Obama to Sign Bill Allowing Indefinite Detention of American Citizens

By David Kretzmann on December 15th, 2011

It’s official. The PATRIOT Act gave the federal government the ability to wiretap U.S. citizens without warrants. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which Obama has now promised to sign into law, grants the federal government the ability to detain U.S. citizens indefinitely without trial.

So much for the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution which explicitly states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury.”

What’s disturbing is Obama’s justification of signing this dreadful legislation into law:

“The White House announced today that President Obama will sign a once-disputed defense authorization bill because authors have removed language that would have restricted the administration’s handling of high-value terrorist detainees.” — USA Today; December 14, 2011

The purpose of the Fifth Amendment and the Constitution is not to protect the guilty, it is to protect the innocent. The fact that this was not the prime concern of the Obama Administration, or the majority of legislators in the House and Senate, is extremely frightening.

All lawmakers take an oath to uphold the Constitution. They don’t take an oath to fight terrorists, they don’t take an oath to increase military spending, and they certainly don’t take an oath eliminate liberty in the name of security; they only take an oath to uphold the Constitution. It is shameful that the American people let lawmakers and presidents legislate their human rights and liberties away in the name of protecting a false sense of security.

This legislation passed with a 93-7 margin in the Senate, with Senator Rand Paul staunchly opposing the bill. In the House, a 283-186 vote allowed a passage of the bill. Congressmen Ron Paul and Justin Amash were among the minority strongly against the legislation. Ron Paul described the bill as “arrogant and bold and dangerous.“

The police state is quickly expanding in the U.S. Obama is simply amplifying the horrendous legislation (such as the PATRIOT Act) that was signed into law under George W. Bush. If we are to protect our God-given liberties, I submit that there is only one man running for president worthy of our support. Watch this video to understand why: