More Than 233,000 Sign George Takei's Petition Opposing Muslim Targeting

As previously reported, actor and activist George Takei has started a Care2 petition to gather support for the Muslim community and allow signers to speak out against Trump policies that would target them.

Since Trump announced his executive order banning refugees and creating a de-facto religious test for immigrants on Friday, signatures on the petition have skyrocketed. As of this afternoon, more than 233,000 people have signed the petition.

Takei plans to deliver the petition signatures in person to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and government officials as a show of support.

On the Care2 petition, Takei writes about how when he was just five years old, his family was rounded up at gunpoint and forced into a Japanese American internment camp.

"During that time, fear and racism drove government policy, creating a living hell for over 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans, most of whom were U.S. citizens," Takei writes. "I have spent my life trying to ensure something like this never happens again. But dark clouds once more are gathering."

In mid-November, a former spokesperson for a major super PAC backing Trump said the mass internment of innocent Japanese Americans sets a "precedent" for Trump to follow through with his plan to create a Muslim registry.

Takei's Care2 petition was launched just days before Wednesday's confirmation hearing is set to take place for Trump's Department of Homeland Security pick, John Kelly.

Trump's 100-day plan includes a commitment to suspend immigration from "terror-prone regions."

"It starts with a registry, with restrictions, with irrationally ascribed guilt, and with fear," Takei writes. "But we know well where it might lead."

"National security must never again be permitted to justify wholesale denial of constitutional rights and protections," he continues. "If it is freedom and our way of life that we fight for, our first obligation is to ensure that our own government adheres to those principles. Without that, we are no better than our enemies."

Care2 (www.Care2.com) is a community of 38 million standing together for good. People are making world-changing impact with Care2, starting petitions and supporting each other's campaigns to help individuals, animals and the environment. A pioneer of online advocacy since 1998, Care2 is a B Corporation, or social enterprise, using the power of business as a force for good.