Letters to the Editor
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Target Senators in 8 States to Save Habeas
I work at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and we've been in the thick of fighting this legislation. It's bleak. There is so much wrong with this bill, from regressively redefining rape and sexual abuse, to sneaking in a new definition of enemy combatant so broad it could include an anti-war protester at a rally in Washington, D.C., to ending sixty years of protection under the Geneva Conventions. We have urged Congress to reject the bill in its entirety, but there is one amendment under consideration that would address one terrible aspect of the legislation:
Senator Specter has introduced a bipartisan amendment to remove the habeas-stripping provision that denies non-citizens access to courts if they are designated “unlawful enemy combatants." The amendment will be voted on tomorrow morning. If one of the following is your Senator, please urge them to vote for the Specter Amendment to remove the court-stripping provision from the military commissions bill: Hagel (R-NE), Lugar (R-IN), Sununu (R-NH), Chafee (R-RI), Lieberman (D-CT), DeWine (R-OH), Collins (R-ME), Snowe (R-ME), and Menendez (D-NJ).
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) – 202 224 2921, Fax: (202) 228-2853
Susan Collins (R-ME) – 202 224 2523, Fax: (202) 224-2523
Mike DeWine (R-OH) – 202 224 2315, Fax: (202) 224-6519
Chuck Hagel (R-NE) – 202 224 4224, Fax: (202) 224-5213
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)- 202 224 4041, Fax: 202-224-9750
Richard Lugar (R-IN) – 202 224 4814, Fax: (202) 228-0360
Robert Menendez (D-NJ) – 202 224 4744, Fax: (202) 228-2197
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) – 202 224 5344, Fax: (202) 224-1946
John Sununu (R-NH) – 202 228 4131, Fax: (202) 228-4131