To our brothers and sisters in the Missouri National Guard: We are writing to you as active-duty U.S. service members and veterans, most of us having served in the Iraq war. You have a choice you can make right now. The whole world is watching the Ferguson police with disgust. They killed an unarmed, college-bound Black youth in broad daylight, and subsequently responded to peaceful, constitutionally-protected protests with extreme violence and repression. Countless constitutional and human rights violations by these police have been documented over the course of the Ferguson protests; from attacking and threatening journalists, to using tear gas against peaceful protesters, including children. Now, Governor Nixon has again activated the National Guard to “support law enforcement.” But you dont have to follow their orders—you can stand with the protesters instead. Our true duty When we signed up, we swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. The police in Ferguson are violating that Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. These laws are, as we are taught our entire lives, our most cherished Constitutional rights—the whole basis for the “freedom” we are told makes us the greatest country on Earth. It is undeniable that the Ferguson police has used extreme violence against peaceful protesters, suppressing the right of the people to free speech and the freedom to assemble. They have attacked crowds, with children in them, with rubber bullets, sound cannons and tear gas. People have been mass arrested for simply being at the protest. marchforward.org/veterans_appeal_to_national
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 18:35:51 +0000
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