Occupy to Obama at his office: No re-election if NDAA signed

Occupy to campaign against President Obama's re-election if he signs NDAA 2012

After Occupy Tampa human rights defenders vowed Thursday in writing that the entire Occupy movement will campaign against President Barack Obama's re-election if he signs the National Defence Authorization Act, they marched to the Obama Ybor City campaign office Friday to protest the president’s decision to support the NDAA FY 2012, a bill authorizing “indefinite detention of terrorist suspects” — including American citizens — “without trial.”

View slideshow: Occupy Tampa

"The president has an opportunity to veto this unconstitutional legislation," said 33-year-old Jeremy West, an Occupy Tampa rights defender.

According to the Tampa Tribune, approximately 30 members marched in the entertainment district to help raise public awareness about the bill approved by the Senate Thursday and now headed to President Barack Obama's desk.

Occupy Tampa presented a written statement to President Obama’s office Thursday telling the president:

"In your newly stated support for the provisions that allow for the indefinite detainment of American citizens, the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, you have betrayed the trust of those who have put you into office and the trust of the citizens that your office was created to serve.

If you fail to veto this bill in its entirety due to these provisions, you can expect members of occupations all over the country to dedicate ourselves to act against your political interests in the 2012 election and beyond.

This bill threatens the first amendment.

This bill explicitly violates Art. III, Sec. 3 of the constitution which states, “No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court”. The removal of the rights of citizenship without due process of law allows for the destruction of the rights and liberties that we, the citizens, have, for generations, fought and bled for.

This bill violates the Fourth amendment, and the founding principles of due process that stands as the basis for justice in our country.

This bill further eliminates the protections guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment right to make use of due process of law.

This bill violates the Sixth amendment of the Constitution, as it denies citizens to the basic protection of a guaranteed trial by jury.

For the first time in legislative history the government of the United States has, through legislative fiat, designated the entire planet upon which we live a war zone and every citizen a potential enemy of the state.

This bill goes against everything that you have said previously, everything you have purported to stand for, and what has distinguished this nation as the founder of the free world.

We expect you to veto this assault on the American way of life.

Occupy Tampa rights defender Kelsy Omorrow, 20, said that it is important to educate the public about all provisions in the NDAA 2012.

"It's allowing the military to detain people indefinitely," said Omorrow, a University of South Florida junior.

"It's not just foreign people but U.S. citizens, and that's the most frightening thing."

In the eleventh hour, human rights defenders such as ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights and national rights leader David Swanson have made calls to action for the public to telephone the White House to urge the president to veto the unconstitutional and un-American NDA FY2012.

In solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, for sixty-nine days, Occupy Tampa has gained international attention for its large-scale, non-violent, direct actions protesting social justice issues, corporate personhood, the unequal distribution of wealth, and First Amendment issues.

Internationally, the Occupy movement has changed the public dialogue with its now common phrase "We Are The 99%."

Occupy Tampa is joining and acting in solidarity with veteran activist group Food Not Bombs, presenting an outdoor community luncheon in Voice of Freedom Park in West Tampa on Saturday.

The private owner of the park, public figure Joe Redner gave permission to Occupy Tampa to occupy his park.

"[Saturday] will be the first time the group has shifted its focus from the busy and more affluent downtown Tampa to a location that shows clearly the effects of the economic system the group is protesting," the groups says on its Facebook announcement.

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Information from the Associated Press, Tampa Tribune, The Independent, Examiner.com and Facebook were used in this article.

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