Nothing Patriotic About It
The following appeared as a Guest Opinion in the Iowa City Press-Citizen
by David Leshtz
The U.S.
Congress will soon act to reauthorize expiring sections of the Patriot
Act, the law passed just days after 9/11. At the time, few Americans
were aware of the unprecedented expansion of the federal government's
secret search and surveillance powers.
A
conference committee is about to meet to reconcile two competing bills
in Congress. The bill passed by the Senate takes important steps to
restore checks and balances in our democratic process. It would help
the courts have the facts necessary to prevent secret investigations of
law-abiding Americans based on their beliefs. In contrast, the House
bill would do little to correct the threats to our civil liberties
found in the hastily passed Patriot Act.
For
example, under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI can get an order
from a secret court to collect personal information about American
citizens without providing any facts linking us individually to a
suspected foreign terrorist. This includes our medical records, hotel
receipts, gun ownership records and the Web sites we visit.
The
Senate bill, unlike the House bill, requires investigators to provide a
statement of facts and some link between the person whose records are
sought and a suspected terrorist. It gives businesses a more meaningful
opportunity to challenge a records request, compared with the House
bill. It also requires the FBI director to personally approve requests
for library and bookstore records, medical histories and gun ownership
records.
Reforms
to Section 215 are especially necessary because the law contains a
permanent gag order preventing the recipient from saying anything to
anyone about the request for sensitive personal records.
The
Patriot Act also allows for “sneak and peak” warrants, which allow
investigators to get a court order to secretly search your home or
business, download your computer files and seize your property without
telling you for months or longer. Sneak and peak warrants are not
limited to terrorism cases. The Justice Department recently admitted
that since 9/11, 88 percent of sneak and peak searches conducted under
this provision had nothing to do with terrorism.
The
Senate bill limits to seven days the amount of time investigators can
delay in telling you they searched your home or business. The House
bill allows investigators to delay notification for six months, with
extensions permitted.
As a
member of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, I am deeply worried.
History demonstrates that unchecked law enforcement powers inevitably
are used against those who are in the minority. FBI agents monitored
civil rights leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
thousands of other Americans before laws were reformed to try to
protect citizens from being spied upon for exercising their First
Amendment freedoms.
One
way this protection was enforced was to require the government to show
to a court specific facts warranting surveillance. The Patriot Act
stripped away this requirement for searches of personal records.
Members
of Congress from both parties are currently circulating “Dear Conferee”
letters asking lawmakers on the conference committee to support the
reforms in the Senate bill, rather than the House bill which makes the
Patriot Act worse.
Liberty and security
Voters
in the 2nd District who care about our freedoms should urge Rep. Jim
Leach to sign the Dear Conferee letter and support the gains made for
our liberty and security in the Senate bill. Our congressman's
leadership could help repair a piece of legislation that affects us all.
The
checks and balances in our Constitution were designed to ensure that
our government does not infringe on our fundamental freedoms. The
Patriot Act seriously weakened these structural protections. We need to
act now if we are to correct its worst excesses.
David Leshtz, a resident of Iowa City, has served on the Iowa Civil Rights Commission since 1999.
(source)
Blog For Iowa 