'PATRIOT' Act Resolution
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Skagit County and the Democratic Party of Washington have long and distinguished traditions of asserting the civil rights and liberties for all Washington residents as expressed in the United States and the Washington Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the state of Washington has a diverse population, including immigrants, students and working people, whose contributions to the community are vital to its character and function; and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Washington reaffirms its support of the U.S. Constitution and the Washington Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party of Washington's June 5, 2004 platform states in part supports, "remove components that are unconstitutional and affect liberty"; and
WHEREAS, in our opinion, several new federal laws, regulations and executive orders issued since September 11, 2001, including the adoption of certain provisions of the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act (Public Law 107-56, hereafter UPA) and the Homeland Security Act (Public Law 107-296) now threaten principal tenets of our platform, as well as our constitutional rights and liberties, including
a. Freedom of speech, association, and religion,
b. Right to privacy,
c. Right to counsel and due process in judicial
proceedings,
d. Right to equal protection before the law,
e. Protection from unreasonable searches and
seizures; and
WHEREAS, in our opinion, federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions in the UPA and related executive orders, regulations and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties by:
a. Authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere suspicion(UPA, sections 411 and 412), and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the President as "enemy combatants" without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the federal courts (White House Order June 9, 2002; Department of Defense Report October 2, 2002),
b. Establishing secret military tribunals for terrorism suspects, without judicial oversight or Constitutional safeguards (Military Order, November 13, 2001),
c. Permitting wiretapping of conversations between federal prisoners and their attorneys (28 CFR 501.3),
d. Limiting disclosure of public documents and records under the Freedom of Information Act ("Memorandum for Heads of all Federal Departments and Agencies," Attorney General John Ashcroft, October 12, 2001),
e. Permitting the use the secret Foreign Intelligence Courts to oversee law enforcement use of electronic surveillance in anti-terrorism investigations and in ordinary criminal investigations (UPA, section 216),
f. Expanding the authority of federal agents under the secrecy of Foreign Intelligence Courts to conduct so-called "sneak and peek" or "black bag" searches, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his property has been searched for citizens and non-citizens alike. (UPA, section 213),
g. Granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal medical, financial, library and education records with little if any judicial oversight (UPA, sections 215, 218, 358 and 508),
h. Chilling constitutionally protected speech through overbroad definitions of "terrorism", which include protests and other political demonstrations (UPA, section 411),
i. Driving a wedge between immigrant communities and the police that protect them by encouraging involvement of state and local police in enforcement of federal immigration law (Public Law 107-296, Title VIII, Subtitle I: Homeland Security Information Sharing Act; Department of Justice Legal Opinion April 10,2002),
j. Permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services, Internet chatrooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings of any kind without having any evidence that a crime has been or may be committed (UPA, sections 203 and 901 and Attorney General's Investigative Guidelines promulgated in May, 2002),
k. Eliminating many safeguards designed to prevent the potential for broad dissemination of unsubstantiated, incorrect or inappropriate information via law enforcement (Public Law 107-296, section 202; Department of Justice Rule amending 28 CFR Part 16 Privacy Act of 1974, March 24, 2003),
l. Allowing the Attorney General to override court decisions granting bond to immigrants seeking asylum, by requiring most immigrants to be jailed indefinitely without bond when "national security" risks exist (Interim Decision #3488, from John Ashcroft April 17, 2003),
m. Failing to ensure the accuracy of National Crime Information Center (NCIC) records (Department of Justice Order issued March 24, 2003, amending 28 CFR part 16, Privacy Act of 1974), and
WHEREAS, more than 400 communities throughout the country, the states of Hawaii; Alaska, Maine, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Vermont, have enacted, and the Oregon State Senate and New Mexico State House have passed resolutions reaffirming support for civil rights and civil liberties in the face of government policies that threaten these values, and demanding accountability from law enforcement agencies regarding their use of these new powers; and
WHEREAS, thousands of Washington citizens have signed petitions, asking local governments and organizations such as the Democratic Party of Washington to take a stand affirming the civil liberties and human rights of Washington residents,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Whatcom County Democrats (WCDCC):
1. Affirms its strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition to the UPA and related Executive and Department of Justice orders that infringe on important civil liberties, as cited above.
2. Calls upon all private citizens and organizations, including residents, employers, educators and business owners to demonstrate respect for civil rights and civil liberties.
3. Urges each public library to conduct a "privacy audit" to determine what paper and electronic records are kept that provide personally identifiable information concerning a patron's use of the library's facilities, including both Internet usage and usage of other materials in the library's collection. The audit should also determine the purpose for which such records are kept and the time period for which they are kept. Upon completion of the audit, the library shall adopt a records retention policy that minimizes the amount of time that any such personally identifiable information is retained by the library.
4. Encourages Police/Sheriff's Departments to:
a. Refuse to cooperate with any U.S. Attorney Office or FBI requests to participate in the exercise of powers that violate either the Washington or U.S. Constitution.
b. Refuse to conduct surveillance on individuals or groups of individuals based on their participation in protected First Amendment activities such as political advocacy or religious practice, without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
c. Refuse to collect or maintain information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership unless such information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activities, and there are reasonable grounds to suspect the subject of the information is or many be involved in criminal conduct.
d. Refrain from establishing a general surveillance network of video cameras, and refrain from deploying facial recognition technology or other unreliable biometric identification technology.
e. Refuse to stop drivers or pedestrians for the purpose of scrutinizing their identification documents without particularized suspicion of criminal activity.
5. Encourages public schools and institutions of higher learning to provide notice to individuals whose education records have been obtained by law enforcement agents, pursuant to section 507 of the UPA;
6. Encourages all City/County Managers to determine how the new federal powers are being used locally by making the following information public:
a. The names of all detainees that have been held in their City/County as a result of terrorism investigations, where they have been held, circumstances of detention, any changes, whether the detainee has been transferred or d eported, whether the detainee has legal representation, and the name of the attorney.
b. The number of times records have been requested from libraries and bookstores under the powers granted in the UPA.
c. The number of searches conducted under the powers granted in the UPA, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that her/his property has been searched (so-called "sneak and peek" or "black bag" searches).
d. The number of individuals who have been questioned in connection with terrorism investigations, and the race, ethnicity, and immigration status of those individuals.
e. The number of wiretaps utilized under the powers granted in the UPA.
f. The number of religious institutions, political rallies and political meetings attended by law enforcement without probable cause of criminal activity.
g. The number of residents being held in connection with civil immigration violations and the nationality of those being held.
h. The number of requests made to their Police Department or other city agencies for assistance with the execution of powers that violate either the Washington or U.S. Constitution.
i. The extent of electronic surveillance carried out in their City/County under powers granted in the UPA.
j. The number of times education records have been obtained from public schools and institutions of higher learning in their jurisdiction under section 507 of the UPA;
8. Urges all Washington City and County governments which have not done so already, to pass community resolutions taking a strong stand in support of our Bill of Rights, in order to influence Congress to restore our freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, and affirms the Democratic Party of Washington's support for such resolutions.
9. Will send a copy of this Resolution to Governor Gregoire, the Washington Attorney General and appropriate members of the State Legislature, accompanied by letters urging them to ensure that any policies implemented by the Legislature do not infringe on civil liberties as described in this Resolution, and urging them to take a public stand supporting a statewide resolution, executive order, or statewide initiative prohibiting the expenditure of state funds in support of the federal laws, regulations and policies described in this Resolution.
10. Urges the Washington Congressional delegation to:
a. Monitor federal anti-terrorism tactics,
b. Work to repeal the UPA, Homeland Security and other laws, regulations and federal orders that infringe on civil rights and liberties, such as exists in HR 3171,
c. Ensure that provisions of the UPA "sunset" in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and
d. Take a lead in Congressional action to prohibit passage of the Domestic Security enhancement Act, known as "Patriot II" an d/or any other new legislation that performs similar assaults on privacy, due process, increased government secrecy, and the checks and balances in government, including HR 3037 and S 113.
11. Will transmit a copy of this Resolution to President George W. Bush, US. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
(Date Passed 04/08/2006 by Whatcom County Democrats)
