URGENT HELP NEEDED WITH HB 1160-NDAA

Dear Tea Party Patriots:

 

For the third legislative day in a row HB 1160-to keep Virginia from participating in the unlawful detention of its citizens under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act-has been passed by for the day in the House.  The bill passed the House originally by a vote of 96-4 and it passed the Senate 39-1 in an amended form which still accomplishes what I was trying to do.  However, because it was amended the new language has to be approved by the House.  For some reason the House continues to allow it to be passed by for the day at the request of Delegate Barbara Comstock.  I need you to notify your members and ask them to contact their delegates to demand a recorded vote on this bill, even if it is only on whether or not to pass the bill by for the day.  A vote to pass it by for the day or a vote to kill the bill is a vote to continue to allow Virginia citizens to be threatened wth indefinite detention without legal counsel, specific charges or a speedy trial for being "suspected" of terrorism or associated with terrorism.

 

The reasons I have been given for why the House does not want to deal with this legislatio involve not "embarrassing" Virginia members of Congress who voted for the NDAA bill including apparently Congressman Frank Wolf, who's name has been invoked by Delegate Comstock.  Now that these concerns have been brought to light it is the responsibility of Congress to fix the problem.  But in the meantime I and the rest of the Virginia legislators have a duty to protect our citizens and uphold the Constitution. 

 

Thank you for your help and support.  Please see the Alert I put out on this issue below for more information.  Please forward to any other Tea Party groups that might be interested in helping with this legislation.  Folks can find out who their delegate is by going to http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform and can email them from there.

 

Sincerely,

 

Delegate Bob Marshall

 

RGM/ccg

 

Friends,   Please call your state delegate and ask him or her to please vote for HB 1160.  Also insist that a vote be taken on HB 1160 which has been pulled from final consideration for the past two legislative days, even though the bill passed 96-4 in the House, and 39-1 in the Senate.  The House must vote to accept the modified Senate language, which I support because it does not change the bill's effect.   I introduced HB 1160 after I learned that provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act allowed American citizens suspected of terrorism to be indefinitely detained without legal counsel, specific charges, or a speedy trial.  I take an oath to defend the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions, therefore the provisions of NDAA which negate our constitutional rights must be challenged.   The arguments against HB 1160 revolve around "not embarrassing" members of Congress who voted for NDAA.  Now that the objectionable provisions have been made clear, Congress needs to fix the law, and they recently held a hearing because of widespread concerns about the new law.  However, Virginia legislators also have a duty to protect their citizens.   Another argument against HB 1160 is that it is "nullification."  It is not.  Nullification voids or refuses to enforce a federal law, but HB 1160 says Virginia agencies will not cooperate with federal detention of American citizens, in much the same way my Health Care Freedom Act said Virginians will not be forced to enter into a contract to purchase health insurance.   It has also been claimed that states have nothing to do with national defense.  However, the U.S. Military is supplemented by the Virginia National Guard, which used to be called the Militia and is expressly identified in the U.S. Constitution as under direction of the State Governors unless nationalized so states do have a direct interest in defense.   Moreover, the President cannot be authorized to suspend rights expressly affirmed in the U.S. Constitution.  Nor may Habeus Corpus be suspended by the Executive, except by Congress under specific conditions spelled out in the U.S. Constitution.    Lastly, the entire Constitution was set up in response to claims of unlimited power by King George III. Completely removing all constitutional restraints on the Chief Executive is a violation of all of our Constitutional traditions. Jack Bower and "24" might be interesting entertainment, but Hollywood script writers are not authorities on the U.S. Constitution.  Thank you for your help! - Bob Marshall P.S. Here are some great quotes relating to our situation. The people of the several states ratified the U.S. Constitution on the premise that state legislatures will always be: "not only vigilant but suspicious and jealous guardians of the rights of the citizens, against encroachments from the Federal government will constantly have their attention awake to the conduct of the national rules and will be ready enough, if anything improper appears, to sound the alarm to the people and not only to be the VOICE but if necessary the ARM of their discontent."  A. Hamilton, Federalist No. 26   'It may safely be received as an axiom in our political system, that the State governments will, in all possible contingencies, afford complete security against invasions of the public liberty by the national authority. Projects of usurpation cannot be masked under pretenses so likely to escape the penetration of select bodies of men, as of the people at large. The legislatures will have better means of information. They can discover the danger at a distance; and possessing all the organs of civil power, and the confidence of the people, they can at once adopt a regular plan of opposition, in which they can combine all the resources of the community. They can readily communicate with each other in the different States, and unite their common forces for the protection of their common liberty." A. Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, p. 141.

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