Restoring Rights

In response to the expansion of Presidential power in the War on Terror, Congressman Ron Paul has introduced a bill to restore constitutional liberties which have been lost.

John McManus takes a look at H.R. 3835, the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007. It was introduced in the House of Representatives by Texas Republican Ron Paul on October 15, 2007.

If enacted, H.R. 3835 would:

• repeal the 2006 Military Commissions Act that denies habeas corpus (the right to face criminal accusations in a court of law);
• ban confessions gained through torture or coercion;
• insist on adherence to the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to gain intelligence;
• challenge the president’s practice of disregarding portions of laws with presidential “signing statements”;
• ban torture and arbitrary kidnapping or imprisonment;
• protect journalists who receive information from the executive branch from prosecution for airing it “unless the publication would cause direct, immediate, and irreparable harm” to our national security; and
• put a stop to any use of secret evidence against any individual or organization.

In short, the act would cancel numerous executive branch attacks on the types of civil liberties that have uniquely marked our nation.

Complete article @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/node/6152