As Oklahomans who believe that human rights are the inalienable, God-given entitlement of every human being, we cannot remain silent when any of our elected representatives vote to defend the practice of torture, cruelty, and degrading treatment.  

By signing our names to this petition, we call on our elected officials to:

•  Speak out boldly in defense of human rights;
•  Vote consistently to uphold the laws of our land; and
•  Support actions to investigate and bring to justice those individuals, regardless of rank or office, who have condoned or perpetrated these grim crimes and abuses.  

We recognize that, apart from being morally repugnant, it is a serious crime to abuse and torture captives.  Such actions are a violation of the International Convention Against Torture, the U.S. War Crimes Act of 1996, and the U.S. Torture Act of 2000.

We object to torture as a violation of the most fundamental rights and values we are committed to defend.

We agree that, by signing this petition, we are supporting an “affirmative measure” toward halting war crimes, a responsibility we all have under international law.