Behind a hard shell of barbed wire lies a prison founded upon the soft emotions of the strongest country in the world: fear and prejudice. And within the iron walls lie humans stripped of their pride, their rights, and their lives. They are prisoners indefinitely, marked by the orange jumpsuit that falls over their shoulders and clings to their knees. They hurt us, America says. They deserve this. And yet--they do not. Many of the detainees have never even had a fair trial, so we haven't even proven that they're guilty yet. What happened to the presumption of innocence? I believe that Guantánamo Bay Detainment Camp should be closed because it violates important American values and major human rights, costs the United States three million dollars per detainee each year, and, if closed, would project a superior image of America to other countries.
You may be wondering: is this even an issue? Isn't President Obama in the process of closing Guantánamo Bay? Yes, President Obama is in the process of closing the detainment camp, but the issue at a bit of a standstill. In 2008, he campaigned with the promise that he would close the prison in his first year of office, but, six years later, Guantánamo Bay still stands. My petition encourages President Obama to keep his promise, and is more of a reminder than a new, radical idea. By signing this petition, you are breaking the conventional boundaries of fear, prejudice, and injustice and standing up for what you believe in: human rights and important American values (such as liberty and justice).
