National Call-in to Congress to Restore Habeas Corpus and End Torture

Today, Wednesday, June 27, join the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and allies throughout the U.S. in a national call-in to Congress. Let's make this an overwhelming grassroots repudiation of the Military Commissions Act--an act that denies detainees the right of habeas corpus, allows testimony coerced via torture to be used as evidence against them, ignores the Geneva Conventions, and gives the president the power to declare anyone an "unlawful enemy combatant" and to detain them indefinitely.

BORDC and other organizations (see below) have organized a national call-in to Congress this week. If you can't call today, please call by Friday, June 29. Our March 2007 coalition call-in week generated over 20,000 calls to congressional representatives and gained 18 new cosponsors for bills to restore habeas corpus. Let's keep those phones ringing in the halls of Congress all week long!

What to do: Call both of your Senators and your Representative at the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 (24 hours) and ask the operator to connect you. Or use the BORDC Call-in page to find your legislators' phone numbers and to let us know how your calls went.

Key messages: Tell the person who answers the phone that you urge Senator or Representative _____ to:

Restore habeas corpus and due process for all human beings.
Support the Restoring the Constitution Act. (S. 576 in the Senate and HR 1415 in the House)
End torture and secret prisons.
Stop so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights where people are secretly kidnapped and sent to countries that torture. (Support HR 1352 in the House)
Close the Guantánamo Bay detention center and provide all detainees with access to lawyers and speedy trials. (Support S. 1249 and 1469 in the Senate, and HR 2212 in the House)
Investigate wrongdoing and ensure those who broke the law are held accountable.

For more information, see the following links:

Organizations Supporting the Call-in Week (partial list)
ACLU, Alliance for Justice, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Hip-Hop Caucus, MoveOn.org Political Action, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, People For the American Way, Progressive Democrats of America, and Religious Action Center.

Thank you for all you do!

The Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Nancy Talanian, Director
Hope Marston, Organizer, West Region
Ben Grosscup, Organizer, East Region
Susan Heitker, Administrator