FREE CHELSEA MANNING! (The Heroic Soldier Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Formerly Known As Bradley)

Sign the White House Petition Now!

What a week it has been for Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning. After the young Army whistle-blower was sentenced to an outrageous 35 years in prison, she chose to reveal her true identity, the one she has felt ever since childhood. She is a female in a male body.

"Why now?" some may ask. Bradley/Chelsea's struggle has always been for truth and transparency. Apparently, she did not think it was a good idea to make this a full-blown issue in the midst of a military court martial. But now that the court martial is over, Chelsea wants us all to know who she is, and she is asking us to give her the respect of calling her by her chosen name.

Veterans For Peace is more than happy to comply. We will continue to fight for freedom for this courageous young whistleblower, as well as for her rights as a transgender female in prison.

Amnesty International and the Bradley Manning Support Network, which will soon be changing its name, have launched a White House petition calling on President Obama to "Pardon Bradley Manning." This petition was launched immediately after sentencing and before Bradley asked to be called Chelsea. It is too late to change the wording of this petition now, as it already has been signed by over 12,000 people, of the 100,000 now required for a White House response. This also remains her legal name, for the time being.

This White House petition is the most important and timely initiative, among many. We have only 27 more days to gain 88,000 additional signatures. Please go there now and sign this petition. Ask all your friends and allies to do the same.

If you are going to the White House petition site for the first time, you will be asked to register with your name, residential address and email address. Please do not be put off by this extra step or be overly concerned about your privacy (they already know where you live).

Soon Veterans For Peace will begin a letter-writing campaign to General Buchanan, to be part of a packet for sentence reduction that lawyer David Coombs will present him in November. General Buchanan's will announce his decision in December. So you may wish to begin working on those letters. But for now, please help us get to 100,000 signatures on the White House petition.

Learn more about the petition here.

http://pardon.bradleymanning.org/

Go straight to the White House petition, here.
http://wh.gov/lgG58