Community Resolution for Littleton, MA

Town of Littleton

ARTICLE 24:
The Town voted to take action to uphold its long and distinguished history of defending the civil liberties of its residents and all others within its boundaries by agreeing to the following Resolution to Protect Civil Liberties:
WHEREAS: The Citizens of Littleton, through its town meeting, hereby reaffirm the fundamental and unalienable civil liberties secured by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the U.S. Constitution for all people within the Town, including the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the due process of law; and
WHEREAS: Provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and associated federal executive orders are assaults on these long-cherished civil liberties in that they lesson citizens’ privacy.
a.) including certain “sneak and peek” provisions, which allow a citizens’ home and possessions to be searched without his knowledge either before or after the search.
b.) allowing the collection of information concerning individual citizens from private business records (including financial, medical, library readings, purchases) under orders of a secret court
c.) forbidding citizens who provide such information under such secret court order from speaking publicly about what they have been ordered to do
d.) permitting surveillance of individual e-mail and internet communications,
e.) allowing the sharing of such personal, private individual information among any number of government agencies and even foreign governments;

WHEREAS, be it resolved that:
1.) The Town of Littleton urge its elected representatives in the U.S. House and Senate to monitor the implementation of the Act and related executive orders, and to actively work for the repeal of those portions of the Act that violate civil liberties as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, particularly the rights to freedom of speech and assembly, due process of law, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to counsel and to confront accusers;

2.) The Town Meeting direct the Board of Selectmen, acting through the Town Administrator, to instruct the employees of the Town of Littleton and its schools to act in a manner scrupulously consistent with the civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution of
the United States and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Attest a True Copy

LINDA A. KNUPP,

Town Clerk