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Dear [Organizational representative]

I invite your organization to join our campaign, Keep the Maryland Guard at Home, part of a nation-wide movement to contest the use to which the National Guard has been put since 2002. (See http://www.libertytreefdr.org/event.php?event_id=147)

This campaign has the potential to make a profound impact. Not only will it help bring an end to our occupation of Iraq, but it also challenges the concept of the imperial presidency and aims to help restore the Constitution. Most basically, Keep the Maryland Guard at Home asks Maryland's governor to stand up to what we contend is an illegal presidential order to deploy the Guard to Iraq.

The Congressional 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) is the law under which the Guard is being sent to Afghanistan and the 2002 AUMF to Iraq. Our Web site, www.MDGuardHome.org, explains why the 2002 AUMF is no longer relevant to what the military is being asked to do and thus why the Guard's deployment to Iraq is illegal, and why the 2001 AUMF is so broad as to be unconstitutional. Because the deployment of the Guard under these two AUMFs is not legal, we ask our state legislature to pass a bill directing the governor to refuse to accept either AUMF any longer as a basis for federalizing Maryland's Guard.

The U.S. could not have occupied Iraq without the National Guard. Approximately 600,000 National Guard and reserve troops have been deployed to Iraq, of whom about 5,900 were members of the Maryland National Guard. Their deployment caused their families financial harm and emotional suffering and impaired our State's ability to respond to emergencies at home. Using the Guard as a backdoor draft set a precedent that must be reversed in order to prevent more harm to Maryland's citizens and to prevent future U.S. administrations from waging wars of choice and aggression.

Senators Richard Madaleno and Jamie Raskin plan to introduce legislation in the Maryland Senate in January. Our campaign, Keep the Maryland Guard at Home, will back them up. We will educate the public on the Constitutional and other issues raised by these National Guard deployments and secure support for their legislation in the community.

Here is what it will mean for your organization to sign on to Keep the Maryland Guard at Home:

Members of your organization will contact Maryland Senators and Delegates from your geographical area and urge them to support Madaleno and Carter's bill.
Your organization will help explain Keep the Maryland Guard at Home to the general public.
Keep the Maryland Guard at Home will include your organization's name on its Web site, petitions and other materials.
Representatives of your organization can participate in Keep the Maryland Guard at Home planning meetings.
Your organization can join special activities developed by Keep the Maryland Guard at Home, such as petition drives or hearings or press conferences.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. You can reach me at (phone number or email address)

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,