(Funny, I never read about this event in the San Francisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/qws/ff/qr?sort=date&term=Sheehan&Submit=S)
October 14, 2005
Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace, State Assemblyman Mark
Leno, and a representative of Assemblywoman Loni Hancock request
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to call California State Militia home
from Iraq with a formal declaration: the Assembly Joint Resolution 36
Relative to the California National Guard and the War in Iraq.
Here is a rough transcript I made of the event:
Cindy Sheehan:
First of all I would like to thank
Assemblymember Mark Leno and Assemblymember Loni Hancock on their
leadership on this issue.
Gold Star families for Peace is 100% behind the resolution to bring our
National Guard home. We are in an organization of families who
have loved ones killed in war-- mostly but not limited to Iraq.
We have members from Vietnam... Korea... [and] World War Two. It
is a tragic club.
And what we do is try to prevent any other families from having to join
our club.
[A] California National Guard member from my home town, Vacaville, was
killed this past week in Iraq. He was 28 years old. His name is
Jerry Bonafacio-- and he was supposed to be home last October.
Not only was he a California National Guard member in Iraq [... he was]
sent in[to] an illegal and immoral war-- but he was supposed to be home
a year ago. And he was "Stop-lossed".
And he was killed three months before he was coming home to marry his
fiancee.
The carnage and the devastation that this invasion and occupation of a
country that was no threat to the United States of America has wreaked
[devastation] on families all over this country, and in Iraq-- we can't
forget the devastation caused by this war.
This occupation on the people of Iraq-- it's immoral. And it's
wrong. Our troops never should have been there. Our troops
all should start coming home (whether they are National Guard or
Reserves).
Another statistic is the National Guard and Reserves make up 50% of the
[American] casualties in Iraq, and they don't make up 50% of the troop
force there. It's because they're not trained properly.
They are not equipped properly.
I know some families of soldiers who have been killed, National Guard
or reserve soldiers, who had to have bake sales to buy body armor or
GPS systems for their children.
And, we are accused of not supporting the troops because we want them
to come home alive. From this monstrosity that is going over in
Iraq! Their own government doesn't support them.
We are also working on Congress to get Congress to bring all our forces
home-- also to hold them accountable for what is going on. The
president has the most accountability, but the Congress and the media
have accountability too.
And a really good step in this process is to go to each state and hold
the governors there accountable. Like Assembly Member Leno
said: the governors are "Commander In Chief of their state
militia".
And George Bush having most of the state militia over in Iraq has shown
that he has made our country more vulnerable to natural disasters.
So it is imperative that we bring 100% of our military home from Iraq.
Let's leave that country alone now. Let's let them rebuild their
own country. It's not the 51st state of America. It's a sovereign
country that we never should have been in in the first place.
But let's start by bringing our National Guard and Reserve home because
they signed up to serve their communities.
They signed up to stay in their states in case there was another
terrorist attack, or in case there was another natural disaster.
They didn't sign up to go nine time zones away and be killed in a war
for nothing.
So we will take it to the people.
Because we know that our elected officials, our high elected officials,
like Governor Schwarzenegger, and our Senator, and some of our
Congresspeople:
They are not speaking out against this immorality.
So the people have to.
So we-- and not only will we take it to the people in referendums and
votes-- but the people will lift up their voices with us: To end
this!
And that's what's going to end it-- [it] is the majority of Americans
who want our troops home-- who know what we are doing over there is
wrong--
and who don't want "eternal war".
Thank you.
Assemblyman Mark Leno:
This is the same governor who is in
lock-step with President Bush on a war that was sold to Congress on
lies, and was sold to the American People based on lies.
There is no validity to this conflict.
And Arnold Schwarzenegger needs to be recognized for who he is: an
Accomplice in everything that George Bush is doing.
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