SAFE Act to be Introduced Today
Hearings begin today over the renewal of various Patriot Act provisions. Rather than listening to how Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tries to defend making only small changes to the Act, I suggest you focus on the bi-partisan SAFE Act (Safety and Freedom Enhancement Act)which will be introduced today by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho.) Sen. Russ Feingold is among the co-sponsors. The ACLU reports:
The Craig-Durbin bill would address some of the most controversial Patriot Act powers, including section 213, which permits the use of "sneak and peek" delayed-notification search warrants; section 215, which gives law enforcement agents access to a wide array of personal records, including library, medical and educational records; and section 802, which redefines "domestic terrorism" so broadly that it could be used against direct action advocacy groups and individuals.
The Patriot Act was passed in haste, without hearings or adequate opportunity for review. It's now time to correct the law's deficiencies. The SAFE Act is a great beginning. As the ACLU has said, we need to fix the Patriot Act, not extend it.
More Reading:
- You can read both sides of the debate over the provisions set to expire on Dec. 31, 2005 at Patriot Debates, sponsored by the American Bar Association.
- For $19, you can buy Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001: An Analysis, Lexis Publishing, of which I am a co-author. The table of contents is here (I wrote Chapters II, V, VII, VIII and the Conclusion.)
- Tech writer Declan McCullagh has a column up at CNEws discussing the impact of the techno provisions of the bill that are scheduled to sunset.
- The Register-Guard today has an editorial on the FBI's 'fessing up to conducting sneak and peeks at Oregon Lawyer Brandon Mayfields's home, when he was falsely suspected of being connected to the Madrid train bombings.
- Sen. Russ Feingold's bill to end sneak and peeks.
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