Civil liberties in Grave Danger !

[Guest guest]

H

Mon, 4 Oct 2004 12:34

Civil liberties in Grave Danger !

 

 

Civil liberties in Grave Danger !

 

 

Dear Friends,

 

Isn't it amazing how an lovely autumn day can turn grey when you check

your political email? But I continue to have hope because I know many

(perhaps, all) of you will read the following message. You will

contact Sen. Leahy and Jeffords and Rep. Sanders early Monday morning to

tell them we do not want Congress tinkering with our civil liberties!

And THEN, you will forward this message to others you know who live in

other states who will call their federal representatives as soon as

possible. ACT NOW!! too much is at stake.

many thanks,

Debra Stoleroff

PeaceVermont.

 

 

Dear Friend,

As you read this letter, a swiftly changing collage of Patriot II

provisions, repressive immigration changes, and privacy invasions is

rushing though Congress embedded in and under the disguise of

legislation responding to The 9/11 Commission Report.

The extraneous provisions threaten privacy, due process, freedom of

association, freedom of _expression, equal protection, freedom of

religion, and universal human rights. In addition, they authorize

increased use of the death penalty and transfer of captives to countries

known for use of torture. The pressure on individual members of Congress

to pass legislation to implement the 9/11 Commissionís recommendations

is enormous, so these harmful provisions must be defeated by public

condemnation.

Hereís the message we must send to Congress immediately: Legislation

implementing The 9/11 Commission Report must be limited to the core

recommendations of the report. All extraneous law enforcement and

immigration provisions must be stripped from any such legislation prior

to final passage by Congress.

To contact your members of Congress, please follow the link below. We

have posted a sample on our web site to help you write your message at

http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=6500701 & type=CO

For additional information please see the " Background " section toward

the end of this email.

Thank you for your support.

Kathy Guthrie

Field Program Secretary

Friends Committee on National Legislation

800-630-1330

Scenario: A lengthy, complex, and confusing bill is introduced in

response to public pressure for improved national security.

Congressional leaders warn that the legislation is the only way to

protect against terrorism and that it must be passed within days. The

measure does include some provisions addressing national security, but

it is loaded with, or amended by, sections that severely reduce precious

constitutional protections. Changes to the legislation occur rapidly

behind closed doors without public knowledge, discussion, or input. Both

houses of Congress are under intense leadership and political pressure

for quick and decisive passage of the bill. Sound familiar? Sound like

the USA PATRIOT Act, passed in the fall of 2001? Yes, it does. But this

terrible scenario is being repeated this week in Washington, D.C.

The 9/11 Commission Report, posted on the FCNL web site at

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=67, was released in July

22, 2004. It includes a thorough description of the circumstances

leading to the attack of September 11, 2001, an unflinching review of

the governmental failures that made the U.S. vulnerable, and a listing

of the commissionís 41 recommendations to rectify these shortcomings.

(See http://www.fcnl.org/smith/comm_report.htm for an overview of the 41

recommendations.) The report instantly became a national best seller,

ratcheting up political pressure to pass legislation implementing the

9/11 Commissionís recommendations. In the election season pressure

cooker of the 108th Congress, when legislative votes are primarily

intended to support re-election, majority and minority parties have been

engaged for the past week in frenetic jockeying for introduction and

amendment of measures to implement the 9/11 Commissionís

recommendations.

Some of the legislative measures and amendments, particularly S. 2845, a

measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. Collins (ME) and Sen. Lieberman

(CT), have been bi-partisan efforts, carefully drafted to respond to the

commissionís recommendations. Others, most dramatically HR 10,

introduced by Speaker Hastert (IL) in the House, and amendments to S.

2845 introduced by Sen. Kyl (AZ) in the Senate, do not follow the 9/11

Commissionís recommendations about security and are freighted with

provisions that diminish civil liberties protections. Taken together,

these provisions include (but are not limited to):

establishment of a national ID card, disguised as national

standardization of drivers licensing;

establishment of a national electronic database for birth and death

certificates, with permanent identifying information assigned to each

individual, such as a national ID number;

biometric identifiers ñ including fingerprints, face recognition

software photos, iris or retinal scans, and other private physical

identification ñ for travel documents which would be used for security

in domestic air travel as well as overseas travel;

expanded secret eavesdropping and search powers to be used against

individuals suspected of terrorist activity, whether or not the

individual is associated with a foreign power;

further weakening of individual privacy rights in library, medical, and

other personal records, removing all federal court oversight;

enhanced " material support " provisions, allowing guilt by association

with a group targeted by the administration; removal of habeas

corpus relief for those detained under repressive immigration measures;

approval of automatic detention without bail in immigration matters at

the governmentís request;

increased secrecy in immigration court matters;

approval of the use of secret evidence in immigration courts ñ secret

even to the immigrant being examined;

deportation of immigrants before final appeal;

allowing the death penalty in terrorism cases (with " terrorism " as

defined in the USA PATRIOT Act);

explicit approval of transfer of prisoners suspected of terrorism to

nations known to practice torture; and

failure to provide for a cross-agency civil liberties board for

oversight and investigation of civil liberties practices and procedures

in the executive branch of the federal government.

The message to Congress should be straightforward: Legislation

responding to The 9/11 Commission Report must be limited to the core

recommendations of the report. All extraneous law enforcement and

immigration provisions must be stripped from any such legislation prior

to final passage by the House and the Senate.