On Friday, the Worcester Tea Party will be participating in the National NDAA Day of Protest.

NDAA stands for National Defense Authorization Act. It is voted on annually, but in the 2012 version, our elected leaders in Washington overwhelmingly passed it with provisions that in effect repeal protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Early versions contained text that required the military to indefinitely detain any person suspected of committing acts of war or terrorism against the United States. This language was requested by the Obama Administration. Complaints by civil liberty advocates resulted in amended language that removed the requirement for detention of American citizens, but it did not prohibit indefinite detention.

Section 1021 allows for the detention of "covered persons pending disposition under the law of war", but does not preclude indefinite detention. Section 1022 makes military custody mandatory for some detainees. It does include a much publicized exemption for U.S. citizens, but this exemption is from the mandatory aspects of the law. It does not prevent U.S. citizens from being detained by the military.

When President Obama signed the 2012 NDAA he issued a signing statement that admitted the broad powers granted to him by the legislation: "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens."If the legislation does not authorize indefinite military detention, then why does the President have to issue a clarification? What makes the statement even more absurd is the fact that the President had threatened to veto it because he felt that it was too restrictive! Are we supposed to believe that he and subsequent administrations will adhere to his signing statement?

It would be easy to stay at home on Friday because you do not fear indefinite detention of yourself or your family, but it is important to fight every time Washington hacks off another piece of the constitution.   Most of us accepted a diminished constitution when the Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act were passed. We should have spoken up then. Now we have NDAA and the potential for SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), PIPA (Protect IP Act), and the EEA (Enemy Expatriation Act). Each of these is an assault on basic rights that our leaders have sworn to protect. If we are to be a movement about principles, then we must stand up against these assaults, regardless of who is standing next to us.

"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them."

- Frederick Douglas

 

Join us on Friday, February 3 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the Federal Courthouse on Main Street (near the Hanover Theater).

We would like to have some estimate of the number of Tea Partiers that may attend.  Please RSVP by emailing me at wtp@worcesterteaparty.com .