Repeal the USA Patriot Act

To:  Members of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate

Initiated June 7, 2005

A Petition in Opposition to the USA Patriot Act

We the undersigned, in solidarity with the governments of Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, and Vermont, and those of more than 386 villages, towns, and county legislatures across the nation, call upon Congress to immediately repeal or to extensively revise Public Law 107-56, also known as the "U.S.A. Patriot Act", in order to restore and protect our nation's fundamental civil liberties as guaranteed by the Constitution of The United States of America. Each of the above mentioned governments have passed official Resolutions objecting to various provisions of the Patriot Act (See: http://www.bordc.org).
We call upon Congress to recognize the objections of these local and state governments by entering the full text of each Resolution into the Congressional Record. We ask Congress to refrain from enacting laws which may deny due process to any person, which infringe upon our civil liberties, or which expand the powers of the executive branch without providing for judicial oversight and periodic legislative review.
In particular, we object to provisions of the Act and to others laws and executive orders which allow for:

• Racial or ethnic profiling, secret detentions, and the "rendition" of persons to foreign countries,
• Investigation, surveillance, or monitoring of individuals or groups, such as gun owners, religious groups, or political activists, based on their participation in activities protected by the First or Second Amendments, without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity,
• The indefinite incarceration of any person based on immigration status or on mere suspicion of terrorist activity,
• "Sneak and Peek" searches pursuant to Section 213 of the Act, and others laws which subvert the protections guaranteed by Amendments IV and V of the Constitution,
• And all sections of the Act affecting libraries, research facilities, and educational institutions and their records.

We applaud the American Library Association’s efforts to educate citizens on this important issue, and the efforts of faculty and student organizations at more than 44 campuses who have worked toward the repeal or revision of the Act.
(see:http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/ifissues/usapatriotact.htm)
(see: http://www.bordc.org/involved/student/campus-resolutions.php).

We ask all citizens and the signatories of this Petition to urge elected officials in their own towns and cities to work toward the goals outlined above.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Repeal the USA Patriot Act Petition to Members of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate was created by Defend Your Rights and written by Lee Price (tanutuva@rochester.rr.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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