Bill of Rights - Third Amendment Rights

What are our Third Amendment rights under the US Constitution?

What exactly does the Third Amendment say?

"No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."  This is pretty cut and dry, but the Third Amendment has one passage that leaves some areas I am unsure about and that is the last sentence segment which reads, "... but in a manner to be prescribed by law."  Well these laws will not be written until the incident occurs requiring implementation of the Third Amendment.  Then what ever agreement, if any, our government can reach with the invading force will be put into place.  Our troops will follow the laws they have in place already governing this type of action.  We do not know what the rules are, or at least I could not find them published anywhere, but they are probably in writing already.

Why is this restriction placed on military forces by the Third Amendment so important?

Many people I know tend to overlook the Third Amendment, because our military members, during peacetime, even short periods of Martial law do not take over people’s homes; and today's citizens have never, in their lifetime, seen a police action or war fought on our soil where this may become an issue.  Does that mean the Third Amendment is not important?  I think it is very important especially with the downsizing of our military which is in the plans right now.  We may become a very attractive target by adversary nations due to our weakening defenses.  This may make the Third Amendment to the US Constitution a very important restriction on military forces, foreign and domestic, to protect us from being thrown out of our homes into the cold of winter.

To whom does the Third Amendment actually apply?

The Third Amendment applies to any US Military member.  What some don't understand is that it applies to any invading nations forces as well.  Does that mean they will abide by our Constitution?  Not at all.  Many nations would totally ignore the requirement levied by the Third Amendment, but after the war or police action is over.  Violators can be prosecuted as war criminals based on their violating these laws after invading our sovereign nation.  If agreements are reached between our government and the invading nation establishing laws for them to follow, then those laws are what must be adhered to by both sides.  Hopefully our law makers will take care of noncombatants if this ever happens.  I have my doubts, because it seems many of them do not know the US Constitution, much less the Third Amendment, based on laws they have passed in the past.

I think the Third Amendment will be a moot point for most households in our country.  I will fight the invaders until they kill me or they leave due to heavy casualties.  They will never enter my house until I am dead or hurt so bad I cannot resist anymore.  Many Americans feel this way and this is the main reason Japan decided not to attack the mainland US during WWII.  They knew they would have to fight us, the civilian citizens, at every turn.  I feel nothing has changed in this regard even with all the anti-gun legislation in the past or proposed.  Those of us who want to own guns, as authorized by the Second Amendment, already own enough to put up one heck of a fight.

NOTE:  I was trained as a marksman, believing in one shot one kill, and with over a thousand rounds of .338 Lapua ammo and 200 rounds of 10mm pistol ammo, that is a lot of kills. Well, unless I am killed before finishing off all my rounds.  My neighbors will all be fighting right along with me, giving up their rights under the Third Amendment as they become combatants as soon as they shoot at the enemy  My neighbors, even though they are not military trained as I am, are very good hunters.  So, that is probably over ten-thousand rounds between us and all of us are very good shots with the firearms we own.  Whow, I forgot about all my crossbow bolts, and my neighbor’s arrows for their compound bows.  We even have one heck of a silent kill capability.  Well, this is another story.

The Third Amendment is critical for noncombatants to attempt to ensure they are treated properly.  That is about 40% of our population.  And those people are mostly in urban areas, but the inner city gangs may stand up against any invading force to protect their territory.  We may have more willing combatants than statistics predict.  If I was a country wanting to invade the United States of America, I would think twice before attempting to do so.  A lot of the invading countries military would be lost at the hands of normal, everyday, armed US citizens.  Then our military, dwindling in size due to defense spending cutbacks, can come in and clean up what is left of the invading forces.  I wonder if this isn't President Obama's thought process in reducing the size of our military, he may believe no one will invade us due to all the armed citizens, and reducing the size of the military keeps us from helping other nations in the future.  That would force an isolationist posture of the United States in the world.  Anyway, the Third Amendment is critical in protecting those noncombatants that do not want to put up any resistance during the conflict.

The Third Amendment is very important in protecting the noncombatants in our country if there is ever and invasion of another country or if Martial Law is declared short or long term where our military may need to occupy an area in the United States where noncombatants own homes and property in the area.  Understanding the Third Amendment is in the Bill of Rights, and implementing the critical laws is a must for our law makers to protect our children and any person unwilling to be a combatant for any reason.

Take care all and God bless you!!!