LANSING, Mich. – With the Feinstein Amendment passing the Senate Thursday, the national spotlight swiveled back onto indefinite detention provisions written into the National Defense Authorization Act.

Many hailed the passage of the amendment as the beginning of the end of federally sanctioned kidnapping. But the amendment contains several troubling aspects, including an assumption that Congress retains the power to legislate indefinite detention in the future. And as Tenth Amendment Center legal analyst Blake Flilppi points out in his in depth analysis of the amendment, it may not even strike down indefinite detention under the NDAA.

That makes it imperative that state and local efforts to nullify detention without constitutional due process continue.

In Michigan, those efforts cleared a hurdle Tuesday. The Committee on Oversight, Reform, and Ethics unanimously passed HB5768 and sent it on for a second reading in the full House.

The bill would “prohibit any agency of this state, any political subdivision of this state, any employee of any agency of this state or any political subdivision of this state, or any member of the Michigan national guard from assisting an agency of the armed forces of the United States in the investigation, prosecution, or detainment of any citizen of the United States under certain circumstances,” effectively prohibiting any state cooperation with indefinite detention without due process written into the NDAA.

Virginia got the ball rolling, passing into law a similar bill last year.  Texas and South Carolina will consider liberty preservation legislation in the upcoming session, with Texas Rep. Lyle Larson prefiling HB149 earlier this month. And sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center say up to 10 states will take up bills to refuse compliance with federal kidnapping in the 2013 legislative season.

Additionally, local and county governments across the U.S. have passed resolutions condemning NDAA detention.

“Even with all of the noise coming out of D.C., it’s imperative that state and local governments press forward with their efforts to block any attempt to indefinitely detain people here in the United States. In my view, the Feinstein amendment is a paper tiger, and the truth of the matter is, the House and the president won’t likely concur anyway,” TAC communications director Mike Maharrey said. “And even if this amendment sticks, it still expressly claims congressional power to pass legislation to detain people on U.S. soil. It is the duty of state legislatures to interpose and stop the progress of evil. And what can be more evil than government-sanctioned kidnapping? Don’t let caterwauling in D.C. distract you. Keep pressing your state lawmakers to take action.”

ACTION ITEMS

If you live in Michigan, encourage your representative and senator to support HB5768. You can find contact information for your representative HERE.

If you live in another state, contact your lawmakers and encourage them to introduce a liberty preservation bill. You can find model legislation HERE.

To track liberty preservation bills across the U.S., click HERE.

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