Carbondale community rallies for peace and justice, repeals AUMF

The Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois gathered together on Main Street to continue the monthly conversation to end forever wars.

Around 12 people gathered on the corner holding signs that read “Protect kids not guns” and “bomb diplomacy not war.”

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Protestors hold their signs during the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois’ community rally for peace and justice on Saturday, April. 3, 2021, on the corner of Main Street in Carbondale, Ill.

Georgeann Hartzog, coordinator for PCSI, said they meet every first Saturday of the month to protest war and each rally they try to cover a current issue.

This month’s topic was to support Representative Barbara Lee’s legislation to repeal the 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force law. 

Created in the heat of 9/11, this law allows the President to use any and all forces against those, whether that be nations, organizations or people, who he believes aided the 9/11 attacks in order to prevent any other attacks made on the United States.

According to PCSI’s press release, in 2019 and 2020, the House voted several times to repeal AUMF, but these measures were not considered in the Senate. 

“Congress can, and must, reaffirm its constitutional duties and reclaim the power to declare war from an overreaching executive branch,” it reads.

Hartzog said this law was used to send bombstrikes to suspected terrorists, but also always killing civilians. This law has also been used to go to war in Iraq, attack Libya and send a missile strike into Iran, killing Iranaian general Qasem Soleimani, Hartzog said.

“This never ending war on terrorism is causing more harm than good,” she said. “We’ve wasted so many dollars over the years building major weapon systems that really have no use and are dangerous. Even today we’re modernizing our nuclear weapons.”

Hartzog said Carbondale members can help the cause by staying educated on how the world works and to not follow conspiracy theories.

Staff reporter Keaton Yates can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @keatsians.

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