PRESIDENT OBAMA: VETO INDEFINITE DETENTION [!]
Laura W. Murphy, ACLU
There are moments in America when our freedoms depend on the willingness of a President to act firmly and decisively to sustain our fundamental values. This is one of those moments.
As I write this, the Defense Authorization bill is on its way to President Obama's desk. The bill contains dangerous, sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provisions.
Leading members of Congress have already indicated that they believe that these provisions could be used by this and any future president to indefinitely detain people without charge or trial — even American citizens and others picked up within the borders of the United States.
According to reports, the President's advisors are recommending that he not veto this legislation despite earlier promises to do so. We need to tell the President to listen to the American people.
President Obama must veto indefinite detention. Urge him to uphold the freedoms and values we cherish. (Do not forward: This link will open a page with your information already filled in.)
The ACLU and countless supporters like you worked hard to prevent this indefinite detention provision from making it into the National Defense Authorization Act in the first place. But now that it has, we must do everything in our power to stop it.
If we fail, this great nation will become a place where no one will ever be completely safe. Because once America has flouted basic rights like due process and a fair trial, what's next? We can't let "innocent until proven guilty" become "innocent unless suspected otherwise."
We cannot allow our leaders to cross that dangerous line. The future of American freedom rests in President Obama's hands. Let's make sure he’s holding a veto stamp.
This moment will decide the course our nation takes for years to come. You and the ACLU have prevailed over far-reaching threats before, but this one is going to take all of us.
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Thank you for doing your part,
Laura W. Murphy Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office |
