http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/29719res20070514.htmlDay of Action to Restore Law and Justice - June 26, 2007
This summer, the ACLU is calling on all its members and concerned citizens from across the country, to storm Washington, D.C. in a Day of Action, to tell Congress to restore habeas corpus and all our constitutional rights.
The Bush administration has trampled the Constitution and abandoned American values and the rule of law -- and so far Congress has failed to act. We're at a turning point, and Americans must take action to restore habeas, end government-sponsored torture, and uphold the fairness and freedom that define us.
On June 26, 2007 you can join thousands of activists for a rally, a public demonstration and an opportunity to meet face-to-face with lawmakers. With your help, we will send our message directly to Congress: We demand that they restore all the rights and freedoms lost over the last six years, particularly the due process rights stripped by the Military Commissions Act 2006.
In the words of ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero, "We have always been proud that America stands for the values of due process and fairness, but those values were severely damaged when President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act. Habeas must be restored and the ACLU will keep the pressure on Congress to remedy this injustice. Our nation's reputation and principles are on the line."
The ACLU is joining with Amnesty International, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and other groups in this historic Day of Action. Please add your presence and your voice to the effort, and urge friends, family and colleagues to do the same.
About the Military Commissions Act (MCA) and Habeas CorpusHabeas corpus is not a fancy legal term. It's the freedom from being thrown in prison illegally, with no help and no end in sight.
From England's Magna Carta through recent Supreme Court decisions protecting Guantánamo detainees, the prohibition against unlawful imprisonment has remained fundamental to our system of laws and our basic values. No government should ever be given the power to call someone an enemy and lock them away indefinitely.
Today we face a new and unprecedented assault on habeas corpus, due process and our most basic American values: The Military Commissions Act of 2006, which eliminates habeas rights for some people gives the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and weakens the rules preventing evidence gained through torture.
We all know the difference between fairness and persecution, and it is up to each of us to tell Congress to correct its mistake and restore habeas, and all of our Constitutional rights.
If we don’t act immediately to fix the Military Commissions Act, basic protections like habeas corpus could be lost forever, and our country will become unrecognizable.
We can restore habeas and get our rights back - if we act together, our voices will reach Congress and they will stand up for the values we elected them to defend.
Join us on June 26, in Washington, D.C., as we gather together at the Capitol and across the nation, meet with lawmakers, and rally to demand the restoration of our constiutional rights!