PLATFORM/Condemn the Patriot Act?
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently toured the nation to build support for the controversial Patriot Act, which became law in 2001 and gave the federal government unprecedented surveillance powers. In all, more than 100 cities have passed anti-Patriot Act measures, which range from simply condemning the act to fining local officials who cooperate with federal agencies on investigations or arrests that stem from the law’s powers. American City & County recently asked readers of its e-mail newsletter if it is appropriate for a local government to pass a measure condemning the act. Readers were divided on the issue. Two responses, one in favor of condemning the act and the other supporting it, are reprinted below.
“I believe that the personal freedoms that set this country apart from all others have been eroding since the 1970s, and the Patriot Act is a quantum leap down the same path. The scariest part is that so many people seem to agree with it! The McCarthy era has returned in a new form, and we have become too blind to see it. It has now become ‘unpatriotic’ to believe in our most sacred freedoms. How long will it be before the only freedom we have left is the ‘right to agree?’”
—Roger Buffington, utility supervisor, Environmental Protection Services Department, Grand Rapids, Mich.
“Our nation is involved in a world war with Muslim fundamentalists. We have to have tight surveillance against the terrorists. Local governments have no right to legislate policies that are clearly the purview of the federal government, such as national defense. Certainly, individuals and private groups can protest action out of Washington, but local governments simply do not have the constitutional right to challenge the enforcement of federal laws. We are in a state of war that may last for a very long time, and I personally favor the Patriot laws.”
—Earl Rodney, accountant, Finance Department, Pembroke Pines, Fla.