War on Terror Walkouts
Oakland, Flagstaff City Councils to Vote on Opposition to Patriot Act
Provisions
By Dean Schabner
Dec. 17 .Two more cities could join 18 other municipalities around the
country that have questioned whether the USA Patriot Act combats terror at
the expense of Americans' constitutional rights.
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Eight Cities in Patriot Act Revolt
The city council of Oakland, Calif., is scheduled to vote today on a
resolution that would order city employees not to cooperate with federal
investigations that are felt to violate civil liberties.
The city of Flagstaff, Ariz., also has a vote scheduled on a less harshly
worded resolution that would be a statement by the city that it is
concerned about potential violations of civil rights as a result of
implementation of the USA Patriot Act, but stopping short of withdrawing
the city's cooperation.
If both resolutions pass, the two cities would become the 19th and 20th
local governments to formalize their opposition to provisions of the USA
Patriot Act.
Supporters of the Oakland resolution, which include nearly two dozen
organizations, say they expect the measure to pass.
"I think there is strong support," City Councilwoman Nancy Nadel said. "We
can't trade our civil liberties for security and still be fighting for the
freedoms our country symbolizes."
The Oakland draft resolution says in part that "to the extent legally
possible, no City employee or department shall officially assist or
voluntarily cooperate with investigations, interrogations, or arrest
procedures, public or clandestine, that are in violation of individuals'
civil rights or civil liberties as specified in the above Amendments of the
United States Constitution."
It also says that "the City of Oakland affirms its strong opposition to
terrorism, but also affirms that any efforts to end terrorism not be waged
at the expense of the fundamental civil rights and liberties of the people
of Oakland, the United States and the World."
The resolution originally put before the Flagstaff City Council was written
in terms similar to the Oakland measure, but there has since been
compromise to remove references to the police department and soften the
criticism of the federal government, Flagstaff Mayor Joe Donaldson said.
"We wanted it to be a citizens' reminder to the government that we're
concerned about terror acts and at the same time we're concerned about
civil liberties," Donaldson said.
Other Cities Considering Patriot Measures
Similar resolutions have already passed in 18 other communities, including
Berkeley, Santa Cruz and Sebastopol, Calif.; Denver and Boulder, Colo.;
four cities in Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Eugene,
Ore.; Burlington, Vt.; and Madison, Wis.
There are efforts under way to rally support for such resolutions in dozens
of other cities, including New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, Boston and
Portland, Ore., according to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, a
Florence, Mass.-based organization that supports "repeal of parts of the
USA PATRIOT Act and Executive Orders that infringe on Constitutional rights."
There are votes on similar resolutions scheduled for January and February
in Davis and Fairfax, Calif., and New Paltz, N.Y.
The USA Patriot Act was passed by overwhelming margins in both the Senate
and the House of Representatives, but Nadel said she finds it hard to
believe that legislators read it very carefully, because of what civil
libertarians and constitutional rights groups say are the many areas where
the law oversteps the bounds of proper law enforcement procedure.
Opponents of such measures say that the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are proof
of the need for extraordinary measures to protect the country from terrorists.
What Cost Freedom?
Giving up civil liberties is no way to fight that fight, Nadel said.
"It is not a small price to pay," she said. "Our country was based on civil
liberties. Some of these governments like the Taliban that we fought to put
out of power had restrictions on what people read. If that's what we're
trying to eradicate around the world, I don't think it's something we
should be adopting here."
The U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco . the local arm of the Justice
Department, which overseas federal investigations .declined to comment on
the resolution that was up for a vote in Oakland.
Among the areas that Nadel said especially concern her in the Patriot Act
are increasing the FBI's power to spy on Americans' e-mail and telephone
conversations, allowing ethnic profiling, denying the right to attorney to
some detainees . which she said is "one of the most heinous aspects" of the
law . and allowing law enforcement access to records of the books people
take out of the library.
The city's Public Library Commission has already passed a resolution
opposing the Patriot Act.
Though the resolution's sponsors said it has strong support on the city
council, not all of Oakland's residents were convinced that limiting the
powers granted law enforcement to fight terrorism was the best thing for
the city.
"The City Council has no business getting involved in something like this,"
40-year Oakland resident Anne Woodell told The Associated Press. "We're a
major port and we've got to be prepared."
Nadel, however, said that none of her constituents has spoken to her in
opposition to the proposed resolution.
"They're the ones who asked me to carry it," she said. "I have not gotten a
single negative response, only thanks and support."
What Is Reasonable?
In Flagstaff, though, Donaldson said the consensus was that a softer
statement was needed, and that fighting the war on terror required sacrifices.
"Just about all of us realize that we're going to have to give up some
freedoms to make sure we're safe from terrorism," he said. "The FBI, the
Secret Service . those guys have a mission. If they deem that an action is
necessary .if they want to know what Joe Donaldson took out from the
library, if they want to know what Joe Donaldson looks at on the Internet,
what Joe Donaldson eats . well, if Joe Donaldson is reasonably suspected of
terrorist activity, the Joe Donaldson needs to be looked at. But it has to
be reasonable."
The mayor said that will be the thrust of the resolution. Though it is
scheduled to come up for a vote today, he said the matter could be put off
if it looks like the vote will not be unanimous.
"It doesn't make sense to make a statement if it's not unanimous," he said.
Overview of Changes to Legal Rights
Some of the fundamental changes to Americans' legal rights by the Bush
administration and the USA Patriot Act following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror
attacks:
Freedom of Association . Government may monitor religious and political
institutions without suspecting criminal activity to assist terror
investigation.
Freedom of Information . Government has closed once-public immigration
hearings, has secretly detained hundreds of people without charges, and has
encouraged bureaucrats to resist public records requests.
Freedom of Speech . Government may prosecute librarians or keepers of
any other records if they tell anyone that the government subpoenaed
information related to a terror investigation.
Right to Legal Representation . Government may monitor federal prison
jailhouse conversations between attorneys and clients, and deny lawyers to
Americans accused of crimes.
Freedom from Unreasonable Searches .Government may search and seize
Americans' papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror
investigation.
Right to a Speedy and Public Trial .Government may jail Americans
indefinitely without a trial.
Right to Liberty . Americans may be jailed without being charged or
being able to confront witnesses against them.
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