A letter to my senator regarding the new detention bill

Recently there has been a lot of discussion over the new bill proposed by John McCain and Joe Lieberman. See this thread for more information about it.

I wrote a letter to my two Senators regarding this bill, and I thought I'd post it here to share with the ATS community. I encourage you to write similar letters to your Senators. If the thousands of us here all write to them, they are less likely to completely ignore us.

Dear Senator _________,

It has recently come to my attention that a new bill has been introduced in the Senate by Republican Senator John McCain and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman. Bill S.3081, also known as the Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010, is one of serious concern to me, and I implore you to read my words and vote with caution.
I am very much aware of the threat of terrorism in this country. There have certainly been a handful of violent attacks in different regions of our great nation within the last 10 years. I understand the need for security from such attacks, but a responsible legislator should never vote for a bill that infringes on the civil liberties our forefathers fought to protect for all future generations of Americans.

This new bill proposes a new paradigm in the way that potential terrorists, be them domestic or foreign, could be detained and interrogated by the United States military. This type of military detention would remove the detainee's rights to an attorney as well as their Sixth-Amendment rights to a fair trial. The greatest concern I have with this bill is in the ambiguity of both how a "unprivileged enemy belligerent" and a "high-value detainee" are defined. In the case of the former, it is simply a judgment call of the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General, with the President as the final arbiter should there be a disagreement. With the latter, there are a list of loosely-defined criteria that could be used against any number of individuals who may have qualms or other dissident things to say about our country or our government.

While I understand the complex nature of identifying potential terrorists these days, I fear for the future generations of Americans who will be subject to such laws long after their relevancy has worn out. Today, there are still several laws and executive orders that are left over from the Cold War era, funneling power over U.S. citizens to the highest places of federal government. While I do not believe that any member of our three government branches today will manipulate this new bill to stifle dissent or criticism, I fear that allowing such ambiguity in a bill such as this opens the door for considerable abuse down the road.

There is no denying that our liberties today are much more restricted than they were in the months and years following the Revolutionary War. We live in a different time with a different set of global concerns, so this is understandable. But let us not make the mistake of allowing future generations of legislators, executives, or members of the judiciary to further alienate the citizens of this country by continuing to dismantle our unalienable, God-given rights in the interest of security.

Please read this bill with careful scrutiny, and I urge you to make the right decision. Please push for less ambiguity and more hard definitions in this bill before allowing it to pass through the Senate. Human rights should never be subject to a judgment call from a select few individuals. Mark my words, this WILL lead to abuse of power at some point in our future.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and I appreciate the hard work you do as my elected official.

Let us know if he replies and post it here. it's a good letter and hopefully this bill does not get passed. more and more they are showing us there true colors.

I hope more and more people wake up soon so we can stop them before it's too late!

It's good to see someone so concerned, trying to do something about it.

It's a good letter. Be interesting to see if you get any response.

Thanks for the kind replies. On one of the two online contact forms I filled out, there was a checkbox to request a written response in the mail. I checked it, so I'll be sure to post the response if/when I receive one.

reply to post by paradigm619

While I understand the complex nature of identifying potential terrorists these days, I fear for the future generations of Americans who will be subject to such laws long after their relevancy has worn out. Today, there are still several laws and executive orders that are left over from the Cold War era, funneling power over U.S. citizens to the highest places of federal government.

This seems to be the major concern, right? If so, the fix is relatively simple - sunset the laws. This is a common procedure used for situations such as this.

reply to post by mishigas


That would certainly be a step in the right direction. To be honest, I detest any law passed that tramples liberties for the sake of security. I reserved my true sentiments a little when writing this letter (no reason to get put on some domestic terrorist list by writing a letter to my government telling them this).

While I'm not naive enough to think that some version of this bill won't get passed at some point in the future, hopefully when it does it will be coupled with an expiration date.

I finally got a response from my senator - a month and a half later:

Dear Mr. _________:

Thank you for contacting my office to express your views on S.3081, the Enemy Belligerent Interrogation, Detention, and Prosecution Act of 2010. Among other things, this bill would mandate military commission prosecutions for all suspected terrorists. I believe that prosecutors should have the flexibility to choose the venue where they can get the best result. S.3081 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration. Should it come before the full Senate, be assured that I will keep your views in mind.

I believe that all citizens should become involved in the legislative process by letting their voices be heard, and I appreciate the time and effort that you took to share your thoughts with me. One of the most important aspects of my job is keeping informed about the views of my constituents, and I welcome your comments so that I may continue to represent California to the best of my ability. Should I have the opportunity to consider legislation on this or similar issues, I will keep your views in mind.

For additional information about my activities in the U.S. Senate, please visit my website, boxer.senate.gov.... From this site, you can access statements and press releases that I have issued about current events and pending legislation, request copies of legislation and government reports, and receive detailed information about the many services that I am privileged to provide for my constituents. You may also wish to visit thomas.loc.gov... to track current and past legislation.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I appreciate hearing from you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Pretty much what I expected. Two sentences explaining her views on the matter, with no acknowledgment of anything I said in my original letter. Oh, and the empty promise to "keep my views in mind" should the bill come to a vote. Boy do I feel well represented in my government.

As reiterated, it is good seeing someone who cares enough to write a letter out to his senator. Nice job.
[edit on 26-4-2010 by Loose Change]

[edit on 26-4-2010 by Loose Change]

Since your senator is Barbara Boxer, who hates the constitution, she'll probably vote for it.

You guys in California probably have the WORST OF THE WORST in terms of senators/congress people... and you KEEP VOTING THEM IN... AGAIN AND AGAIN...

Boxer, Waxman, Pelosi, ect... lots of scum representing California.