ACLU Day of Action

On June 26, 2007 thousands of Americans traveled from across the nation to Capitol Hill to demand that Congress restore due process rights, and the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution. TampaBay Democrat bloggers joined the rally and managed this good photo of Senator Patrick Leahy and ACLU Director Anthony D. Romero who kicked off the event.

Over eighty organizations, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, came together to organize a rally and lobby visits to Congress. In addition to the rally, attendees at the Day of Action to Restore Law & Justice delivered over 250,000 petition signatures to Washington lawmakers, urging them to:

1. Restore habeas corpus and due process.
2. Pass the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007.
3. End torture and abuse in secret prisons.
4. Stop extraordinary rendition: secretly kidnapping people and sending them to countries that torture.
5. Close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay and give those held currently access to justice.
6. Investigate wrongdoing and ensure those who broke the law are held accountable.
7. Return to the rule of law.

"Thousands of Americans have come together to tell their elected officials that the country is on the wrong track and that we need to restore our basic liberties," said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director. "The great writ of habeas corpus upon which this great nation was founded must be restored. The accused have the right to due process, and cannot be held indefinitely without charge."
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is planning to offer his habeas restoration bill as an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill in two weeks. Leahy successfully shepherded the bill through his committee earlier this month.
Rallies took place all over the nation including Tampa.