Action Alert: Defend the Constitution & Stop Pro-Torture Legislation

[Hissyspit]

Please join the Center for Consitutional Rights and
Amnesty International in defending democracy &
stopping pro-torture legislation.

This is an EMERGENCY, but taking action is simple.
Follow the links below to send letters to US elected officials
asking them to support the Specter-Levin Amendment to
preserve the most fundamental of democratic rights,
the right of habeas corpus.

Without this right, so many more innocent people,
victims of the undemocratic measures of the "war on
terror", could be thrown in jail indefinitely, never
to be heard from again - and would lose any legal
right to challenge their detention in a court of law.

Take action now at:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5215&t=

Defend the Great Writ
Dear Friend of CCR,

The fight over the military commissions bills today isn’t about politics, it’s about lives, and it’s not over. Please take a minute from your busy day to help, even if you acted last week.

The debate around these bills misses the point: both versions strip away the fundamental right to habeas corpus, the right to challenge your detention in a court of law, not to be locked up under the President’s say-so, guilty or innocent, never to be heard from again.

An amendment in play could take out this dangerous measure – please use our site to fax your senators and tell them to support the Specter-Levin Amendment on habeas corpus when it gets introduced. The bills are S.3901, The Military Commissions Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Warner and S.3861, The Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006, sponsored by Senator Frist. Please call your Senators at [phone] IMMEDIATELY, especially if they are among the 26 we’ve identified below as critical in this fight.

Anyone in U.S. custody, at home or abroad, must have the right to challenge their detention in court. Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than this right. Tell your Senator TODAY that they must vote to save habeas corpus.

The rights of victims of rape and sexual assault are also under attack in this legislation, an injustice that is completely under the radar: both bills would change the definition of rape and other torture and cut back on hard-fought victories of victims of sexual violence. Tell your Senators they must uphold the Geneva Conventions and allow survivors of sexual violence to hold their perpetrators accountable.

This is an EMERGENCY—please forward this alert to as many people as you can.

Thank you for your commitment.

Vincent Warren
Executive Director


The votes of the following Senators will be critical:

Kent Conrad (ND) [phone]
Joe Lieberman (CT) [phone]
Ben Nelson (NE) [phone]
James Jeffords (VT) [phone]
Lincoln Chafee (RI) [phone]
Richard Lugar (IN) [phone]
Craig Thomas (WY) [phone]
Chuck Hagel (NE) [phone]
Lisa Murkowski (AK) [phone]
John Sununu (NH) [phone]
Peter Dominici (NM) [phone]
Gordon Smith (OR) [phone]
Arlen Specter (PA) [phone]
Daniel Inouye (HI) [phone]
Mary Landrieu (LA) [phone]
Ron Wyden (OR) [phone]
Olympia Snowe (ME) [phone]
Susan Collins (ME) [phone]
Carl Levin (MI) [phone]
Hillary Clinton (NY) [phone]
Richard Durbin (IL) [phone]
Harry Reid (NV) [phone]
John Kerry (MA) [phone]
Lindsey Graham (SC) [phone]
John Warner (VA) [phone]
John McCain (AZ) [phone]

September 26, 2006

Subject:

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to vote for the Specter-Levin Amendment to the military commissions bills when it is introduced and save the right of habeas corpus.

Both bills (the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2006 ) include provisions which would deny people – even U.S. citizens taken prisoner abroad – the right to challenge their detention in U.S. court. There is no more fundamental check on executive power than the right of habeas corpus. Passing these bills without the Specter-Levin Amendment would grant an unprecedented degree of power to the Presidency.

The current drafts of these bills also cut back on hard-fought victories of victims of sexual violence to hold their perpetrators accountable. This will affect not only women and men detainees subject to sexual violence and abuse, but will set standards that will have a far-reaching affect on the rights of rape and sexual violence victims worldwide.

I join the Center for Constitutional Rights in calling on you to defend democracy and preserve the most fundamental of all rights. Vote 'Yes' on the Specter-Levin Amendment, remove any attempts to redefine torture from the bills, and vote to defend the most fundamental democratic right.
Your signature will be added from the information you provide.

[texpatriot2004]

1. K & R nm