Maybe in some cases it's an emotional response, but I don't feel as charitable as you do about all the people saying "Not In My Backyard!" I think in at least some cases it's a calculated response. It's easy for the people raising a fuss to look tough and appeal to their base by saying they don't want any former Gitmo detainees in their state, even though such an argument isn't helpful. Gitmo is such a smear on our national reputation that it needs to be closed, and the dangerous people housed there need to be put somewhere. The politicians who are raising a stink about it know that can't change it, but they think it makes them look macho and principled (instead of selfish) if they raise said stink.