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Alaska State Legislature House and Senate Democrats |
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http://www.akdemocrats.org Jordan Marshall, Press Secretary (907) 269-0133 or 321-3682 (907) 269-0132 press@akdemocrats.org |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · April 4, 2003 |
Democrats Act to Protect
Individual Liberties
Resolution Cites Concerns about Abuses in USA Patriot Act
JUNEAU – Noting that the State of Alaska has a proud history of respecting the fundamental right to privacy and individual liberties as reflected in the Alaska and United States Constitutions, resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate this week stating that any efforts to end terrorism must not be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of the people of the State of Alaska and the United States. Sponsored by Representative David Guttenberg (D-Fairbanks) and Senate Democratic Leader Johnny Ellis (D-Anchorage), the resolution responds to concerns raised by the USA Patriot Act, the hastily enacted domestic security bill passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. “Alaska has a long and proud tradition of upholding the free exercise and enjoyment of the inalienable rights granted to all persons by the Alaska Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America,” Guttenberg said. “In this resolution, we affirm our strong opposition to terrorism, but raise concerns about provisions of the USA Patriot Act that expand the authority of the federal government to detain and investigate citizens and non-citizens and to engage in the electronic surveillance of citizens and non-citizens violates the civil rights and liberties guaranteed under the United States Constitution.” “Any infringement of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of any person, under the color of law, is an abuse of power, a breach of the public trust, and a violation of civil rights,” Ellis said. “Democrats remain firmly committed to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all people and this resolution states that Alaska will vigorously uphold the constitutionally protected rights of all persons to peacefully protest and express their political views without any form of governmental interference.” Among the provisions of the USA Patriot Act that worry many Americans, the Act: • Minimizes judicial supervision of federal telephone and Internet surveillance by law enforcement authorities; • Expands the ability of the government to conduct secret searches; • Gives the Attorney General and the Secretary of State the power to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations using vague criteria for defining a terrorist organization; • Allows for indefinite detention of non-citizens who are not terrorists who have only minor visa violations; • Grants the FBI broad access to sensitive personal and business records about individuals without having to show evidence of a crime; • Leads to large-scale investigations of American citizens by the CIA for intelligence purposes. As founding father Benjamin Franklin noted, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” At least 77 communities across the nation have expressed concerns that the USA Patriot Act violates civil rights and liberties guaranteed under the Constitution. The list includes Fairbanks, Gustavus, Seattle, and San Francisco. The resolution states that absent any probable cause of criminal activity, it is the policy of the State of Alaska to forbid: 1. The initiation of, participation in, assistance or cooperation with any inquiry, investigation, surveillance or detention; 2. The recording and sharing of any intelligence information concerning any person or organization, even if authorized by federal law enforcement acting under new powers granted by the USA Patriot Act. This includes things as library lending and research records; book and video store sales or rental records; medical, financial, and student records, and other personal data; 3. The retention of intelligence information if there is no probable cause indicating criminal activity; 4. The collection of information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership; 5. Profiling based on race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, or political views; and, 6. Enforcement of immigration matters, which are entirely the responsibility of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The resolution calls upon Alaska’s Congressional delegation to work to correct provisions of the USA Patriot Act and other measures that unduly infringe on civil liberties and to oppose the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (known as Patriot II) to the extent that it, too, infringes on Americans’ civil liberties.
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 http://www.akdemocrats.org/Documents/040403_dems_protect_liberties.pdf · Additional information: Representative David Guttenberg Senator Johnny Ellis |
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