Another legal front opened up Thursday in the dawning battle between UFO activists and the U.S. government in the form of an upcoming Virginia petition demanding prompt action against alien invaders.

Longtime researcher Larry Bryant, a resident of Alexandria, VA, drafted the petition, which has not yet gone to the public, in order to compel Virginia authorities to uphold their Constitutional obligation to protect citizens from the "clandestine invasion" of UFOs.

In particular, Bryant and fellow petitioners seek the creation of a dedicated unit of the National Guard that would respond quickly to UFO activity. The petition would also provide for victims of UFO-related harassment, recognizing their suffering and extending them the full rights accorded victims of more terrestrial crimes.

Bryant has been tireless in his crusade to make secret government UFO documents available to the public. With lawyer Bob Bletchman, he was a guiding figure behind the UFO Ballot Initiative, which has won support from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and other research groups for its efforts to give voters a direct voice in demanding an end to government UFO secrecy.

Bryant serves as co-chairman of the initiative's national coordinating committee. In addition, he has served as Washington, DC, coordinator of activist group Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS), which launched a full-fledged lawsuit against the state of Arizona and the federal government on September 1.

Although CAUS Director Peter Gersten has declined to support the UFO Ballot Initiative, citing doubts that the political process can end UFO secrecy, Bryant filed the Virginia petition in implicit cooperation with CAUS' overarching legal strategy.

In an August 19 letter to CAUS membership entitled "Yes, Virginia, We're Being Invaded", Bryant called the activist group's then-imminent lawsuit an "opportunity" for similar action. Like the CAUS lawsuit, his petition is grounded in a claim that Virginia has shirked its Constitutional duty to protect its citizens from interference from foreign powers -- interference that would theoretically include alien abduction.

According to Bryant, Virginia Governor James Gilmore III "knows that it's against the law to abduct, torture, falsely imprison, wantonly impregnate and unconsensually surgically alter (via implants) a person. He also knows that he has the power to repel these invasive activities of apparently alien-originated UFO encounters."

As for the next move for CAUS proper, Gersten has pinpointed New York and California as potential candidates for follow-on lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Bryant's call for expert testimony in support of his petition remains in effect. In particular, he requests that abductees residing in Virginia step forward attesting to the nature of their encounters.

A retired writer and editor of military publications, he takes pride in having "filed more UFO-related lawsuits in federal court than has anyone else in the entire universe." He encourages like-minded citizens of other states to draft their own petitions, possibly using his document as a template.