama did not argue for martial law during an interview with the Washington Post. We can also logically conclude that Obama didn’t sign a bill into law effecting this, either. This is quite a relief given all the bad press Obama has been given for having a tight hold on the reins of the government and accusations of him being a socialist or a communist.

Barack Obama Martial Law
Barack Obama onstage at a campaign event. Some have accused Obama of purposely inciting civil unrest in order to justify imposing Martial Law. [Image Via Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com]

All this, of course, begs the question: How did the Obama rumors actually start? An undated post on conspiracy theorist site Disclose.TV claims that Barack Obama had already signed martial law into effect (which is false), presumably by using executive privilege. This handy little trick would let Barack or any president pass a bill without asking Congress’ opinion, thereby making it a law. This usually happens instantaneously, but some laws have a specific time frame within which they’ll become effective.

So, what exactly is martial law? The idea of a government crackdown has been tossed around since the Kent State University shootings in the 1960s, though martial law has never really been seen in full effect.

Barack Obama Martial Law
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at an Interfaith Memorial in Dallas, Tx, for the five police officers who were killed there. [Image Via Tom Pennington/Getty Images]

The policy of martial law has its origins in the American Civil War, when Congress ratified rules giving the union military the power to try and arrest citizens. Martial law has never been invoked in the United States, and there would likely be an outcry against Obama if it were.

While he did not speak on the martial law rumors, President Obama did address a group of police officers about the recent shootings of five police officers in Dallas, Texas. He discussed the need for the country to cooperate and put aside their differences while also praising police officers for their hard work and highlighting the struggles they’ve been going through lately. Obama also touched on the recent shootings of two men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by police officers, pleading with each side to put themselves in the others’ shoes.

Dr. Ben Carson also had concerns about the rumored enactment of martial law. According to the left-leaning Blue Nation Review, the former GOP presidential candidate was concerned that the Obama White House was stirring unrest in order to justify a martial law scenario. Several Twitter users seemed to share Carson’s concerns, accusing Obama of deliberately planting the seeds of civil unrest and racial tensions for that purpose.

While Obama has not enacted martial law at the moment, he has signed bills into law which favor that policy. Mr. Conservative.com explains that an order known as National Resources Defense Preparedness, which was signed by Obama, allows the government to take control of any given resource during a time of emergency. The bill also makes it such that a state of martial law can be activated at any time on the President’s orders.

#Reposting @freedom_faction with @instarepost_app -- Right on cue Barack Obama has responded to the murder of five police officers by an armed black thug by declaring that what is needed to solve the problem is more police training. He has, from the very start of his presidency, shown himself to be a proponent and activist that takes the side of black criminals, no matter what the evidence, and generally before the facts are even known. The supposed racial uniter has in fact turned out to be the biggest racial divider this country has ever known, even including racial con men like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. But his immediate response when a hateful black man shouting that he hates white people and police officers is to say that it is the cops fault and they need more training? That is truly beyond belief. Obama was speaking at a press conference in Poland when he made the most preposterous and embarrassing remarks that show he is completely out of touch with the facts of the huge racial divide in this country, one that he personally has fomented and encouraged. Obama always believes there is political advantage to be gained from a crisis, and this latest massacre of police officers is no exception. And his latest proposal to federalize local police forces in order to indoctrinate, or as Obama would say, to “train” the police to follow orders from Washington is indicative of that objective. There could not be a worse idea, but for Obama, all things must emanate from the center. “I want to start moving on constructive actions that are actually going to make a difference,” he said during his evening press conference in Poland when he was asked about the Dallas attack. Those actions, he said, wouldbe based on the recommendations of the panel that he picked after the 2014 street riots in Ferguson, Missouri. The panel offered “practical concrete solutions that can reduce — if not eliminate — the problems of racial bias,” Obama said. ✋????More in comments????????#CivilUnrest #PoliceState #MartialLaw

A photo posted by #GuiltyuntilProvenInnocent (@notime2hate) on

Some have also pointed out that the police force has grown more and more militarized in recent years, with local officers being equipped with military-grade riot shields, tear gas, and other equipment. Whether this trend is pure coincidence or not, it’s certainly turned a number of heads. Let us know what you think of the accusations against President Obama in the comments below.

[Image via Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com]