PETITION TO DEFEDERALIZE THE NEW YORK STATE NATIONAL GUARD

NYSAVETHEGUARD is part of a national campaign (www.bringtheguardhome.org) to defederalize the National Guard, bring them home now and stop deploying our state militia to Iraq. The New York State National Guard must be at home to protect its residents in a time of local disaster. We need our National Guard at home and the equipment that has been needlessly sent overseas.


PETITION TO DEFEDERALIZE THE NEW YORK STATE NATIONAL GUARD
We, the undersigned, petition the New York State Legislature and Governor to stop the deployment of
the New York State National Guard Units, and we urge the President to withdraw all New York State National
Guard units from Iraq.
In 2002 Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq (AUMF), and in
March 2003 the President, in reliance on the AUMF, ordered U.S. Armed Forces, including units of the
National Guard, to invade and occupy Iraq.
The AUMF had two clearly defined and limited goals: (1) To “defend the national security of the United
States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq,” which the Administration warned had weapons of mass
destruction (WMDs), and (2) “to enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding
Iraq.”
It has long been undisputed that there were no WMDs in Iraq, and there are no relevant UN Security
Council Resolutions remaining to be enforced, within the meaning of the AUMF.
Therefore, the legal basis for federalizing and deploying the National Guard has expired and no longer
provides a tenable basis for calling up the New York National Guard to serve in Iraq.
We the undersigned support the Resolution currently before the New York Senate and Assembly (1)
urging the President to return units of the New York National Guard for service in our State, where they are
needed for national security and to aid in the event of natural disasters and to, and (2) petitioning the Governor
to decline calls to federalize units of the New York National Guard for service in Iraq until and unless he is
presented with an order to do so based on a valid and subsisting Act of Congress.
1. Name _______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address _____________________________________________County:____________________
2. Name _______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address _____________________________________________County:____________________
3. Name _______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address _____________________________________________County:____________________
4. Name _______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address ____________________________________________County:____________________
5. Name ______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address ____________________________________________County:____________________
6. Name ______________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address ___________________________________________County:____________________
7. Name _____________________________________________________________________
(signature) (print)
Address ___________________________________________County:____________________
Please mail completed petition to: Elaine Brower, 7 Sandalwood Drive, SI, NY 10308 MFSO NYC 8/18/2008