Community Resolution for West Tisbury, MA

The Meeting was called to order by the Moderator at 7: 10pm who declared a presence of a quorum, there being 299 qualified voters present (15%). All Articles were duly moved, seconded and voted upon. There were two floor amendments. The Meeting was adjourned at 11:25pm.

WEST TISBURY
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

WARRANT FOR
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING

County of Dukes County, SS
To Either of the Constables of the Town of West Tisbury,

GREETINGS:

In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are hereby directed to notify and warn the inhabitants of West Tisbury qualified to vote in elections and in Town affairs to meet in the West Tisbury Elementary School, Old County Road, in said Town on Tuesday the thirteenth day of April, two thousand and four, at seven o'clock in the evening; then and there to act on the articles of this Warrant.

ARTICLE 41: RESOLUTION FOR WEST TISBURY ON THE PATRIOT ACT

WHEREAS the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Massachusetts ensure that every person has the right to freedom of speech and association. Every person has the right to freedom of religion. Every person has the right to assembly and privacy. Every person has the right to due process in judicial proceedings. Every person has the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Stops or arrests may not be made without establishing reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed. Every person has the right to equal protection under the law and the right not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

WHEREAS there is strong evidence that these guarantees are threatened by parts of the USA PATRIOT Act, related legislation, and Federal Executive orders which allow: a) detaining citizens and residents of West Tisbury without bringing legal charges and denying their right to counsel; b) monitoring their telephone, internet and library use, video rentals, book andgrocery purchases, financial transactions, medical records and other activities without evidence of criminal behavior and without a court order; c) spying on domestic organizations without evidence of wrongdoing, designating organizations as ""terrorist"" without evidence of intent, to act against the US and deporting citizens and residents who contribute to these organizations even if they are unaware of the ""terrorist"" designation d) conducting secret military tribunals without fundamental legal protections; e) secretly searching the homes of residents and citizens of West Tisbury when they are absent; and f) profiling individuals according to their ethnicity.

WHEREAS the people of West Tisbury are joining over 233 cities and towns in the US in affirming strong opposition to those parts of the USA PATRIOT Act, related legislation and acts, and to certain Justice Department directives and executive orders that weaken or destroy our constitutional civil rights and liberties.

BE 1792 RESOLVED that the Town of West Tisbury should employ all possible leverage to ensure that Federal and State law enforcement officials working on the Island not engage, to the extent legally permissible, in law enforcement activities that threaten our civil rights and civil liberties, such as surveillance, wiretaps, and securing private information, which the USA PATRIOT Act and related legislation and acts authorize.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the people of West Tisbury request that our United States Congressional representatives monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT ACT and related legislation, acts, and executive orders, and actively work for the repeal of the parts of those documents that violate fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Massachusetts, in the United Nations Charter, and the ratified International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Town Clerk communicate this resolution to all Town departments, the Genera] Court, the Governor and Attorney
General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, the US Attorney General, the President of the United States and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. (By Petition)
(NO ACTION)
PASSED