PASSED December 2, 2002, by a vote of 10 to 2, with 2 absent:
A Resolution Relating to the USA PATRIOT Act and the Protection of Burlington Residents' Civil Rights and Liberties
Sponsors: Doug Dunbebin and Richard Kemp
Agenda: Deliberative
That WHEREAS, in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the United States Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001; and
WHEREAS, many residents of Burlington and other communities across the nation are concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act threatens our civil rights and liberties by:
1. greatly expanding the government's ability to conduct secret searches (section 213);
2. all but eliminating judicial supervision of telephone and internet surveillance (section 216);
3. granting unchecked power to the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" (section 411);
4. 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);
5. giving law enforcement officials broad access to sensitive medical, mental health, library, business, financial, educational, and other records about individuals without first showing probable cause or evidence of a crime (sections 215, 218, 358, and 508);
6. placing the CIA back in the business of spying on Americans (sections 203 and 901); and
WHEREAS, our civil rights and liberties are further threatened by orders and rules of the executive branch that:
7. establish secret military tribunals for terrorism suspects (Military Order, Nov. 13, 2001);
8. permit wiretapping of conversations between federal prisoners and their lawyers (28 CFR 501.3);
9. revise Justice Department guidelines against illegal COINTELPRO-type operations -- covert activities that in the past targeted domestic groups and individuals (Attorney General's guidelines and procedures relating to criminal investigations and national security, issued May 30, 2002);
10. 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, http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2001foiapost19.htm); and
WHEREAS, communities across the country -- including Berkeley, California; Santa Cruz, California; Boulder, Colorado; Denver, Colorado; Alachua County, Florida; Amherst, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Leverett, Massachusetts; Northhampton, Massachusetts; Takoma Park, Maryland; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Carrboro, North Carolina; Madison, Wisconsin -- have passed resolutions opposing those parts of the USA PATRIOT Act and the associated orders and rules that threaten our civil liberties; and
WHEREAS, librarians from Fletcher Free Library, University of Vermont, Community College of Vermont and other local libraries are concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act undermines Burlington residents' constitutionally guaranteed right to read and access information without governmental intrusion or interference; and
WHEREAS, members of the Fletcher Free Library Commission voted unanimously to support and encourage adoption of this resolution and the Vermont Library Association has adopted an open letter to Vermont's Congressional Delegation requesting that legislation be introduced to eliminate provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act that undermine these constitutionally guaranteed rights; and
WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act and the associated orders and rules of the executive branch have been used to target foreign nationals and people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, and also threaten the rights of any U.S. citizen acting and speaking legally in opposition to government policy; and
WHEREAS, the City of Burlington's full-time resident and student population includes foreign nationals, people of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, and other law-abiding residents who may be unfairly targeted under the USA PATRIOT Act; and
WHEREAS, the City of Burlington is committed to protecting and upholding the civil rights and liberties of all persons in Burlington as expressed in the United States and Vermont State Constitutions.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Burlington affirms the civil rights granted to all of its residents - U.S. citizens and citizens of other nations alike -- in accordance with the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Burlington City Council encourages the Burlington Police Department to continue its policy of:
· respecting and protecting freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and privacy;
· guaranteeing the right to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings;
· prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Burlington requests that federal and state law enforcement officials acting within the City work cooperatively with the Burlington Police Department, and abide by the Department's policies prohibiting racial profiling and detentions without charges, and regularly and publicly report to the City the extent and manner in which they have acted under the USA PATRIOT Act or the associated orders and rules of the executive branch, including names of any detainees held in the region or any Burlington residents detained elsewhere; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Burlington requests that Vermont's Congressional delegation monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and the associated orders and rules of the executive branch and actively work for the repeal of those portions of the Act and those orders and rules that violate the rights and liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the city clerk communicate this resolution to Vermont's Congressional Delegation, the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Vermont, Burlington's Chief of Police, the local U.S. Attorney's office, the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Vermont State Police.