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says Triangle Foundation |
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Compiled by GayToday Courtesy of the Triangle Foundation
"Dear Friend, "In response to the attacks on September 11, the Bush Administration proposed an 'anti-terrorism' bill that would have stripped American citizens and residents of essential civil liberties. "Under the proposed legislation, the attorney general would have been given virtually unrestricted power to incarcerate non-citizens, use wiretaps without any judicial oversight, and expand the government's right to use secret searches. "Congressman John Conyers, Jr., along with many legislators from both sides of the aisle, urged good sense and restraint in the construction of any new legislation which might compromise essential liberties.
The night before, the Senate passed the so-called "USA Act," which closely resembled the Administration's original proposal, with very little debate and only one dissenting vote. Here is a summary of the most troubling provisions of both the Senate and the modified House anti-terrorism legislation: Authorize "Sneak and Peek Searches": Allows the government to search homes, offices, and other private areas, without prior notification; Create New Crime of Domestic Terrorism: Could potentially allow the government to impose heavy penalties for relatively minor offenses, including political protests; Allow the CIA to Spy on Americans: Puts of the Director of the CIA in charge of collecting all information about "terrorism" in general - even if this information regards law-abiding citizens; Impose Indefinite Detention: Permits authorities to detain non-citizens indefinitely without judicial oversight; Expand Wiretap Authority: Authorizes intelligence wiretaps that do not need to specify the phone to be tapped, or require that only the target's conversations be eavesdropped upon; Could Become Permanent Law: The original House bill would have expired in two years with Congressional review; the modified House bill mandates expiration in five years with Presidential review; the Senate version never expires. Please join us in opposing both the House and Senate versions of the Administration's anti-terrorism proposal in their current forms. Call and write your Senators and Representatives to voice your objections to both the content of the bills and the undemocratic manner in which they were forced through Congress. Please contact them today. We must protect and defend the principles of liberty and justice that have defined us as a nation and a people.
Sincerely,
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Attorney General John Ashcroft: Looking to expand government's power to spy on Americans 