A
statement posted to the White House website, apparently on Saturday,
contains a lengthy defense by President Barack Obama of the Black Lives
Matter movement from his recent Dallas memorial speech honoring the five
Dallas police officers slain by a Black Lives Matter supporter who
targeted white officers.
The statement closed with the White House
claiming that the government does not maintain a list of domestic terror
groups and therefore cannot address the complaint in the petition.
The White House set a rule that it only responds to petitions that
garner over 100,000 signatures within thirty days and that the
administration has up to sixty days thereafter to respond.
The Black Lives Matter terror designation petition rapidly attracted
signers. As of Saturday it had 141,421 signatures since its posting on
July 6. For the Obama administration to respond this quickly to a
petition is rare.
Text of the petition and the response by the White House:
WE THE PEOPLE ASK THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OR EXPLAIN A POSITION ON AN ISSUE OR POLICY:
Formally recognize Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization.
Created by Y.S. on July 06, 2016
terrorism is defined as โthe use of violence and intimidation in
pursuit of political aimsโ. This definition is the same definition used
to declare ISIS and other groups, as terrorist organizations. Black
Lives Matter has earned this title due to its actions in Ferguson,
Baltimore, and even at a Bernie Sanders rally, as well as all over the
United States and Canada. It is time for the pentagon to be consistent
in its actions โ and just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror
group, they must declare Black Lives Matter a terror group โ on the
grounds of principle, integrity, morality, and safety.
A response to your petition on Black Lives Matter
You recently signed a petition asking the Administration to “Formally recognize Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization.”
In the wake of the tragic recent events in Dallas, Falcon Heights,
and Baton Rouge, the President brought together law enforcement
officials, civil rights leaders, activists, faith leaders, academics,
and state and local elected officials this week to encourage frank
conversations about the steps we can take together to build trust and
ensure justice for all Americans. As part of these conversations, the
President directly addressed the concern that the “Black Lives Matter”
slogan, social media movement, and the associated protests are somehow
inherently anti-police:
criticized even the phrase ‘black lives matter,’ as if the notion is, is
that other lives don’t matter. And so you get ‘all lives matter’ or
‘blue lives matter.’ I understand the point they’re trying to make. I
think it’s important for us to also understand that the phrase ‘black
lives matter’ simply refers to the notion that there’s a specific
vulnerability for African Americans that needs to be addressed. It’s not
meant to suggest that other lives don’t matter. It’s to suggest that
other folks aren’t experiencing this particular vulnerability.
this notion that somehow people who are asking for fair treatment are
somehow, automatically, anti-police, are trying to only look out for
black lives as opposed to others. I think we have to be careful about
playing that game, just because that’s not obviously what is intended.”
This is a difficult time for our nation and this is a charged debate
that stirs deep emotion. Speaking at the memorial service in Dallas
earlier in the week, the President emphasized that progress requires, in
part, Americans on all sides to โstand in each otherโs shoes and look
at the world through each otherโs eyes.โ He added:
change will guard against reckless language going forward, look at the
model set by the five officers we mourn today, acknowledge the progress
brought about by the sincere efforts of police departments like this one
in Dallas, and embark on the hard but necessary work of negotiation,
the pursuit of reconciliation.
will acknowledge that, just like the rest of us, they are not perfect;
that insisting we do better to root out racial bias is not an attack on
cops, but an effort to live up to our highest ideals. And I understand
these protests — I see them, they can be messy. Sometimes they can be
hijacked by an irresponsible few. Police can get hurt. Protestors can
get hurt. They can be frustrating.
‘Black Lives Matter,’ surely we should be able to hear the pain of Alton
Sterling’s family โฆ and know that his life mattered to a whole lot of
people of all races, of all ages, and that we have to do what we can,
without putting officers’ lives at risk, but do better to prevent
another life like his from being lost.
about which side has been wronged, and worry more about joining sides to
do right. Because the vicious killer of these police officers, they
won’t be the last person who tries to make us turn on one other. The
killer in Orlando wasn’t, nor was the killer in Charleston. We know
there is evil in this world. That’s why we need police departments. But
as Americans, we can decide that people like this killer will ultimately
fail. They will not drive us apart. We can decide to come together and
make our country reflect the good inside us, the hopes and simple dreams
we share.”
The White House plays no role in designating domestic terror
organizations. The U.S. government does not generate a list of domestic
terror organizations, and therefore we are not able to address the
formal request of your petition. We encourage you to engage with your
community in the ongoing discussion of how we can better build trust and
safety in our communities.
Thank you for your participation in the We the People platform. We’ll be back in touch soon.
— The We the People Team
