RESOLUTION NO. 3935
A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF ALL RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF OXFORD
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OXFORD, BUTLER COUNTY, STATE OF OHIO, THAT:
SECTION 1: The City of Oxford, with a diverse population vital to its character and function, has a long history of protecting and expanding the civil rights and civil liberties of its residents.
SECTION 2: The Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution guarantee those living in the United States the following rights: freedom of speech, religion, assembly and privacy; equality before the law and the presumption of innocence; access to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
SECTION 3: The City of Oxford believes these civil liberties are precious and appear to be threatened by certain provisions of an act entitled ""Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism"" (the USA PATRIOT Act), passed by the Congress on October 26, 2001-including those provisions that: reduce judicial supervision of telephone and internet surveillance; expand the government's ability to conduct secret searches without warrants; expand the authority of federal agents to conduct searches in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his/her property has been searched; grant power to the U.S. Attorney General to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations; grant power to the U.S. Attorney General to subject non-citizens to indefinite detention or deportation even if they have not committed a crime; grant the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) access to sensitive medical, mental health, financial and educational records about individuals without having to show libraries and bookstores to produce circulation or purchase records of their patrons and forbids disclosure that such records have been requested and produced.
SECTION 4: Oxford City Council affirms its strong opposition to terrorism, but also affirms that any efforts to end terrorism should not be waged at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of the people of the City of Oxford and the United States, in the belief that a threat to any one person's Constitutional rights is a threat to the rights to all.
SECTION 5: The City of Oxford has been and remains committed to the protection of civil rights and liberties for all citizens of Oxford, Members of the Oxford City Council, loyal to their oaths to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Ohio, affirm the rights of all people, citizen and non-citizen alike, within the City in accordance with the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.
SECTION 6: Oxford City Council calls upon all City officials and employees to respect the civil rights and liberties of all members of this community, and reaffirms the law enforcement policies and procedures of the City of Oxford that are based on (1) unbiased policing of the community without regard to the race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or regard to the race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or political values or associations of individuals, and (2) the requirement of showing probable cause for any inquiry, investigation, surveillance or detention of individuals.
SECTION 7: Oxford City Council calls upon all private citizens-including residents, employers, educators, and business owners to demonstrate similar respect for civil rights and liberties, and asks (a) the public schools and the institution of higher learning within Oxford to provide notice to individuals whose education records have been obtained by law enforcement under the USA PATRIOT Act, and (b) the public library to post notice informing library patrons that their records may be obtained by federal agents under the USA PATRIOT Act, and (c) libraries and local businesses, in order to protect privacy rights, and to refrain when possible from keeping records that identify the names of patrons.
SECTION 8: Oxford City Council calls upon our United States Congressional Representatives and Senators to monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and Executive Orders issued pursuant to the Act, to review the USA PATRIOT Act for areas of conflicts with the U.S. Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights, and to work actively for the repeal of those portions of the Act and those Orders that conflict with fundamental rights and liberties guaranteed by the United States and Ohio Constitutions.
SECTION 9: The City Manager is therefore directed to provide copies of this resolution to the City's U.S. Congressional Representative and Senators, the City's State Representative and Senator, the United States Attorney General, the President of the United State, the Miami University administration, the Talawanda School District administration, the Lane Public Library, and business in Oxford.
SECTION 10: This resolution shall take effect at the earliest date allowed by law.