The New York Civil Liberties Union is actively lobbying New York's congressional delegation to support legislation that will fix the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and restore fundamental civil liberties and human rights to U.S. law.

The Military Commissions Act, passed by Congress in the final hours before adjourning for the November 2006 elections, gives the president absolute power to decide who is an enemy of our country and to imprison people indefinitely without charging them with a crime. Specifically, the Military Commissions Act:

• stripped away habeas corpus and due process protections from federal detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison and elsewhere;
• rendered the Geneva Conventions -- which prohibit the use of torture against those in U.S. custody -- obsolete;
• gave the President the unilateral authority to decide who is an enemy combatant and who should be put in prison; and
• granted immunity to administration and military officials who may have committed certain crimes in the prosecution of the war on terror, among other dangerous provisions.

It is the NYCLU's goal to pressure Congress to fix the Military Commissions Act and reinstate constitutional rights by supporting two important pieces of legislation -- the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (PDF) and the Restoring the Constitution Act (PDF). These bills would:

• restore habeas corpus to the detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere in U.S. custody;
• clarify the Geneva convention's authority in U.S. law;
• create a reasonable legal definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" that the government would have to meet in order to label a detainee as such; and
• strip immunity from administration and military officials who authorized or ordered illegal acts of torture or abuse.

Click here to see a scorecard to see if your representative in New York has signed on to these bills. (PDF)

The NYCLU has held a number of public events to raise awareness of our campaign to restore habeas corpus and end torture.

On June 14th, 2007, over 200 New Yorkers attended the NYCLU's panel discussion at Fordham Law School, <!-- --> Sunlight in the Torture Chamber: Expert Views of the United States' Use of Secrecy, Detention, and Interrogations in the War on Terrorism.

The panel was moderated by New York Daily News columnist Errol Louis, and featured an insider look at U.S. torture and detention policies.

Panelists included: Fmr. U.S. Army Colonel and Abu Ghraib prison commander Janis Karpinski, Amnesty International Advocacy Director for Domestic Human Rights and International Justice Jumana Musa, author Tara McKelvey, Al-Jazeera English Correspondent and Fmr. U.S. Marine Corps Captain Josh Rushing, and ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Steven Watt.

Then, on June 26, 2007, over 400 New York residents joined thousands of fellow Americans from around the country in traveling to Washington, DC to participate in the ACLU's Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice.

Eight buses packed with NYCLU'ers departed from New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Syracuse, and Long Island in the wee hours of the morning to deliver a strong message to Congress on the importance of restoring habeas corpus and ending torture.

The day featured a rally in Upper Senate Park with thousands of ACLU members and supporters and speeches by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), and our very own Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), the primary sponsor of both bills the NYCLU is supporting.

Following the rally, New York attendees participated in 27 lobby visits to members of the New York House of Representatives and Senate delegations. The success of our lobbying has already become apparent as new co-sponsors continue to sign on to the bills. Click here to view the NYCLU's congressional scorecard to learn whether your representative is co-sponsoring the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act and the Restoring the Constitution Act.

If not, click here to send a free fax to your representative urging them to support these important pieces of legislation.

The NYCLU will continue to work steadily and aggressively with our partners in New York and around the country to restore habeas corpus, end torture, and reinstate the rule of law. If you'd like to get involved in your local area in the movement to restore the Constitution, click here for a list of local organizers in New York.