LWVUS STATEMENT ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
The League strongly believes that basic civil liberties must be preserved and protected as the nation seeks to guard against terrorism and other threats to national security. Of particular concern are the impact of provisions of the 2001 USA Patriot Act, possible changes to the protective sunset provisions of that Act, and Administration proposals for a new Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA), also known as Patriot Act II.
The USA PATRIOT Act contains sunset provisions that limit certain parts of the Act to five years duration, giving Congress and the country time to assess the impact of the Act on individual rights. The League opposes any congressional efforts to eliminate these sunset provisions.
Last fall, a number of bills were introduced to address some of the excesses in the USA Patriot Act. The League supports the Freedom to Read Protection Act, H.R. 1157, sponsored by Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT). It also supports S.1158, the Library and Bookseller Protection Act, sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), which would ensure that libraries and bookstores are subjected to the regular system of court ordered warrants. The League supports as well the Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Acts (S. 1709 and H.R. 3352), which address some of the most problematic provisions of the Patriot Act by limiting "sneak and peek" warrants, by requiring evidence that a suspect is a spy or foreign agent before business records may be searched, and through other measures.
There are fundamental principles that guard our liberty -- from independent judicial review of law enforcement actions to prohibitions on indiscriminate searches -- that must be preserved. Basic civil liberties must be protected as the nation seeks to guard against terrorism and other threats to national security.
--LWVUS
