Yesterday, Feb. 13, “anti-NDAA” legislation passed senate committees in both Indiana and South Carolina.
In Indiana, S.B. 400 was championed by Sen. Jim Banks and Elkhart County Sheriff Bradley Rodgers, who both spoke before the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee hearing in support of the bill.
Sen. Banks pointed out the sections of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 that violated the U.S. Constitution, specifically Sections 1021 and 1022 that allow for the indefinite detainment of American citizens without due process.
PANDA Indiana Team Leader James Kerner praised Sen. Banks’s speech, saying, “I suggest the ACLU, Occupy movement, Tea Party movement, and Oath Keepers throw their full support behind Sen. Banks. He should be made a household name like Ron Paul.”
Sheriff Rogers spoke of the oath he took to uphold the Constitution and asked if he would be prohibited from taking action if federal agents illegally kidnapped citizens in his district.
The committee’s answer: “No.” The bill passed unanimously, 8-0.
Likewise in South Carolina, word comes from the Tenth Amendment Center that legislation seeking to nullify the “indefinite detention” provisions of the 2012 NDAA was approved by the state Senate Judiciary Committee, 14-6.
The bill was pre-filed last fall by Sen. Tom Davis and called Sections 1021 and 1022 of the 2012 NDAA “a direct threat to the liberty, security, and well-being of the people of South Carolina.”
The next step for the bills in each state is to reach the floors of their respective senates for a vote.
Thanks to organizations such as the Tenth Amendment Center, American Civil Liberties Union, Bill of Rights Defense Committee and tireless grassroots activists everywhere, successes for defeating the 2012 NDAA are starting to happen all across the country.
Contact:
Dan Johnson, James Kerner
PANDA National, PANDA Indiana
jarkerne@gmail.com
dan@pandaunite.org
Photo credit: watchingfrogsboil (Creative Commons)
