ALBANY, NY – In an effort to restore the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, 11th Ward Councilman Anton Konev of the Albany, NY Common Council, has introduced Resolution 80.92.13, the strongest resolution in the nation, designed to protect Albany's citizens from any application of sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), known as the Law of War in the City of Albany.
The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act was overwhelmingly passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 31, 2011. The 2012 NDAA declares the United States to be a battlefield in the war on terror and Sections 1021 & 1022 authorize the indefinite detention, without charge or trial, of all persons on U.S. soil accused by the President of undefined "support" for terrorist activity or commission of a "belligerent act." This violates multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution, including the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 14th Amendments.
If the resolution is adopted by Albany's City Common Council, law enforcement in Albany will be required to interpose between the U.S. military, or other agencies, and Albany residents under the NDAA's special provisions – or under any interpretation of Presidential authority that permits detention of U.S. residents without trial under the Law of War.
New York's state and federal legislators, its governor, and its Attorney General will be notified of the City's determination that local and federal officers will obey the letter of the Constitution and allow due process including a trial to all Albany residents.
People Against the NDAA (PANDA), a national, nonpartisan, grass roots organization founded in January 2012, is committed to reversing the NDAA’s unconstitutional authorizations by affecting policy at the level of state and local government. The organization's New York State Team lobbied hard for this resolution and supplied the initial language from which the resolution was adapted.
"The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 is the most dangerous law passed by the United States government in recent memory," says Kelly Citrin who works with PANDA, "and this resolution is the beginning of a restoration of American civil liberties in Albany, New York, and throughout the country. Project SALAM's Lynne Jackson and Albany mayoral candidate Jesse Calhoun helped advance the resolution as well.
Passage of the resolution will go a long way to restoring the protections of the rights of the people of Albany, NY and, through the example it will create, the citizens and non-citizen residents of every municipality in the United States. Albany activists hope not only to restore the fundamental right to a fair trial to all persons in the United States, but to permanently remove the NDAA from everyday life of Albany residents.
The introduced resolution has seven sponsors and needs one more to be pushed through, protected from amendments, and voted on by the Council.
The time to act on this resolution, say its supporters, is now. In Liberty.
You can tell the Common Council to pass the strongest resolution in the nation. Act now to stop the NDAA in Albany, N.Y.. You can learn more here.
Dan Johnson is Founder of PANDA, which started in Bowling Green, Ohio, and has since expanded into over 30 state teams nationwide.
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