On Oct. 27, 2001, the Patriot Act was passed by the House of Representatives and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said no member of Congress was allowed to read the Patriot Act. Only one Senator voted against it: Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).
Now, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 336 communities in 41 states have now passed resolutions opposing some aspect of the Patriot Act. However, before the people have a chance to react, the next round of tyranny named the "Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003" — or the Patriot Act 2 — is getting ready to be steamrollered through Congress once again. Already, as of last Thursday, parts of this act are beginning to surface.
This second Patriot Act originally came to light on Feb. 7, 2003 when the Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan watchdog group, released the full text of the act, which was leaked to them by sources inside the government. On top of this, an Office of Legislative Affairs "control sheet" was obtained by the PBS program "Now With Bill Moyers," which indicates a copy of the bill was sent to the Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Vice President Dick Cheney on Jan. 10. Whether you like it or not, the second Patriot Act is coming.
In the new Patriot Act, there are many blatantly tyrannical sections which take away everything for which our Constitution stands.
Section 201 of the second Patriot Act allows government to carry out silent arrests and never release the names of those arrested. Section 102 states that any "information gathering," regardless of whether or not those activities are illegal, can be considered "clandestine intelligence activities for a foreign power." This could easily designate the free press as a terrorist organization.
Sections 301 and 306 create a national DNA database for anybody who has ever been on probation and orders state governments to collect DNA for the federal government. Section 103 allows the federal government to use wartime martial law powers domestically and internationally without Congress declaring that a state of war exists.
Section 126 grants the government the right to mine the entire spectrum of public and private sector information from bank records to educational and medical records. Section 127 allows the government to take over coroners' and medical examiners' operations whenever they see fit.
Is this not enough to convince you how your liberties are slowly dying? These are the very things our Founding Fathers fought against. There are plenty more sections like these and I urge you to study them.
But maybe you think this legislation is only focused on "terrorists." Well, according to section 802 of the first Patriot Act, a terrorist is someone who makes "any action that endangers human life that is a violation of any Federal or State law." This is a vague definition. Furthermore, the Justice Department has said a new unlimited definition of terrorism is needed. Will your grandmother be a terrorist by 2005 for renting a book from the library that criticizes the government?
This legislation needs to be stopped. Section 110 of the new Patriot Act states the first act's five-year sunset clause will be removed. If members of Congress like Feingold are taken out of office, who will be left to resist this? Backers of this act know the new act must be brought to Congress before the first Patriot Act expires in 2005.
We as Americans and educated youth owe it to our country to investigate the new and old Patriot Acts and bring them to the public spotlight before the law considers it an un-American and terrorist-like to question the government. The time to act is now. Educate yourself and support the clear thinkers in Congress who ask the tough questions and stand up to tyranny.
Ryno is a sophomore journalism major.
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