September 26, 2003
(Updated) City Council To Take Up Resolution Against USA PATRIOT Act (Finally)
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
It appears that the long-running efforts of the Portland Bill of Rights Defense Committee and its supporters finally may be paying off.
According to today's Oregonian, a resolution against civil liberties conflict inherent in the USA PATRIOT Act will be brought before the Portland City Council by Commissioner Dan Saltzman on October 22, the same day they will be taking up the renewal of the local Joint Terrorism Task Force:
A draft of Saltzman's resolution says parts of the act allow the federal government to engage in surveillance and detain people without protections such as due process, right to counsel and right to privacy, posing a particular threat to people who are Arab, Muslim or of South Asian descent. The draft urges Oregon's congressional delegation to modify the act where it "infringes on civil rights and liberties" and to pass a Senate bill co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that addresses many of the same concerns.
The draft does not go as far as some had urged.
William Pickard of the Portland Bill of Rights Defense Committee said other communities have passed tougher resolutions that require reports each time the act is used or prevent city employees from cooperating.
"Right now, it looks like one of the lighter ones," Pickard said. "It does advance the ball to at least make a statement."
The article reports that the other Council members are "generally supportive," with Commissioners Francesconi and Leonard opposing any potential language which might prevent cooperation between the Portland Police Bureau and the FBI.
I need to give my standard disclaimer before I continue: Prior to June 1 of this year, I was an organizer for the Portland Bill of Rights Defense Committee. One of our central principles was that, while some could reasonably argue that weighing in on something like the war in Iraq was outside the purview of city government, a law such as the PATRIOT Act clearly had more direct impact on the ground in local communities and was therefore fair game.
Which brings us back to the article:
"This is an area that really does affect everybody," he said. "It's not so remote. The give-and-take on the national scene about the Patriot Act is right now."
To be accurate, the give-and-take has been going on for more than a year now, and Portland is getting into it a bit late in the game. But it's certainly better late than never. Every extra piece of resistance helps, and it would have been an embarassment for Portland not to step up to the plate at all.
According to the national Bill of Rights Defense Committee (further disclaimer: I still own the domain name they use), three states and 174 communities have passed resolutions opposing the USA PATRIOT Act in some fashion, and to varying degrees. A similar resolution was passed in the Oregon Senate but failed to make it to the House floor before the end of the most recent session.
This item will be updated as warranted by responses received from City Council offices.
Update
"I'd say its because the public debate has been heating up," said a spokesman for Commissioner Saltzman when asked about the timing issue. "Ashcroft has been doing a nationwide PR tour supporting the Patriot Act and has proposed new legislation to expand it. It seemed like the time was right to weigh in."
Comments (1)
Dan, Birthday Flowers Admin on 30 Aug 2004
I just saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and there are some interesting ideeas about Patriot Act. Interesting to see some old opinia about this.