U.S. Senate set to vote today on torture ban!!

[RS Davis]

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URGENT ACTION ITEM
FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: www.LP.org
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June 16, 2004
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U.S. Senate set to vote today
on bill reinstituting ban on torture

Dear Libertarian:

We urgently need your help to pass a Senate bill that would reaffirm the U.S. ban on torture. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, is expected to come up for a vote TODAY -- Wednesday, June 16.

We're asking everyone who gets this e-mail to IMMEDIATELY pick up the phone and call your two U.S. Senators at [phone]. Ask him or her to support the Durbin Amendment to S. 2400, the Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal 2005. Then forward this e-mail to several friends and
ask them call immediately as well.

Last week secret Defense and Justice Department memos leaked to the press asserted that the president has the power to authorize physical and psychological torture, despite longstanding U.S. laws to the contrary. One chilling Defense Department memo detailed by the Wall Street Journal said: "Sometimes the greater good for society will be accomplished by violating the literal language of the criminal law."

Then, in an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General John Ashcroft arrogantly refused to release the memos to Congress.

As the Libertarian Party pointed out in its June 10 press release, not only is "legalized torture" uncivilized and un-American, it could backfire. The same logic could be used by foreign governments to justify torturing captured U.S. troops or American civilians overseas.

On Monday the Libertarian Party joined a coalition of over 25 organizations working to reinstitute the ban on torture, including the Rutherford Institute, Amnesty International USA, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Center for National Security Studies, People for the American Way, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Black Police Association.

Our immediate goal is to help pass the Durbin amendment, which would require the Defense Department to issue regulations prohibiting torture and report those regulations to Congress.

Please pick up the phone IMMEDIATELY and call your two U.S. Senators at
[phone]. Ask them to vote YES on the Durbin Amendment to S.
2400, the Defense Authorization bill for Fiscal 2005. Then forward this e-mail to several friends and ask them to call immediately as well.

Thank you!

Joseph Seehusen

National Executive Director

Libertarian Party

[RS Davis]

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ACTION ITEM FOLLOW-UP
FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: www.LP.org
===================================
June 17, 2004
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U.S. Senate passes LP-supported measure
to reaffirm ban on torture against prisoners

Dear Libertarian:

We did it! On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the amendment by Sen. Dick Durban, D-IL, that will renew the U.S. ban on torture.

Thanks to everyone who called their Senators in response to our "Action Alert," and to all of the other members of our 25-group coalition.

After the vote on Wednesday, Durban's legislative aide, Joe Zogby, told the coalition: "Senate offices were inundated with calls in support of the amendment, which was very helpful in pushing the leadership to accept it. I'm sure the calls were due in no small part to your efforts."

Though the vote was initially expected to be close, it ultimately passed by voice vote -- meaning that support for it became so overwhelming that no recorded vote was necessary.

According to media reports, there was a second reason for the voice vote as well: Republicans who opposed the anti-torture measure didn't want a recorded vote.

As reported by Helen Dewar in Thursday's Washington Post, "Passage of the proposal by voice vote came after Republicans, facing defeat on the measure, agreed to raise no objections and offer no alternatives if the vote was taken by voice instead of putting all senators on record with a roll call, according to Democratic sources."

The amendment to the Defense Department Authorization bill requires the department to issue regulations prohibiting torture and report those regulations to Congress. Specifically, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is required to lay out guidelines for compliance within 180 days after enactment of the law and to submit "on a timely basis and not less that twice each year" a report to Congress on any investigations of possible violations.

Although the bill has passed the Senate, we may have to fight one more battle. The House-passed Defense Department funding bill does not include the torture ban.

Soon a House-Senate conference committee will be appointed to work out differences between the two bills. So it is possible that Durban's amendment could be deleted during that process.

We may need to activate you again when the conferees are appointed, so stay tuned.

Thanks again for your help!

Joseph Seehusen
National Executive Director
Libertarian Party

[outgirl]

Terrible to think you'd need to have a bill banning torture and abuse.

[RS Davis]

outgirl said:

Terrible to think you'd need to have a bill banning torture and abuse.

And even scarier that it was originally thought to be a close vote. To those bastards that voted for torture:



- Rick

[outgirl]

and then didn't have the balls to put their votes on the record.

[RS Davis]

outgirl said:

and then didn't have the balls to put their votes on the record.

I wonder if we can find out who voted no on this, maybe from news reports or something...

- Rick