4 ms·

A good illustration of why it might not be such a great idea to fly no flag and claim no nation: anybody who floats up with a gun bigger than yours can go right

A good illustration of why it might not be such a great idea to fly no flag and claim no nation: anybody who floats up with a gun bigger than yours can go right ahead and subject you to whatever "law" they feel like.

ryacko 7y ago
If you fly the US flag, but claim no subdivision, one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. As far as I can tell, registering a ship only requires citizenship, but it would make any dispute complex. Not a lawyer, but there was an era where citizens lived in US territories.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  > If you fly the US flag, but claim no subdivision, one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. That doesn't seem right - why don't refugees, who appear to already be attempting to boat across large swaths of water, simply fly the US flag then?
  - joosters 7y ago
    For a start, they aren't trying to live in those large swathes of water, they're trying to reach somewhere else to live. Turning up at a border waving a US flag but having no valid US passport won't get you in...
    - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
      > one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. I assume you'd need to be a citizen beforehand, right?
  - petschge 7y ago
    Flying the flag is not what matters. It is the registration of the ship in a country that matters. The flag is just the announcement where you are registered. And the US will probably not register a refugee boat and of the them the protection that comes with the registration.
- InitialLastName 7y ago
  >Not a lawyer, but there was an era where citizens lived in US territories Citizens still live in US territories. Also, there are places in the United States where birth does not confer US citizenship [0]. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Nationality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Nationality
jascii 7y ago
Not quite, large part of international treaties get embedded into law that extents past just the treaty partners. Enforcement can be hard though..

ryacko 7y ago

If you fly the US flag, but claim no subdivision, one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. As far as I can tell, registering a ship only requires citizenship, but it would make any dispute complex. Not a lawyer, but there was an era where citizens lived in US territories.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
> If you fly the US flag, but claim no subdivision, one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. That doesn't seem right - why don't refugees, who appear to already be attempting to boat across large swaths of water, simply fly the US flag then?
- joosters 7y ago
  For a start, they aren't trying to live in those large swathes of water, they're trying to reach somewhere else to live. Turning up at a border waving a US flag but having no valid US passport won't get you in...
  - SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
    > one would have the benefits of citizenship without having to pay state and local taxes. I assume you'd need to be a citizen beforehand, right?
- petschge 7y ago
  Flying the flag is not what matters. It is the registration of the ship in a country that matters. The flag is just the announcement where you are registered. And the US will probably not register a refugee boat and of the them the protection that comes with the registration.
InitialLastName 7y ago
>Not a lawyer, but there was an era where citizens lived in US territories Citizens still live in US territories. Also, there are places in the United States where birth does not confer US citizenship [0]. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Nationality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Nationality

jascii 7y ago

Not quite, large part of international treaties get embedded into law that extents past just the treaty partners. Enforcement can be hard though..