December 23, 2011

When it comes to national security, 2011 has proven to be quite a roller coaster. The latest news presents a serious threat to Constitutional protections for all Americans. Both the House and the Senate have passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012, and will move to the President’s desk any day now to be signed into law. It is imperative that President Obama utilize his veto power against the Act, which contains provisions which would allow the government to indefinitely detain any American citizen without any charges being levied against the individual, simply on the basis of suspicion of engaging in terrorist activities.

America has had a long-standing history of defending citizens’ rights against absolute power by government. Our Constitution protects and provides these liberties to prevent this very situation from becoming a part of our system. Should the NDAA become law, the military and executive branch at-large would gain unprecedented powers in our nation’s history to detain ordinary citizens – the very thing the Founding Fathers and patriots of the American Revolution fought against. Under the NDAA, American citizens detained under suspicion of terrorist activities would not even be allowed access to a lawyer or court of law.

The provisions would be ineffective and counterproductive to our national security as well. Resources would be wasted on indefinitely detaining individuals on mere suspicion of criminal activities rather than focusing on real threats. Perhaps it is no surprise that, the Department of Justice, intelligence agencies, and even the Pentagon itself have publicly opposed the military detention amendment, citing its interference with the work of actual terrorism investigators and intelligence collection.

Over 40 organizations have already sent a letter to President Obama urging him to veto the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 because it would place all Americans at risk. The time to organize and act is now; our democracy depends on your action.

Action Alert:

Call the White House now at (202) 456-1111, or write and urge President Barack Obama to stand by his commitment to veto the bill.

Suggested Talking Points:

*As a concerned American citizen, the NDAA is an assault at the very liberties we enjoy as Americans.

*The dangerous provisions added to the Act are antithetical to our democracy and Constitution.

*As we aim to keep our nation safe, the NDAA is counterproductive to our national security goals.