Civil liberties suffered an historic setback this week, when President Bush signed the un-American Military Commissions Act of 2006.
The president now has Congress's blessing to hold people indefinitely without charge, take away protections from horrific abuses, use hearsay to put people on trial, authorize death penalty trials based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for those accused, lifting our time-honored habeas corpus rules.
"Nothing separates America more from our enemies than our commitment to fairness and the rule of law," said Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "But the bill signed today is an historic break because it turns Guantánamo Bay and other U.S. facilities into legal no-man's-lands."
Americans across the political spectrum have serious concerns about this unconstitutional law. From now until the November elections, the ACLU is urging everyone who cares about justice and liberty to tell Congress we need them to stand up to the administration—not rubberstamp these abuses of power.
And voters in four battleground states have voiced a strong preference for House and Senate candidates who will oppose the president's policies on Guantánamo detainees, torture and CIA kidnapping, and secret searches of Americans' private records. Last week the ACLU announced the findings of a poll conducted in Connecticut, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania, four states that will play a strong role in the makeup of the next Congress.
What the poll found is heartening: Those of us who care about liberty and justice are not the minority. For most voters, no matter their party, protecting the civil liberties of all Americans and upholding the Constitution are key issues in the mid-term election. Now, it is essential that concerned citizens speak out as they head to the polls this November. You can take action today to help make civil liberties one of the top issues as people head to the polls next month. Sign our "This November, I'm Voting My Values" pledge and please ask your friends to sign as well.
To see the detailed results of our voter poll, answer the questions yourself and compare your answers to official poll results online at: www.aclu.org/poll