WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States is our charter of liberty and enshrines fundamental rights of Americans, including the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly, privacy and petitioning the government for a redress of grievances; AND
WHEREAS the preservation of these liberties is essential to the well-being of a democratic society; AND
WHEREAS federal, state and local governments should protect the public from terrorist attacks such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001, but should also do so in a rational and deliberative fashion to ensure that any new security measure enhances the public safety without impairing our Constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties; AND
WHEREAS Federal counter-terrorism policies adopted since September 11, 2001, in particular the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), and related executive orders threaten our civil liberties by:
a) limiting the traditional authority of federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations;
b) expanding the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called ""sneak and peek"" searches, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his property has been searched;
c) granting the law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal medical, financial, library, and education records with little if any judicial oversight;
d) permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chatrooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings of any kind without having evidence that a crime has been or may be committed;
e) authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere suspicion, and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the President as ""enemy combatants"" without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the federal courts; AND
WHEREAS 344 communities from across the country, including 45 from Massachusetts, have enacted resolutions, speaking out against these government actions, demanding accountability from local and federal government;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the town of Bridgewater that:
1. The town of Bridgewater and its elected and appointed officials affirm their strong opposition to terrorism, but also affirm that any actions to end terrorism must not be waged at the expense of the fundamental civil liberties, rights, and freedoms of the people of Bridgewater, the United States, or the world;
2. Bridgewater and its employees and instrumentalities shall continue to preserve residents' freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and privacy; the right to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, economic status, marital status, citizenship status, or disability and that law enforcement will not be used to gather information about residents engaged in lawful advocacy activities:
3. To the extent legally possible, no Bridgewater resources, including law enforcement funds and educational administrative resources, will be used for unconstitutional activities in whatever manner or under whatever circumstances they may be presented;
4. Bridgewater urges our State Representatives and Senators, and United States Representative and Senators to monitor the continuing implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act, and actively work for the repeal of those provisions that are found to unlawfully infringe on civil rights and liberties;
5. Bridgewater requests that the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General offer legal support to any public library, which is subject to a federal suit or administrative enforcement action for refusing to comply with the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act related to library patrons' records.
6. The Bridgewater Public Library should be instructed to post in a prominent place within the library a notice as follows: "WARNING: Under Section 215 of the federal USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), records of books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. This law also prohibits librarians from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you. Questions about this policy should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530
7. Copies of this resolution shall be sent to the President of the United States; the Attorney General of the United States; the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; the Governor of Massachusetts; and to each member of the Massachusetts delegation in Congress.