Obama pushed to compile ‘Do Not Kill' list

— -- The government keeps a "Do Not Call" list to protect Americans from telemarketers, and a "No-Fly" list to protect Americans from suspected extremists who might try to board an airplane. So what about a "Do Not Kill" list to protect citizens from drone strikes by their own government?

That's the (somewhat) tongue-in-cheek proposal from critics of President Barack Obama's reported "kill list" of suspected terrorists — which may include American citizens overseas. They have launched a petition on the White House web site asking him to create a government "Do Not Kill" list.

The petition, created Wednesday, had 1,701 signatures as of this writing, 23,299 shy of the 25,000 needed within 30 days to get a formal White House response.

The text of the petition is sharply critical of the so-called secret "kill list," which was detailed in a recent New York Times piece. The article's publication came as the Obama Administration has been touting its hard-line on terrorism in the context of a hard-fought election campaign. "The New York Times reports that President Obama has created an official 'kill list' that he uses to personally order the assassination of American citizens," the petition says.

"Considering that the government already has a 'Do Not Call' list and a 'No Fly' list, we hereby request that the White House create a 'Do Not Kill' list in which American citizens can sign up to avoid being put on the president's 'kill list' and therefore avoid being executed without indictment, judge, jury, trial or due process of law," it says.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Polish president writes to Obama over 'death camp' gaffe

• George W. Bush to return to White House for hanging of official portrait

• Condoleezza Rice endorses Romney

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.