I sent the following to Senators Kyl and McCain through electronic submission, and delivered a signed copy directly to my local representative, Raul Grijalva:
April 17, 2008
Honorable Representative Grijalva:
I am very concerned about constitutional violations in the recent raid on the FLDS compound in Eldorado, Texas. Texas has a long history of “Jim Crow” laws and religious persecution, raising the possibility of a systematically corrupt state legal system. For example, though Arizona authorities checked the same charges and found them to be without merit, Texas authorities acted without first performing due diligence. Reports on the raid indicate the parents have been denied constitutionally guaranteed due process, have had their rights of free speech suppressed, have been illegally stripped of parental rights, and have been subject to unlawful search and seizure.
These violations happened to a small and unpopular group, but it is exactly these types of situations in which constitutional protections are needed. Nazi Germany also started with the persecution of small and unpopular groups such Jews and Gypsies. Such erosion of liberty when laws are used as tools of intolerance affects everyone. I would encourage you to take the following emergency actions:
1- Encourage the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice to officially examine the actions of the state, and determine whether the civil rights of the parents were violated, and whether religious discrimination has played a role in the proceedings.
2- Hold Congressional Hearings on the raids, requiring accountability of the Texas authorities.
Thank you very much for your consideration,
xxxxx
I encourage you to write your own letters to your own congressional representatives.
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