Sunset Valley, TX Resolution

RESOLUTION NO. 090203

WHEREAS, the City of Sunset Valley its citizens are governed by the United States Constitution which includes the Bill of Rights, and Texas State Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the City of Sunset Valley is proud of its long and distinguished tradition of protecting the civil rights and liberties of its residents; and

WHEREAS, the preservation of civil rights and liberties is essential to the well being a democratic society; and

WHEREAS, federal, state, and local governments should protect the public from terrorist attacks such as those which occurred on September 11, 2001 and should do so rationally and deliberatively, to insure that security measures s hall enhance public safety without impairing or modifying constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties; and

WHEREAS, government security measures which undermine fundamental rights do intrinsic damage to American traditions, institutions and values that residents of Sunset Valley hold dear; and

WHEREAS, there is no inherent or insurmountable conflict between national security and the preservation of liberty and that Americans can be both safe and free; and

WHEREAS, fundamental rights granted by the United States Constitution are threated by actions taken at the federal level, notably by passage of certain sections of the ""U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act"", other acts and executive orders which, among other things:

Grant potential unchecked powers to the Attorney General and the U.S. Secretary of State to designate legal domestic groups as ""terrorist organizations"" by overly broad definitions, and implying restrictions to Constitutionally protected First Amendment rights of speech and assembly by reference, such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion; while lifting administrative regulations on covert, surveillance counter-intelligence operations;

Violate the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution through the expansion of the government's ability to wiretap telephones, monitor e-mail communications, survey medical, financial and student records, and secretly enter homes and offices without customary administrative oversight or without showing probable cause;

Give law enforcement expanded authority to obtain library records, and prohibits librarians from informing patrons of monitoring or information requests;

Violate the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution in establishing secret military tribunals, and in subjecting citizens and non-citizens to secret arrests, to indefinite detention without being allowed an attorney, without being brought to trial, and without even being charged with a crime;

Authorize eavesdropping on confidential communication between lawyers and their clients in federal custody; and

WHEREAS, the City of Sunset Valley adheres to the principle that no law enforcement agency, or any other City agency, may profile or discriminate against any person solely on the basis of ancestry, race, ethnic or national origin, color, age, sexual orientation, gender, religion, physical or mental disability; or socio-economic status; and

WHEREAS, new legislation has been drafted by the Federal Administration entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA, also known as Patriot II) which contains a multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers, many of which are not related to terrorism, that would severely dilute, if not undermine, many basic constitutional rights, as well as disturb our unique system of checks and balances; and

WHEREAS, the provisions of the proposed act would represent a fundamental change from the Constitutional framework of separation of powers of the branches of government; and

WHEREAS, the proposed act would remove numerous protective walls between government agencies, erected by statute and regulation to correct pas abuses; NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNSET VALLEY, TEXAS, THAT

1. Our Congressional Members preserve the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, preserve balance of power between three branches of government, preserve the protections against government intrusion into lawful citizen activity, and preserve the distinction between law enforcement and foreign intelligence operations.
2. Any consideration of the ""Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003"" (or similar legislation by another name) be carried out with a full schedule of public hearings and congressional debate, with congressional oversight and responsibility. Congress must be accountable for such sweeping changes to the fundamental structures of our laws. The light of public scrutiny will help protect our civil liberties and human rights from further damage.

PASSED AND APPROVED THIS THE 2nd day of September, 2003