About 20 people gathered in front of the downtown federal building at noon today to deliver a petition urging Congressman Steve Cohen to affirm that President Bush has no congressional authority to attack Iran.
The demonstration, sponsored by MoveOn.org, was part of a national campaign in which hundreds of similar events took place around the country. Over 160,000 people nationwide signed MoveOn’s petition. Locally, volunteers gathered 200 signatures from Cohen’s district.
The petition drive was sparked by President Bush’s recent remark that “Iran is still dangerous” despite new findings by the National Intelligence Estimate saying Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in the fall of 2003.
The petition asks Cohen to support House Joint Resolution 64, which says the 2002 authorization of force against Iraq does not give Bush the authority to wage war in Iran.
Though Cohen was not present to accept the petition, members of his staff accepted the papers. They said the petition will be sent to Cohen’s Washington D.C. office.
“President Bush is talking about World War III and it’s really scary,” said local MoveOn organizer William Shepherd. “Someone needs to express the will of the American people. Evidence shows that most people are against attacking Iran.”
–Bianca Phillips