California: Left-Coast Thinking on What Guantanamo Means

(Jump direct to quick links: CA members of Congress on Guantanamo.)

The Response was screened several times in 2009 in California -- including a screening at UCLA Law School on February 2 -- and additional California screenings are in the works for 2010.


California congessmen have been tremendously active and hugely influential in the debate on Guantanamo and Constitutional rights. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D, 8th) has said, "The treatment of detainees is a taint on our country's reputation, especially in the Muslim world, and there are many questions that must be answered. These questions are important because the safety of our country depends on our reputation and how we are viewed, especially in the Muslim world." ( . . . more . . . )

A substantial number opposed Obama Administration efforts to resolve the problems with U.S. practices:

Congressman Wally Herger (D, 2nd) has said he is "strongly opposed to the President’s decision to move terrorist detainees to United States soil because it endangers the safety and security of American citizens." ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Dan Lungren (R, 3rd) has questioned the fact that "a dozen new Department of Justice attorneys have just come from law firms representing Guantanamo detainees." ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R, 25th) has called the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. "an attempt to score political points." ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Darrell Issa (R, 49th) opposes plans to close Guantanamo and transfer detainees to the United States. ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R, 52nd) has demanded that Guantanamo detainees be kept off American soil. ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Edward Royce (R, 40th) has expressed the view that, if the detainees at Guantanamo are "bad people," that relieves the obligation to change U.S. practices. ( . . . more . . . )

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R, 45th) has also backed efforts to keep Guantanamo detains out of the U.S. ( . . . more . . . )


However, an even larger number have been major factors in the reform of U.S. policy and practices in the War on Terror:

On March 4, 2009, Congressman Adam Schiff (D, 29th) "introduced legislation that will close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and make use of the military courts-martial to prosecute detainees who are unlawful enemy combatants." ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman George Miller (D, 7th) has spoken in favor of a bill to "bar intelligence officials from using torture, like waterboarding and other harsh techniques." He explained, "Torture is not only morally wrong but is also bad policy as the information gained from it can be highly unreliable. The reason to use the Army Field Manual is because the Field Manual works. Condoning state-sponsored torture, as the President has done by vetoing our bill, undermines our nation’s moral authority, puts American military and diplomatic personnel at-risk, and undermines the quality of intelligence we receive.”" ( . . . more . . . )

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D, 9th) was one of more than 50 members of Congress who sent a letter to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in 2005 calling on him "to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether high-ranking Bush administration officials violated US and international law by allowing the use of prohibited torture techniques in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. " ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman Pete Stark (D, 13th) has been an outspoken critic of Bush administration practices, including "shield[ing] its highest officials from responsibility for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay." ( . . . more . . . )

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D, 14th) is the author of the Lawful Interrogation and Detention Act of 2009. She applauded the move to close Guantanamo, saying, “These orders are the clearest statement that America is a nation that respects the rule of law and the dignity of humankind. I look forward to working with President Obama to ensure that these policies are implemented effectively.”" ( . . . more . . . )

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D, 16th) has spoken out strongly in factor of H. Res 700, to "direct the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives documents in the possession of the Attorney General relating to the treatment of prisoners and detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay." ( . . . more . . . )

In June, 2007, Congressman Sam Farr (D, 17th) joined his colleagues in calling for the closure of Guantanamo. He said in a statement, "It's an outrage that this prison was opened in 2002, and it's an outrage that it hasn't been closed. This prison undermines our status as a leader on human rights and places Americans around the world in jeopardy." ( . . . more . . . )


Congresswoman Jane Harman (D, 36th) is an advocate of strong measures against Al-Qa'ida, while at the same time she expresses support for Attorney General Holder's decision to try Guantanamo detainees in the U.S., saying "we live by our values -- principal among them the rule of law." ( . . . more . . . )

In October, 2004, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D, 47th) introduced the Military Commissions Act, to "establish clear statutory authority for the appointment, jurisdiction, procedures, and review of military commissions." ( . . . more . . . )

Congressman John Campbell (R, 48th) has said, "" ( . . . more . . . )

A detailed analysis of legal issues is available on the website of Congressman Henry Waxman (D, 30th). ( . . . more . . . )

Information on how to contact your representative, and on their Guantanamo positions, is shown below.

(Don't know who your representative is? Look him/her up by zip code here.)

(Don't know how what to say? Suggestions for getting started here.)

Baca, Joe	D	43rd	Contact
Becerra, Xavier	D	31st	Contact
Berman, Howard L.	D	28th	Contact
Bilbray, Brian P.	R	50th	Contact
Bono Mack, Mary	R	45th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Calvert, Ken	R	44th	Contact
Campbell, John	R	48th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Capps, Lois	D	23rd	Contact
Cardoza, Dennis A.	D	18th	Contact
Chu, Judy	D	32nd	Contact
Costa, Jim	D	20th	Contact
Davis, Susan A.	D	53rd	Contact
Dreier, David	R	26th	Contact
Eshoo, Anna G.	D	14th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Farr, Sam	D	17th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Filner, Bob	D	51st	Contact
Gallegly, Elton	R	24th	Contact
Garamendi, John	D	10th	Contact
Harman, Jane	D	36th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Herger, Wally	R	2nd	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Honda, Michael M.	D	15th	Contact
Hunter, Duncan	R	52nd	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Issa, Darrell E.	R	49th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Lee, Barbara	D	9th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Lewis, Jerry	R	41st	Contact
Lofgren, Zoe	D	16th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Lungren, Daniel E.	R	3rd	Contact	On Gitmo	above
McCarthy, Kevin	R	22nd	Contact
McClintock, Tom	R	4th	Contact
McKeon, ``Buck''	R	25th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
McNerney, Jerry	D	11th	Contact
Matsui, Doris O.	D	5th	Contact
Miller, Gary G.	R	42nd	Contact
Miller, George	D	7th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Napolitano, Grace F.	D	38th	Contact
Nunes, Devin	R	21st	Contact
Pelosi, Nancy	D	8th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Radanovich, George	R	19th	Contact
Richardson, Laura	D	37th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Rohrabacher, Dana	R	46th	Contact
Roybal-Allard, Lucille	D	34th	Contact
Royce, Edward R.	R	40th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Sánchez, Linda T.	D	39th	Contact
Sanchez, Loretta	D	47th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Schiff, Adam B.	D	29th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Sherman, Brad	D	27th	Contact
Speier, Jackie	D	12th	Contact
Stark, Fortney Pete	D	13th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Thompson, Mike	D	1st	Contact
Waters, Maxine	D	35th	Contact
Watson, Diane E.	D	33rd	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Waxman, Henry A.	D	30th	Contact	On Gitmo	above
Woolsey, Lynn C.	D	6th	Contact