Approved by: Silver City Town Council
Relating to the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), the Bill of Rights, the Constitution of the State of Nevada and the civil liberties, peace, and security of the citizens of our country and the world.
BE IT RESOLVED BY SILVER CITY, NEVADA:
WHEREAS Silver City recognizes the Constitution of the United States as the governing law of the land and the Bill of Rights as guaranteeing inalienable rights of Americans, including the freedoms of religion, speech, the press, assembly, privacy, and petitioning the Government for redress of grievances; and
WHEREAS each of Silver City's duly elected public servants has sworn to defend and uphold the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Nevada; and
WHEREAS Silver City denounces and condemns all acts of terrorism, wherever occurring; and
WHEREAS any new security measures resulting from the attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001 should be carefully designed and employed by federal, state, and local governments to enhance public safety without infringing on the civil liberties and rights of innocent citizens of Silver City, the nation, or the world; and
WHEREAS certain provisions of the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001", also known as the USA PATRIOT Act, as well as several executive orders, allow the federal government to conduct surveillance on and detain citizens and foreign nationals without adequate constitutional safeguards; and
WHEREAS further provisions contained in the draft legislation entitled the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003", also known as Patriot Act II, and the draft legislation entitled the "Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003", also known as the VICTORY Act, contain a multitude of new and sweeping extra-constitutional law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Silver City affirms its strong opposition to terrorism, but also affirms that any efforts to end terrorism not be waged at the expense of the fundamental civil liberties, rights, and freedoms of the people of Silver City, the United States, or the world; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the policy of Silver City to oppose any portion of the USA PATRIOT Act that would violate the rights and liberties guaranteed equally under the state and federal constitutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in accordance with Nevada state or Lyon county policy, Silver City calls upon the Lyon County Commission as well as the duly elected Sheriff to publicly clarify that an agency or instrumentality of Lyon County will not without probable cause:
(1) initiate, participate in, assist or cooperate with any inquiry, investigation, surveillance, or detention;
(2) record, file, or share intelligence information concerning a person or organization, including library lending and research records, book and video store sales and rental records, medical records, financial records, student records, and other personal data, even if authorized under the USA PATRIOT Act;
(3) retain such intelligence information; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Silver City calls upon the Lyon County Commission as well as the duly elected Sheriff to publicly clarify that it will not:
(1) use state, county, or city resources or institutions for the enforcement of
federal immigration matters, which are the responsibility of the federal government;
(2) collect or maintain information about the political, religious, or social views, associations, or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business, or partnership, unless the information directly relates to an investigation of criminal activities based on probable cause, not mere suspicion of criminal conduct;
(3) engage in racial, religious, or ethnic profiling nor use national origin or any other identifiable characteristic(s) as factors in selecting individuals or groups to target for investigation except when race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin is part of the description of a specific suspect; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Silver City implores the United States Congress to repeal any provision of the USA PATRIOT Act or other measures that infringe on civil liberties, and opposes any pending and future legislation that similarly infringe on civil rights and liberties.
COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States; the Honorable Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States; the Honorable Kenny Guinn, Governor of Nevada; Majority Floor Leader of the Nevada State Senate, William Raggio; Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly, Richard Perkins; Bob Milz, Chet Hillyard, Don H. Tibbals, Leroy Goodman, Phyllis Hunewill of the Lyon County Commissioners; and to the Honorable Harry Reid and the Honorable John Ensign, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Jim Gibbons, Honorable Shelley Berkley, and the Honorable Jon Porter, U.S. Representatives, members of the Nevada delegation in Congress.