The founding fathers had their differences, but they all agreed on this much: that certain rights were inalienable, that the British government had not respected them, and that therefore they were justified to fight for one that would.

Among the rights they had in mind was the right to due process. Since the British had repeatedly held American colonials without charging them of any crime, they were determined to create a society in which a right to due process lay in the constitution itself.

The main problem with the MCA is that it cuts so sharply against that tradition.

The United States was formed in part because of a belief that it was wrong – profoundly and universally wrong – for a foreign government to indefinitely detain domestic citizens. Yet that is exactly what the MCA allows the United States to do. By passing the MCA, the United States has reserved for itself the right to detain anyone it chooses so long as the military has determined they are an “unlawful enemy combatant.”

The founding fathers would never have trusted any institution with that power, and neither should we.

Please help us overturn the Military Commissions Act by signing the petition today.