12-R373
2012 -- H 7916
Enacted 06/12/12
H O U S E R E S
O L U T I O N
TO PRESERVE
HABEAS CORPUS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OF THE CITIZENS OF
Introduced
By: Representatives Gordon, Savage,
Date Introduced: March 07, 2012
WHEREAS, The Congress of
the
Authorization Act, 2011 P.L. 112-81 (“2012 NDAA”) for
Fiscal Year 2012 on December 15,
2011; and
WHEREAS, The President
of the Unites States of
law on December 31, 2011; and
WHEREAS, Section 1022 of
the 2012 NDAA requires the Armed Forces of the United
States to detain, pending disposition according to the
Law of War, any person involved in, or who
provided substantial support to terrorism or belligerent acts
against the
a member of Al-Qaeda or an,
associated force; and
WHEREAS, Section
1022 of the 2012 NDAA specifically excludes
citizens and lawful resident aliens for conduct occurring
within the
mandatory detention provisions; and
WHEREAS, Section
1022 of the 2012 NDAA purports to authorize, but does not require,
the President of the
persons the President suspects were part of, or substantially
supported, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban,
or
associated forces; and
WHEREAS, Section
1021 of the 2012 NDAA purports to authorize, but does not require,
the President of the
such detained persons according to the Law of War, which
may include, but is not limited to: (1)
indefinite detention without charge or trial until the end of
hostilities authorized by the 2001
Authorization for use of Military Force Against Terrorists, 2001 P.L. 107-40; (2) prosecution
through a Military Commission; or (3) transfer to a foreign
country or foreign entity; and
WHEREAS, Unlike
Section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA, Section 1021 makes no specific
exclusion for
WHEREAS, Section
1021 of the 2012 NDAA seeks to preserve existing law and
authorities pertaining to the detention of
existing law or authorities are; and
WHEREAS, The specific exclusion of application to
resident aliens contained in Section 1022 of the 2012 NDAA,
and the absence of such exclusion
in Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA, strongly implies that
the provisions of Section 1021 are
intended to apply to
captured in the
WHEREAS, The
Office of the President of the
administrations of George W. Bush and Barack
H. Obama, has asserted the 2001 Authorization
for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists allows
the Office of the President to indefinitely
detain without charge,
States; and
WHEREAS, The
United States Supreme Court has not decided whether the 2001
Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists allows the Office of the President
to indefinitely detain without charge,
the
WHEREAS, Section
1021 of the 2012 NDAA purports to enlarge the scope of those
persons the Office of the President may indefinitely detain
beyond those responsible for the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
and those who harbored them, as purportedly authorized by
the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force
Against Terrorists, to now include a person
who was a part of, or substantially supported Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated
forces that are
engaged in hostilities against the
has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported
such hostilities in aid of such enemy
forces; and
WHEREAS, United
States Senator Carl Levin declared in colloquy on the floor of the
United States Senate that the original 2012 NDAA
provided that Section 1021 (then Section 1031
prior to final drafting) specifically would not apply to
the President of the
NDAA; and
WHEREAS, During debate in the Senate and before passage of the 2012
NDAA, United
States Senator Mark Udall introduced an amendment
intended to forbid the indefinite detention of
WHEREAS, United States
Senator John McCain and United States Senator Lindsey
Graham declared in colloquies on the floor of the
United States Senate that Section 1021 of the
2012 NDAA authorized the indefinite detention of
States by the Armed Forces of the
WHEREAS, United States
Senator Lindsey Graham declared in colloquy on the floor of
the United States Senate that the United States homeland
is now part of “the battlefield”; and
WHEREAS, Policing the citizenry of the
of the
Comitatus doctrine and is repugnant to a free society; and
WHEREAS, Section 1021 of
the 2012 NDAA as it purports to authorize: 1) Detainment
of
charge; 2) Military tribunals for
the United States of
aliens captured within the
rights enshrined in Constitution of the
Article I Section 9,
Clause 2’s right to seek Writ of Habeas Corpus;
The First Amendment’s
right to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances;
The Fourth Amendment’s
right to be free from unreasonable searches and
seizures;
The Fifth Amendment’s
right to be free from charge for an infamous or capital
crime until presentment or indictment by a grand jury;
The Fifth Amendment’s
right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or
property, without Due Process of law;
The Sixth Amendment’s
right in criminal prosecutions to enjoy a speedy trial by
an impartial jury in the State and District where the
crime shall have been
committed;
The Sixth Amendment’s
right to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation;
The Sixth Amendment’s
right to confront witnesses;
The Sixth Amendment’s
right to Counsel;
The Eighth Amendment’s
right to be free from excessive bail and fines, and cruel
and unusual punishment;
The Fourteenth
Amendment’s right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or
property, without due process of law; and
WHEREAS, Section 1021 of
the 2012 NDAA as it purports to authorize; 1) Detainment
of
charge; 2) Military tribunals for
the United States of
aliens captured within the
rights enshrined in the Rhode Island Constitution;
Article 1 Section 2’s
right to be free from deprivation of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law;
Article 1 Section 5’s
right to have prompt recourse to the laws for all injuries to
one’s person;
Article 1 Section 6’s
right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure;
Article 1 Section 7’s
right to be free from capital charge absent a grand jury
indictment, or felony charge absent grand jury indictment absent
information
signed by the Attorney General;
Article 1 Section 8’s
right to be free from excessive bail;
Article 1 Section 9’s
right to bail and right to Habeas Corpus;
Article 1 Section 10’s
right to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury, right to
have assistance of counsel, and the right to be free from
deprivation of life,
liberty, or property, unless by the judgment of peers;
Article 1 Section 14’s
right to be presumed innocent until pronounced guilty by
the law;
Article 1 Section 15’s
right to a trial by Jury;
Article 1 Section 18’s
requirement that the military authority is subordinate to the
civil authority;
WHEREAS, The members of this House of Representatives have taken an
oath to uphold
the Constitution of the
and
WHEREAS, This House of
Representatives opposes any and all rules, laws, regulations,
bill language, or executive orders, which amount to an
overreach of the federal government and
which effectively take away civil liberties; and
WHEREAS, It is indisputable that the threat of terrorism is real, and
that the full force of
appropriate and constitutional law must be used to defeat this
threat; however, winning the war
against terror cannot come at the great expense of mitigating
basic, fundamental, constitutional
rights; and
WHEREAS, Undermining our
own Constitutional rights serves only to concede to the
terrorists’ demands of changing the fabric of what made the
of freedom, liberty, and opportunity; now, therefore be
it
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of
Providence Plantations
hereby condemns in no uncertain terms Section 1021 of the 2012 NDAA
as it purports to: 1) Repeal Posse Comitatus
and authorize the President of the
utilize the Armed Forces of the
aliens within the
lawful resident aliens captured within the
of hostilities authorized by the 2001 Authorization for
Use of Military Force; 3) Subject
American Citizens and
lawful resident aliens captured within the
military tribunals; and 4) Transfer American Citizens and
lawful resident aliens captured within
the
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of
Providence Plantations
hereby finds that the enactment into law by the United States Congress of
Sections 1021 and 1022 of
the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, Public Law Number
112-81, is inimical to the
liberty, security, and well-being of the people of
adopted by the United States Congress in violation of the
limits of federal power in
Constitution; and be it
further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is
authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the
Honorable Barack Obama,
President of the
member of Congress from the State of
of the
President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives of each state’s
legislature.
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LC01308
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