The term martial law is a scary one to most people. It conjures up images of military lockdowns, armed and guarded checkpoints, regular inspections and the loss of rights. Most freedom loving people are likely right to be apprehensive about even the suggestion that martial law could be implemented.
With the state of the world today, owing to increasing government overreach globally at all levels of society and ever widening cultural and ideological gulfs, some are convinced it is only a matter of time until the unthinkable happens here at home.
That will definitely be a game changer. Gone will be civilian leadership at the local level. The police will no longer be truly in charge of law enforcement. Instead, the military will take over both, with everything that that entails. The Prepperu2019s Wate... Best Price: $7.49 Buy New $9.94 (as of 06:00 UTC - Details)
I believe even the most staunchly pro-military supporter does not want to see that happen, and they are right in that regard. Much can go wrong with martial law, and anytime the military is responsible for law enforcement the stage is set for disaster.
The time is now to start playing what you’ll do and where you go should martial law be instituted at the local, regional or national level.
Trying to go along and get along may result in a bad outcome depending on how strained the situation becomes. Hoping for the best does not guarantee a good outcome, and accordingly you’d be well served to stay away from trouble if martial law is declared.
To help you in that end we are bringing you a list of five places where you might successfully hide from the worst effects of martial law.
Could Martial Law Actually Be Instituted?
Martial law is declared more often around the world than most people think, and though it is rare and historically employed rarely in the United States, there is still a precedent for it, and it has occurred before and not as long ago as most people think.
Though the declaration of martial law is considered lawful based on our federal and State statutes, that doesn’t mean it is good for you or good for the country.
One thing to keep in mind is that martial law does not necessarily mean a coast to coast replacement of civilian leadership and law enforcement with a military equivalent.
Martial law could be declared at a limited local level, in a given city or municipality, at a state level, a national regional level or even full-blown, federal sea-to-shining-sea level.
For anything but the most intense and turbulent small-scale events, a regional or national declaration of martial law generally means that something truly terrible has happened, or that the government is rightly afraid that the citizenry is about to remove them with no ifs, ands, or buts.
What you should take away from this is that while martial law could definitely be implemented in the US and in many ways is more likely to be implemented in the near future and also means that in most situations there will be places that are not under a declaration of martial law.
Keep that in mind, keep your head about you and let us take the time to prepare accordingly.
How Will Life Change Under Martial Law?
Right now, you might be one of those good, upstanding citizens who believe that because you are a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen who still believes in your country, right or wrong, and the rule of law that you have nothing to fear from a declaration of martial law.
After all, our soldiers, sailors and airmen are all the good guys, right? This is a common sentiment, but one that almost always vanishes into a puff of steam immediately after learning what martial law actually means for the common citizen.
First and foremost, martial law means a major change into the day today running of a place, a change to how business is done.
You should absolutely expect regular searches, checkpointing, and even confiscation of contraband to happen regularly. As always, this is for reasons of security, but the real question is for the security of whom?
Naturally, a curfew will be put into place and enforced with more or less muscle, but you can expect any violation of the curfew to be met with significant reprisal, including detainment.
As you go from place to place you can expect to be asked to show papers, have your person and your vehicle searched and potentially any property you are in possession of seized.
But most egregiously, your civil rights, pretty much all of them, will be rendered null and void, suspended for the duration of the declaration of martial law in the affected area.
That means you do not have a right to go anywhere, you do not have a right to assemble, a right to bear arms, a right to privacy from confiscation or search and no right to be free of detention without formal charges.
This is how people wind up “renditioned,” or indefinitely detained without charges.
I hope I have your full and total attention now. I trust that I have impressed upon you how important picking when and where to hide or stay during a declaration of martial law is.
Safety is Your Number One Priority Under Martial Law
It is crucial to understand that martial law will affect your life in all kinds of ways. Socially, economically and potentially physically.
The stakes for you, personally, are very high if you are living in an area under martial law. You must understand that any place you might go, if it is a place under the declaration, will not be truly safe, only safer.
Every place on the list below entails trade-offs, and you’ll have to assess these trade-offs and then decide based on the circumstances of your life, family and other considerations.
Something else to keep in mind is that staying out of trouble and avoiding the attention of the military and other authorities in an area affected by martial law is not just a matter of blending in with the crowd and minding your own business.
All of your personal information, including your vital statistics, personal contacts, family members, financial info and more is all collated, readily available and highly sticky, meaning that regular access to electronic systems and carriage of a smartphone or similar device means that every part of you, nearly down to your DNA, is tracked almost in real time.
You need not think it is possible in our era to merely skip town, live and work under an assumed name and get paid in cash without anyone being the wiser.
Sure, that might have worked back in the day but it isn’t going to cut the mustard in the current year.
All it will take to dispel such a notion is one single, solitary, and potentially inadvertent contact on any number of electronic systems using information that is tied to and associated with your genuine identity.
This is a pitfall that is difficult to avoid, and growing increasingly more difficult every single day.
Keep that in mind as you read the list below, and know that the challenges associated with the information age have been taken into account when we assembled our list.
5 Safe Locations to Hide During Martial Law
Outside the Bounds of the Affected Area
Probably the best and most elegant solution to avoiding the troubles and travails associated with living in an area under martial law is to simply get out from under that affected area.
No matter what happens, it is unlikely that a massive regional or nationwide implementation of martial law will occur.
Based on a response projection established to counter localized or smaller regional incidents, you can expect martial law to be in place in a tiny fraction of the country when it is in effect at all.
The solution, then, is simple. If at all possible, pack up your life and your family and head elsewhere. Survival Projects for ... Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $24.29 (as of 03:11 UTC - Details)
Depending on the specifics of the declaration, this might be across the state, across state lines or even across the country. Don’t rule anything out, and be prepared that you might have to move a little farther than you would like.
Though this might be a dreadful challenge, the good news is that life will, more or less, go on as usual in the areas that are not under martial law.
Depending on your family and financial situation, you might even want to look into a drop everything vacation with an extended rental, be it a condo or house, even an extended stay hotel.
If your profession is amenable to working from home and especially working remotely via the internet, so much the better as this will only increase the attractiveness of this response.
As good as this option is, you must plan for a worst case scenario of the martial law declaration being expanded or implemented elsewhere.
If you are going to an area that itself is likely to see martial law declared you could be facing the classic blunder of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Consider carefully whether or not the prospective safe haven is known for commercial, industrial or political importance or if it is currently experiencing heightened levels of unrest that might provoke a serious government response.