Protect John Doe (Yourself)!

***UPDATE
Audrey Hudson with the Washington Times provides this update:
A Senate Republican aide says they scored one victory when the chamber's parliamentarian ruled this morning that the 'John Doe' protections are within the scope of the legislation and can be included by amendment.

"Combine that with the public outcry and Democrats may be forced to cave," the aide said.

It's not a done deal yet, though, so keep contacting your representatives, and especially the Democrats who are trying to block this amendment.




Andy McCarthy writes at NRO about an amendment proposed by Representative Peter King (Rep, NY) to protect citizen 'john does' for reporting suspicious activities. A highly publicized example is the 'Flying Imams' incident that happened in November of 2006. Six Islamic leaders were removed from a U.S. Airways airplane when numerous citizens on that airplane became concerned about their behavior (sitting in exit-row seats that weren't theirs, praying loudly, asking for seat belt extensions even though they weren't fat, making anti-American statements, etc.). They were questioned and eventually released. In March, the six Imans sued U.S. Airways, as well as the citizen 'john doe' passengers who reported their suspicious behavior.

King quickly proposed an amendment which was overwhelmingly adopted by the House in March, 304-121, as an amendment to H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007. Its intent was to protect citizens reporting suspicious activity from just this sort of frivolous lawsuit.

Now, House Democrats are attempting to strip the King amendment from the legislation due to an alleged technical violation of old House rules. McCarthy writes: "Given the variety of threats we face and terrorists' history of targeting mass transit systems, encouraging passengers to report strange behavior to authorities is really just common sense."

I agree. And, isn't that what our leaders were telling us after 9/11? Go about your lives, and if you see something say something. That's why you need to contact your Senators and Representatives today to tell them to keep the King amendment.

Since this bill is currently in conference committee (which means the House and Senate are working out the final version of the bill that will be voted upon), you need to apply pressure to some key people in the House and Senate. So, here are some other numbers you might need:
- Congress switchboard: 202-224-3121
- Nancy Pelosi’s office: 202-225-4965
- Harry Reid's office: 202-224-3542

Call today - Michelle Malkin reports that the conference discussion about this amendment will happen today. This legislation is essential to protecting American citizens who are simply trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from another disaster like 9/11.

There's my two cents.