Mississippi lawmakers will have an opportunity to take on federal kidnapping.
Mississippi State Senators Angela Burks (R-40) and Sean Tindell (R-49) have introduced legislation to ban their state from cooperating with indefinite detention.
SB2753, titled the Liberty Preservation Act, declares that “indefinite detention without trial, military tribunals, and the transfer of persons to foreign jurisdictions are inimical to the liberty, security, and well-being of the people of the State of Mississippi.”
Under the proposed law, state agents could not “knowingly aid an agency, agent or employee of the government of the United States, or any corporation providing services to the government of the United States in any investigation, prosecution, detention or transfer to a foreign jurisdiction of a person within Mississippi pursuant to Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2012.”
HB2753 takes things a step further than many other bills, not only prohibiting state cooperation with indefinite detention under the NDAA, but also under “the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40), enacted in 2001, provision of federal law which purports to authorize the indefinite detention, military tribunal or transfer to a foreign jurisdiction of a person within Mississippi.”
Mississippi would join other states including Virginia, Michigan, Alaska and California that have taken similar measures against federal kidnapping.
Although this particular bill does not provide criminal penalties against state or federal officials who perpetrate or otherwise aid this intolerable law, it is still a crucial step in the right direction of fomenting state-level resistance against indefinite detention.
Mississippi and other states that have taken action against the NDAA are following James Madison’s blueprint for stopping federal overreach. In Federalist 46, he argued that a “refusal to comply with officers of the Union” along with other actions at the state and local level would create a situation where the federal government would have an almost impossible time enforcing their acts. When several states join together and do the same, Madison said it would “present obstructions which the federal government would hardly be willing to encounter.”
SB2753 is currently dormant in the Judiciary, Division A Committee where it will need to be passed by a majority of the committee members before it is considered by the full Senate.
ACTION ITEMS
In Mississippi: Take action to support SB2753 HERE.
In Other States: Contact your state legislators today – urge them to introduce similar legislation. Model bills and contact info HERE.
