Whereas the rights and liberties of the residents of Charlemont protected by the Constitutions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America include:

a) Freedom of speech and assembly
b) The right to privacy
c) The right to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings
d) Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures
e) The right to be notified of charges against us, and

Whereas the Constitutions' protections of Charlemont residents are threatened under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and certain Executive Orders which authorize:

a) Monitoring our telephone, internet, library use, video rentals, book and grocery purchases, banking and medical records and other activities, without notification or evidence of criminal behavior, with minimal judicial oversight; (Sections 215/505)
b) Detaining Charlemont residents without bringing legal charges and denying their right to counsel; (Sections 411/412)
c) Spying on domestic organizations without evidence of wrongdoing, designating organizations as ""terrorists"" without evidence of intent to act against the United States, and deporting non-citizen Charlemont residents who contribute to these organizations, even if they are unaware of the ""terrorist"" designation; (Sections 411, 412, 505, 802)
d) Conducting secret military tribunals without fundamental legal protections for the accused; (Executive Order of Nov. 13, 2001)
e) Secretly searching the homes of Charlemont residents in our absence; (Section 213)
f) Using unregulated ethnic profiling of individuals;

Therefore we the citizens of Charlemont, Massachusetts do hereby request:

1) That local law enforcement officials uphold the United States Constitution by continuing to preserve residents' freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and privacy; rights to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures-- even if requested or authorized to infringe upon these rights by anyone acting under the new powers granted by the USA PATRIOT Act or orders from the executive branch;

2) That our local officials, the U. S. Attorney General's Office, the Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Massachusetts State Police report publicly and in a timely fashion to the Select Board of the Town of Charlemont any ways in which they have acted in Charlemont under the USA PATRIOT Act or new executive orders, including disclosing the names of any Charlemont residents detained here or elsewhere;

3) That our Congressional Representatives and our Senators monitor the implementation of the Acts and Orders cited herein; that they vote against any attempt to make the USA PATRIOT Act permanent; and that they actively work for the repeal of those parts of the Acts and Orders that violate our fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the Constitutions of the Commonwealth and the United States.