City of Lancaster Resolution

Preservation of Civil Liberties Resolution – USAPATRIOT Act

For the purpose of defending the civil liberties and civil rights of all individuals living in the City of Lancaster in the State of California.

WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster recognizes the Constitution of the United States of America to be the supreme law of the land, which all public servants are sworn to uphold; and

WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster greatly benefits from the many contributions of its highly diverse population which includes people from around the world, and is vital to our city's unique character; and

WHEREAS, government security measures that undermine fundamental rights do damage to the American institutions and values that the residents of the City of Lancaster hold dear; and

WHEREAS the City Council of the City of Lancaster believes that there is no inherent conflict between national security and the preservation of liberty – Americans can be both safe and free; and

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution guarantees all persons living in the United States certain fundamental rights including freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and privacy; protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; due process and equal protection; and access to counsel, presumption of innocence and a fair, speedy, public trial; and

WHEREAS, a great crime against humanity occurred on September 11, 2001, resulting in new federal laws and enforcement powers, including the USAPATRIOT Act signed by President George W. Bush on October 25, 2001; and

WHEREAS, the USAPATRIOT Act was written to respond to the attack on our nation, it weakens, contradicts, and undermines the basic constitutional rights outlined above. The USAPATRIOT Act, a 342 page document, was hastily enacted in six weeks without public hearings, or a Congressional "mark-up"; and

WHEREAS federal policies adopted since September 11, 2001, including provisions in the USAPATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) and related executive orders, regulations and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties by;

a) Authorizing the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere suspicion, and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated by the President as "enemy combatants" without access to counsel or meaningful recourse to the federal courts;

b) Limiting the traditional authority of federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic surveillance in anti-terrorism investigations and ordinary criminal investigations;

c) Expanding the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called "sneak and peak" or "black bag" searches, in which the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his property has been searched;

d) Granting law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to personal medical, financial, library, and education records with little if any judicial oversight;

e) Chilling constitutionally protected speech through overbroad definitions of "terrorism";

f) Driving a wedge between immigrant communities and the police that protect them by encouraging involvement of state and local police in enforcement of federal immigration law;

g) Permitting the FBI to conduct surveillance of religious services, internet chat rooms, political demonstrations, and other public meetings of any kind without having any evidence that a crime has or may be committed;

WHEREAS these expanded powers have and will pose a particular threat to the civil rights and liberties of the residents of our city. Powers granted by Congress to government agencies are seldom retracted and government agencies including the Defense, State, and Justice Departments which have been granted greater surveillance and investigative powers under the USAPATRIOT Act in 2001 may not be willing to abandon those powers by 2005, and therefore these agencies along with the Administration may seek to amend, adjust, or repeal the sunset provisions of USAPATRIOT Act Title II. It is incumbent upon Congress to ensure that these powers granted by the USAPATRIOT Act are limited in scope and effect to whatever extent Congress has stated in the Act that such powers are to be so limited; and

WHEREAS new legislation has been drafted by the 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 by:

a) diminishing personal privacy by removing important checks on government surveillance authority,

b) reduce the accountability of government to the public by increasing government secrecy

c) expanding the definition of "terrorism" in a manner that threatens the constitutionally protected rights of Americans, and

d) seriously erode the right of all persons to due process of law.

WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster recognizes that an infringement of the constitutional guaranteed rights of any person, under the color of law, is an abuse of power, a breach of the public trust, and a misappropriation of public resources, a violation of civil rights is beyond the scope of government authority.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER remains firmly committed to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all people. The City of Lancaster will completely avoid discrimination in every function of city government, and vigorously uphold the constitutionally protected rights of all persons to peacefully protest and express their political views without any form of governmental interference.

IT IS HEREBY FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Lancaster joins communities across the nation in expressing concerns regarding provisions in the USAPATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56), related executive orders, regulations, and actions threaten fundamental rights and liberties guaranteed under the United States Constitution.

IT IS HEREBY FINALLY RESOLVED that the City Clerk of the City of Lancaster;

a) Transmit a copy of this resolution to Representative Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, urging them to monitor the implementation of the USAPATRIOT Act and Executive Orders cited herein and actively work for the repeal of the USAPATRIOT Act or those sections of the USAPATRIOT Act and Executive Orders that violate the fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the United States Constitution and its Amendments;

b) Transmit a copy of this resolution to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and appropriate members of the State Legislature, accompanied by a letter urging them to ensure that state anti-terrorism laws and policies be implemented in a manner that does not infringe on civil liberties as described in this resolution;

c) Transmit a copy of this resolution to President George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.