On the recordMay 17, 2012
This amendment is pure and simply a smokescreen. The proponents of this amendment believe that the President of the United States should have the power to indefinitely detain people in the U.S. They believe that these people should be placed in military custody. I wish we could have that debate, and we will to some extent on the next amendment. This was offered as a smokescreen to give people who want to claim that civil liberties are their top priority someplace to hide. It doesn't protect any rights whatsoever. It was pure and simply offered as a smokescreen. Let's have the debate on the next amendment about whether or not the President of the United States should have this extraordinary amount of power to indefinitely detain or place in military custody or military tribunals people captured or detained within the United States. I, as I will explain in the next amendment, don't believe that that extraordinary amount of power is necessary to keep us safe. I think it is an amazing amount of power to give a President over the individual freedom, to give the government the power to take away someone's individual freedom without the due process rights that have been developed in our Constitution and our court system. This amendment doesn't change that. Vote it down. Let's have a real debate on the next amendment. {time} 0000
