by Cindy Azevedo, ND, LAc
Before I introduce what a Private Membership Association (PMA) is, it’s important to share the reminder of where human rights actually come from. The answer is God, the divine Creator has endowed us the beautiful gift of Life. God’s sanctity for Life and our unalienable human rights predate the government and the states. It’s the Constitution that guarantees and upholds our human rights as granted to us by God, our Creator.
Many folks do not understand that the concept of democracy and individual rights inherently contradicts each other. Democracy comes from the Greek word demos, meaning “people.” Both cannot logically support each other.
Democracy is the bedrock for corruption of power and ultimately translates to no power of individual rights due to mob rule, especially when social engineering tactics heavily influence the mob – think tyrannical government with democracy as the unassuming tool to achieve it. The last 3 years gave us all hard glimpses of government overreach in all levels with bureaucracies, including at both the local and federal levels.
With a Republic, the individual still maintains their rights and are thus protected. The United States of America, one nation under God, for which it stands, is a Constitutional Republic – not a democracy. This last sentence is often forgotten but a very important factual truth deserves to be repeated one more time. The United States of America, one nation under God, for which it stands, is a Constitutional Republic – not a democracy!
As a Constitutional Republic, the United States of America still maintains individual rights foremost, because a Republic limits the majority. When Benjamin Franklin exited Independence Hall, from the deliberations at the Constitutional Convention, he was asked, “Have we got a Republic or a monarchy?” He replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”
It is We The People, the consent of the governed, who are responsible to uphold the Constitutional Republic and abolish tyranny (even monarchy). As a matter of fact, none of the founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution include the word democracy.
Now, what’s the connection between your rights and a PMA? You, the human with endowed inalienable rights by the universal Laws of Nature and Nature’s God, have the freedom of assembly, and with that, the right to associate, which is inseparable from the right to free speech. You have always had the right to associate and are allowed to practice and trade without government obstruction -- no license or permission was ever needed. This is unnecessary bureaucracy and is seldom taught in public schools or institutions. Remember, a license is defined as permission from the state to do something that would otherwise be illegal. Quite simply, a license limits speech. Members of a PMA do not fall under the public jurisdiction of local, state, and federal governments and their corresponding public laws and regulations. A PMA only operates in the unincorporated private domain, not the public domain. he two domains do not mix, should not mix, and are separate.
The right to assemble and associate in the private domain can be used for business activities, and members of a private association have the right to private contract with each other under the due process liberty of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th, and 14th Amendments. The federal and state governmental authorities and agencies cannot impair the obligation of a private contract or interfere within the private domain. The one major exception is when the activities of the PMA present a clear and present danger of substantive evil like murder, rape, and robbery for example. You can legally practice your profession in a properly formed Private Health, Private Membership, Private Educational, or any other Private Association with only private members. There are no public patients, customers, or clients, nor can you use those terms in a private contract.
The proper term within a PMA is a private member or member for short. You want to keep all business in the private domain structure and only provide service (or product) to members within your private association. Anyone that engages in your business or services must be a member of your private association. For a private individual to become a member of your private association, proper founding documents are a must. A clear private membership contract where the member is voluntarily entering into the private domain is needed with a membership fee to make the private membership legal and binding.
Founding documents include the Membership Contract with membership fee, Articles of Association, Bylaws, Mission Statement, and a Statement of Faith if setting up a Faith Based or a Church Based Ministry PMA. Next, would be to fill out an SS4 form to request an EIN from the IRS for your PMA. The EIN is for banking purposes only. With that EIN, you are then able to open up an unincorporated association bank account. Please beware that not every bank is able to open an unincorporated account and you may have better luck with the smaller banks or local credit unions.
A PMA can be religious or faith-based with reference to God in the Constitution. The founding fathers were ordained with wisdom. Organizing for religious purposes is a protected right and government is prohibited under the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution and related legislation from regulating or interfering with religious exercise. Most churches today are in the public corporations domain as 501c3 tax status, which means these churches are creatures of the state and are subject to statutory compliance being in the public domain. A church in the public domain is part of the state or government, whereas a church or church-based ministry in the private domain is a true separation of church and state. A church does not require a 501c3 status to be exempt from federal taxation or to receive tax-deductible contributions – unless the church is in the public corporation’s domain.
The IRS code 508c1a states that Churches are already tax exempt from federal income tax and contributions made to the Church are federally tax-deductible because taxation is a form of regulation, and therefore is prohibited where religion and churches or church-based ministries with an established Faith are concerned. In Christianity, a church is an ecclesiastical body with an exclusively religious function where God’s people who are in Christ are the Church for the Kingdom of God. God’s people (the Church) assemble for spiritual maturity and for discernment from the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In my opinion, the PMA model, whether a standard Constitutional PMA, Faith Based Organization PMA, or Church Based Ministry PMA, is a way forward within a Republic. We must remember that we have always had our rights, which the Constitution reaffirmed! It is the public domain that deceived us into dissolving our rights.
This knowledge will help many professionals and small businesses who have become increasingly dissatisfied with the tyrannical government overarch in the public domain. For those of us who wish for autonomy in our choices to govern our health, mind, body, and spirit this knowledge holds the power to reclaim our sovereignty!
It is highly advisable to properly consult with a PMA Advisor on your unique circumstances, and which setup fits for your business practices.
For inquiring or setting up a Standard Constitutional PMA, Ken Mason from PMA Solutions is a great advisor to speak with. Ken Mason has helped lawyers setup a Private Legal Association: pmasolutions.us.
Ken’s contact information:
Email: kmasonpma@yahoo.com
Phone: 940-453-1741
For inquiring or setting up a Church Based Ministry or FBO PMA, Mike Colomb from https://therenegadenation.org/ is a great advisor to speak with. Mike has weekly group support calls as part of his membership. Please mention my referral code of hollygrove for a discount if you do move forward with setting up your own PMA.
Mike’s contact information:
Email: mike@thePMAteam.club
Phone: 916-799-6885