The USA PATRIOT Act and related government actions undercut many important checks and balances on government law enforcement and intelligence powers.
Under this Act and other Administration actions that were taken without congressional involvement, the government can search your home without notifying you, can get a list of the books you have obtained from your library and your local bookstore and require your local librarian and bookseller to keep this hidden from you, can keep a file on how often you go to church, which churches you attend and the medications you use -- even if these activities have nothing to do with the fight against terrorism .
We should provide law enforcement with necessary tools to fight terrorism, but the USA PATRIOT Act and related government actions also gave the government many new powers that go beyond the fight against terrorism. Parts of the USA PATRIOT Act and other government actions take away checks on law enforcement and threaten the very rights and freedoms that we are waging the war on terror to protect.
This expansion of government powers has resulted in a significant groundswell from across the political spectrum - resolutions opposing the Patriot Act have been passed in 367 communities in 43 states including four state-wide resolutions. These communities represent approximately 55.2 million people who oppose sections of the USA Patriot Act.
Take Action! Urge your Members of Congress to support corrections to the USA PATRIOT Act and other domestic surveillance powers. Congress must act to ensure government powers adhere to the Bill of Rights.
The government can now use a special intelligence court to collect information about the books you read, your purchases and your personal finances.
Government agents can now obtain many types of your personal records -- educational, medical, financial, sales, library, etc. -- even if they have no probable cause of a crime. In fact, the PATRIOT Act prohibits the holders of that information, such as librarians, from disclosing that these records were turned over to the government.
The PATRIOT Act allows the government to search your home and not even tell you.
The law allows law enforcement agents to conduct secret "sneak and peek" searches of your home. Investigators can enter your home or office, take pictures and seize items without informing you that a warrant was issued for a very long time -- if ever.
Spying on innocent Americans.
The PATRIOT Act and changes to government investigative guidelines permit a vast array of information on U.S. citizens to be collected and shared with the CIA (and other non-law enforcement officials) without proper judicial oversight or other safeguards. This law effectively puts the CIA back in the business of spying on Americans.
TAKE ACTION!