Colorado Lawmaker Vows to Keep Guantanamo Bay Open

During an interview with the FOX Business Network’s Gerri Willis, Colorado Representative Mike Coffman discussed why it would be wrong to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to American soil, let alone Colorado soil.

“We have a bipartisan opposition in bringing these terrorists on to U.S. soil and so I don’t think there’s a question that this is going to go anywhere. The president obviously wants to frame us for political purposes. That’s fine, but the fact is that they should not come onto U.S. soil and be afforded all the due rights, processes and protections given to those legally in this country,” he said.

Coffman also shared one of his greatest fears if Guantanamo detainees were dispersed throughout the U.S. prison system.

“I think my ultimate fear is the fact that we don’t have a place because the president hasn’t used Guantanamo Bay to put these hardened terrorists [away]. The fact is he’s going to release people, I think he’s talking about now releasing another 35 without any regard to the fact that they may very well return to the battle field. The very battle field where there are American troops and so it’s a real concern to me as a Marine Core combat veteran,” Coffman said.

“I think I’m going to do everything I can to keep Guantanamo Bay open, so that when we have a commander-in-chief that fundamentally cares about protecting the American homeland, cares about projecting American strength because we know that weakness invites aggression, and that in fact that president has a tool and that tool is called Guantanamo Bay, it can be used to secure the worst that are out there, that wish to do harm to America,” he said.