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Resolution #2004-37
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RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE PRINCIPLES
OF FEDERALISM AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
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WHEREAS, the National League of Cities (NLC) believes
there is no inherent conflict between national security
and the preservation of liberty, and affirms its strong
support of the rights of Americans to be both safe and free;
and
WHEREAS, NLC recognizes the Constitution of the
United States as our nation's charter of liberty, and that
the Bill of Rights enshrines the fundamental and inalienable
rights of America, including the freedoms of speech, religion,
assembly, privacy; and
WHEREAS, NLC has a distinguished record of upholding
the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and safeguarding
the freedoms and rights of American residents; and
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001, terrorists from
abroad attacked the U.S. by commandeering four commercial
airliners, and destroyed the World Trade Center in New York,
significantly damaged the Pentagon, and caused a jetliner
crash resulting in significant civilian casualties; and
WHEREAS, the terrorist attack was an attack on a
nation that is home to a diverse population and plunged
the nation into deep concern regarding its national security
and vulnerability to future attacks; and
WHEREAS, NLC condemns all terrorist acts wherever
occurring; and
WHEREAS, NLC believes that efforts to prevent and
respond to acts of terrorism require extensive coordination,
cooperation, and accountability among the federal, state,
and local level; and
WHEREAS, NLC recognizes that protecting our citizens
against future terrorist attacks requires the federal government
to aggressively pursue potential terrorists but these efforts
to combat terrorism should not disproportionately infringe
on the essential civil rights and liberties of the people
of the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, the prevention of future terrorists attacks
is a critical national priority, but it is equally important
to preserve the fundamental civil liberties and personal
freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights over 200 years ago,
and which have been preserved through a constant vigilance
against periodic threats to its principles; and
WHEREAS, in response to the terrorist attacks, on
October 26, 2001, the U.S. Congress passed, and President
Bush signed into law, the USA PATRIOT Act, an acronym for
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,"
by a Senate vote of 98-1 and House of Representative vote
of 357-66; and
WHEREAS, NLC believes that a number of provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act threaten fundamental rights and civil
liberties, including: Section 213 which permits law enforcement
to perform searches with no one present and to delay notification
of the search of a citizen's home;
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- Section 215 which permits the FBI Director to seek
records from bookstores and libraries including books
of patrons based on minimal evidence of wrongdoing and
prohibits librarians and bookstore employees from disclosing
the fact that they have been ordered to produce such
documents;" Section 218 which amends the "probable
cause" requirement before conducting secret searches
or surveillance to obtain evidence of a crime;
-
Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508 which permit law
enforcement authorities to have broad access to sensitive
mental health, library, business, financial, and educational
records despite the existence of previously adopted
state and federal laws which were intended to strengthen
the protection of these types of records;
-
Sections 411 and 412 which give the Secretary of
State broad powers to designate domestic groups as
"terrorist organizations" and the Attorney
General power to subject immigrants to indefinite
detention or deportation even if no crime has been
committed; and
-
Sections 507 and 508 which impose an unfunded mandate
on state and local public universities who must collect
information on students that may be of interest to
the Attorney General.
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| WHEREAS, municipal government budgets across the
nation are strained and these added duties constitute unfunded
mandates on cities police departments, libraries, universities,
etc. that cities cannot financially absorb; and
WHEREAS, new legislation has been drafted entitled
the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) (also known
as PATRIOT II) which contains numerous new sweeping law
enforcement and intelligence gathering powers, many of which
are not related to terrorism, and which would severely dilute,
if not undermine, many basic constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS, in response to the threats against civil
liberties embodied in certain provisions of the PATRIOT
ACT, legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate
that would roll back certain provisions of the PATRIOT ACT.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that NLC supports
the U.S. campaign against terrorism, but NLC affirms its
commitment to the U.S. Constitution and respective state
constitutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC urges the President,
and executive branch members to review, revise and rescind
executive orders and policies adopted since the terrorist
attacks, that limit or compromise the liberties guaranteed
by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC strongly urges the
U.S. Congress to amend the PATRIOT ACT in order to restore
and protect our nation's fundamental and inalienable rights
and liberties; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC supports the "Freedom
to Read Protection Act of 2003" that would reinstate
legal standards for libraries and bookstores and the Protecting
the Rights of Individuals Act which would require a court
order before conducting electronic surveillance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC supports the sunset
of key provisions of the PATRIOT Act and increased Congressional
oversight over the role of the agencies responsible for
enforcing the law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC calls on Congress,
the Department of Homeland Security, and other related agencies
to partner with cities to protect our hometowns while simultaneously
preserving the liberties of Americans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution
be forwarded to the U.S. President, the U.S. Attorney General,
and to each member of Congress.
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NJLM - Resolution #2004-37
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|
Resolution #2004-37
|
|
RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE PRINCIPLES
OF FEDERALISM AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
|
|
WHEREAS, the National League of Cities (NLC) believes
there is no inherent conflict between national security
and the preservation of liberty, and affirms its strong
support of the rights of Americans to be both safe and free;
and
WHEREAS, NLC recognizes the Constitution of the
United States as our nation's charter of liberty, and that
the Bill of Rights enshrines the fundamental and inalienable
rights of America, including the freedoms of speech, religion,
assembly, privacy; and
WHEREAS, NLC has a distinguished record of upholding
the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and safeguarding
the freedoms and rights of American residents; and
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001, terrorists from
abroad attacked the U.S. by commandeering four commercial
airliners, and destroyed the World Trade Center in New York,
significantly damaged the Pentagon, and caused a jetliner
crash resulting in significant civilian casualties; and
WHEREAS, the terrorist attack was an attack on a
nation that is home to a diverse population and plunged
the nation into deep concern regarding its national security
and vulnerability to future attacks; and
WHEREAS, NLC condemns all terrorist acts wherever
occurring; and
WHEREAS, NLC believes that efforts to prevent and
respond to acts of terrorism require extensive coordination,
cooperation, and accountability among the federal, state,
and local level; and
WHEREAS, NLC recognizes that protecting our citizens
against future terrorist attacks requires the federal government
to aggressively pursue potential terrorists but these efforts
to combat terrorism should not disproportionately infringe
on the essential civil rights and liberties of the people
of the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, the prevention of future terrorists attacks
is a critical national priority, but it is equally important
to preserve the fundamental civil liberties and personal
freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights over 200 years ago,
and which have been preserved through a constant vigilance
against periodic threats to its principles; and
WHEREAS, in response to the terrorist attacks, on
October 26, 2001, the U.S. Congress passed, and President
Bush signed into law, the USA PATRIOT Act, an acronym for
"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,"
by a Senate vote of 98-1 and House of Representative vote
of 357-66; and
WHEREAS, NLC believes that a number of provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act threaten fundamental rights and civil
liberties, including: Section 213 which permits law enforcement
to perform searches with no one present and to delay notification
of the search of a citizen's home;
|
- Section 215 which permits the FBI Director to seek
records from bookstores and libraries including books
of patrons based on minimal evidence of wrongdoing and
prohibits librarians and bookstore employees from disclosing
the fact that they have been ordered to produce such
documents;" Section 218 which amends the "probable
cause" requirement before conducting secret searches
or surveillance to obtain evidence of a crime;
-
Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508 which permit law
enforcement authorities to have broad access to sensitive
mental health, library, business, financial, and educational
records despite the existence of previously adopted
state and federal laws which were intended to strengthen
the protection of these types of records;
-
Sections 411 and 412 which give the Secretary of
State broad powers to designate domestic groups as
"terrorist organizations" and the Attorney
General power to subject immigrants to indefinite
detention or deportation even if no crime has been
committed; and
-
Sections 507 and 508 which impose an unfunded mandate
on state and local public universities who must collect
information on students that may be of interest to
the Attorney General.
|
| WHEREAS, municipal government budgets across the
nation are strained and these added duties constitute unfunded
mandates on cities police departments, libraries, universities,
etc. that cities cannot financially absorb; and
WHEREAS, new legislation has been drafted entitled
the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) (also known
as PATRIOT II) which contains numerous new sweeping law
enforcement and intelligence gathering powers, many of which
are not related to terrorism, and which would severely dilute,
if not undermine, many basic constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS, in response to the threats against civil
liberties embodied in certain provisions of the PATRIOT
ACT, legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate
that would roll back certain provisions of the PATRIOT ACT.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that NLC supports
the U.S. campaign against terrorism, but NLC affirms its
commitment to the U.S. Constitution and respective state
constitutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC urges the President,
and executive branch members to review, revise and rescind
executive orders and policies adopted since the terrorist
attacks, that limit or compromise the liberties guaranteed
by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC strongly urges the
U.S. Congress to amend the PATRIOT ACT in order to restore
and protect our nation's fundamental and inalienable rights
and liberties; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC supports the "Freedom
to Read Protection Act of 2003" that would reinstate
legal standards for libraries and bookstores and the Protecting
the Rights of Individuals Act which would require a court
order before conducting electronic surveillance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC supports the sunset
of key provisions of the PATRIOT Act and increased Congressional
oversight over the role of the agencies responsible for
enforcing the law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NLC calls on Congress,
the Department of Homeland Security, and other related agencies
to partner with cities to protect our hometowns while simultaneously
preserving the liberties of Americans; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution
be forwarded to the U.S. President, the U.S. Attorney General,
and to each member of Congress.
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