Washington, DC, January 18, 2012– Eight distinguished national security leaders have released a joint letter, in partnership with the American Public Policy Alliance (APPA), endorsing the American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) model bill and affirming that ALAC is a necessary and vital initiative to preserve individual constitutional rights and US sovereignty.
The eight leaders are:
LTGEN William G. “Jerry” Boykin, US Army (Retired)
Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence
Original Member US Army Delta Force
Former Commanding General US Army Special Forces Command (Airborne)
Former Commanding General US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center
Ambassador Henry F. Cooper
Chairman of the Board of Directors of High Frontier
Chairman Emeritus of Applied Research Associates
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Strategic and Space Systems
Former Assistant Director of Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Former Ambassador and Chief US Negotiator at the Geneva Defense and Space Talks with the Soviet Union
Former Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Former Scientific Advisor to Air Force Weapons Laboratory
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
President and CEO of Center for Security Policy
Former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy
Fred Grandy
Member of Congress (R-IA), 1987-1995
Chief Executive Officer, Goodwill Industries, 1995-2000
Executive Vice President Center for Security Policy
Admiral James A. “Ace” Lyons, Jr. US Navy (Retired)
President/CEO of LION Associates
Former Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet
Former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations
Former Commander US Second Fleet
Founder of US Navy Red Cell anti-terrorism group
Joseph E. Schmitz
CEO of Joseph E. Schmitz, PLLC
Former Inspector General of the Department of Defense
Former Inspector General of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Command
Former Special Assistant to Attorney General Edmund Meese III
Former Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
LTGEN. Harry Edward Soyster, US Army (Retired)
Former Director, US Defense Intelligence Agency
Former Commanding General, United States Army Intelligence and Security Command
R. James Woolsey
Chairman, Woolsey Partners, LLC
Former Director of Central Intelligence (CIA)
Former Ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
Former Undersecretary of the Navy
Former General Counsel to the US Senate Committee on Armed Services
The letter from this bipartisan group of national security leaders, which follows below, outlines the necessity and strengths of ALAC.
- The Act‘s sole objective is to protect all U.S. citizens and residents from the application of foreign laws when the application of a foreign law will result in the violation, in the specific matter at issue, of a liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States or the public policies of the state in question.
- Often the parties litigating in those state courts are left to their own devices to understand that granting comity to a foreign judgment may be at odds with our state and federal constitutional principles in the specific matters at issue.
- The American Laws for American Courts Act is constitutional and “facially neutral”…and in the two years since its introduction into state legislatures, it has never been challenged in court.
- The Act is carefully defined so as not to interfere with the right of any individual or entity to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by the constitutions of the states.
- Nothing in the Act prevents any person from freely exercising his or her right to freedom of religion and worship. American Laws for American Courts only applies to legal doctrines in our court systems. It does not discriminate in any way based on faith of any kind.
- The goal of the American Laws for American Courts Act is a clear and unequivocal application of what should be the goal of all state courts: No U.S. citizen or resident should be denied the liberties, rights, and privileges guaranteed in our constitutional republic.
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View the full text of letter to Legislators below and also at http://ibh.554.myftpupload.com/?page_id=675.
Dear Legislator:
We urge legislators and other elected leaders across America to stand with us and endorse a state-level legislative initiative known as “American Laws for American Courts.” This legislation protects the individual constitutional rights of Americans from the incursion of foreign laws, in cases in which the application of a foreign law would violate someone’s constitutional rights.
Numerous organizations have teamed up with the American Public Policy Alliance (APPA) to promote this effort from coast to coast. Complete details, including model legislation and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the APPA web site at http://ibh.554.myftpupload.com.
Some 236 years ago, America’s forefathers gathered in Philadelphia to debate and write a unique document. That single-page document announced the formation of a new country—one that would no longer find itself in the clutches of a foreign power. That document was the Declaration of Independence. Eleven years later, many of those same men gathered again to lay the foundation for how the United States of America was to be governed: The US Constitution, a form of government like no other, by the people, of the people and for the people.
For more than two centuries, hundreds of thousands of courageous men and women have given their lives to protect America’s sovereignty and freedom. American constitutional rights must be preserved in order to preserve American freedom.
America has unique values of liberty which do not exist in foreign legal systems. Included among those values of liberty are: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Due Process, Right to Privacy, and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Unfortunately, increasingly, foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines are finding their way into US court cases. Invoking foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines is a means of imposing an agenda on the American people while circumventing our US and state constitutions.
American Laws for American Courts’ sole objective is to protect all U.S. citizens and residents from the application of foreign laws when that application of a foreign law will result in the violation, in the specific matter at issue, of a liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.
Recently, the Center for Security Policy completed a research report called Shariah Law and American State Courts: An Assessment of State Appellate Court Cases. The report revealed that one form of foreign legal doctrine–shariah–has indeed been invoked in US court cases—sometimes successfully—and that there are groups inside America working to promote shariah within our legal system. You can download and view the report for free at: http://shariahinamericancourts.com/.
The American Laws for American Courts Act is constitutional and “facially neutral.” It does not mention any specific religion, creed or legal doctrine, and in the two years since its introduction in state legislatures, it has never been challenged in court, despite being signed into law in three states already.
The Act is carefully defined so as not to interfere with the right of any individual or entity to the free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and by the constitutions of the states.
Nothing in the Act prevents any person from freely exercising his or her right to freedom of religion and worship. American Laws for American Courts only applies to legal doctrines in our court systems. It does not discriminate in any way based on faith of any kind.
American Laws for American Courts is needed especially to protect women and children, identified by international human rights organizations as the primary victims of discriminatory foreign laws.
It is imperative that we safeguard our Constitution, particularly the individual guarantees in the Bill of Rights, the sovereignty of our Nation, and the principles of the rule of law—American laws, not foreign laws.
The United States has long been and continues to be a model of liberty and freedom to the rest of the world. That’s why Americans from across the country are working towards the prompt passage of American Laws for American Courts.
Please join us in protecting the individual constitutional rights of the American people from the incursion of foreign laws by supporting the American Laws for American Courts legislation, the 21st century civil rights initiative to ensure constitutional protections for all Americans.
Sincerely,
LTGEN William G. “Jerry” Boykin, US Army (Retired)
Ambassador Henry F. Cooper
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
Fred Grandy
Admiral James A. “Ace” Lyons, Jr. US Navy (Retired)
Joseph E. Schmitz
LTGEN. Harry Edward Soyster, US Army (Retired)
R. James Woolsey
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The American Public Policy Alliance (APPA), a non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to government transparency, government accountability and the constitutionality of U.S. and state laws and policies, is working with legislators nationwide on policies and initiatives. Along with allied organizations, APPA is working to defend free speech, preserve and promote human rights, maintain the strength of our U.S. and state constitutions, and aid and promote public safety.
One of the greatest threats to American values and liberties today comes from foreign laws and foreign legal doctrines which have been influencing our legal system at the municipal, state and federal levels. This phenomenon is known as “transnationalism” and includes the increasingly frequent appearance of Islamic Shariah law. APPA focuses largely on combating this process across a broad variety of issues.
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