Albuquerque, NM Resolution

CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
FIFTEENTH COUNCIL

RESOLUTION
REAFFIRMING THE BILL OF RIGHTS, SUPPORTING CIVIL RIGHTS AND DENOUNCING TERRORISM IN THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO.

WHEREAS, the City Council of Albuquerque strongly denounces terrorism and acknowledges that federal, state and local governments should protect the public from such terrorist attacks, but should do so in a rational and deliberative fashion to ensure that any new security measure enhances public safety without impairing constitutional rights or infringing upon civil liberties; and

WHEREAS, there is no inherent conflict between national security and the preservation of liberty, and that government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do damage to American institutions and values that the residents of Albuquerque hold dear; and

WHEREAS, the City Council honored the memory of victims of the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, through City Council Memorial 01-27, by denouncing acts of violence and intolerance against all people and affirming the civil rights of people of all ethnic and ideological backgrounds; and

WHEREAS, the City Council has committed to upholding the human rights of all persons in Albuquerque and their free exercise and enjoyment of all civil rights and liberties, which are pillars of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, the City of Albuquerque has a long and distinguished tradition of celebrating the diversity of its population, including immigrants and students whose contributions to the community are vital to its culture and civic character; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of Albuquerque are governed by the Constitutions of the United States and the State of New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, many residents of Albuquerque and other communities across the nation are concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) may threaten our civil liberties by: a) greatly expanding the government's ability to conduct secret searches with no sunset provision or expiration date attached (section 213), b) compromising judicial supervision of telephone and internet surveillance (section 216), c) allowing the Attorney General to subject non-citizens to indefinite detention or deportation, even if they have not committed a crime (sections 411 and 412) and to single out civil rights advocates even if their dissenting activism is peaceful; d) giving law enforcement officials broad access to sensitive medical, library, business, financial, educational, and other records on individuals without first demonstrating probable cause or evidence of a crime (sections 215, 218, 358, and 508); and e) authorizing the CIA to resume spying on Americans (sections 203 and 901); and

WHEREAS, our civil rights and liberties may be threatened by orders and rules of the executive branch that: a) revise Justice Department guidelines against illegal covert domestic information gathering and counterintelligence activities which, in the past, had targeted domestic groups and individuals (Attorney General's guidelines and procedures relating to criminal investigations and national security, issued May 30, 2002); and b) limit the disclosure of public documents and records under the Freedom of Information Act (""Memorandum for Heads of All Federal Departments and Agencies,"" Attorney General John Ashcroft, Oct. 12, 2001); and

WHEREAS, more than 138 cities, towns and counties, and three states throughout the nation have passed resolutions opposing those parts of the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) and recent executive decisions and rules that threaten our civil liberties.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:

Section 1. That the City of Albuquerque affirms the civil rights granted to all persons in accordance with the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution, and the New Mexico State Constitution.

Section 2. That, to the extent legally possible, no City employee or department shall officially assist or voluntarily cooperate with investigations, interrogations, or arrest procedures, public or clandestine, that are in violation of individuals' civil rights or civil liberties as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, the United States Constitution, and the Constitution of the State of New Mexico.

Section 3. That the Albuquerque City Council requests the Director of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System to notify all library users of the federally mandated change in library policy, permitting that their personal library records may be obtained by the federal government under the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56). This notification will be in the form of signs posted at each library branch.

Section 4. That our federal congressional delegation is petitioned to actively monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), any new Executive Orders or new regulations related to covert domestic information gathering and/or counterintelligence activities, and actively work for the repeal of those provisions that violate the civil liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Section 5. That the City Clerk provide this resolution to Albuquerque's Chief of Police, New Mexico's Congressional delegation, the Governor and Attorney General of the State of New Mexico, the New Mexico State Police, local U.S. Attorney's office, the regional office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any other federal intelligence-gathering or investigative agencies that are possibly involved or could become involved in the U.S. PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), any new Executive Orders or new regulations related to covert domestic information gathering and/or counter-intelligence activities.