California
Urges Congress to Check Abuse of Power
By Hazem Kira
Sacramento, CA
As Congress debates controversial issues related
to the PATRIOT Act, domestic surveillance, and
other civil liberties abuses, California boldly
joined seven states, and nearly 400 communities
calling on Congress for greater checks and balances
and the repeal of unconstitutional provisions
in the Act.
The censure is a major milestone in the bottom-up
civil rights movement which is increasingly gaining
ground in towns, cities, and states throughout
the country. It comes on the heels of the domestic
eves-dropping program carried out by the current
administration and reveals a growing resistance
to the unconstitutional expansion of law enforcement
and excesses of the Executive branch. It also
coincides with heated debates in Congress to reauthorize
provisions in the PATRIOT Act which civil liberty
activists, politicians and civil rights organizations
have dubbed an abuse of power.
California’s move, as declared in a state
resolution, also urged federal legislators to
design laws that allow law enforcement to carry
out their anti-terror efforts without infringing
on the civil liberties of Californians or anyone
else. The California Civil Rights Alliance (CCRA),
an umbrella group which includes political social
and religious organizations played a major role
in gaining support and moving the resolution forward.
California stepped up to the plate February 16
when the final vote on the censure was tallied
in the state Senate with a 23-10 vote in favor
of Senate Joint Resolution 10. It thus became
the 404th government entity and the largest of
eight states to join the movement. The other seven
are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana,
and Vermont.
The Californian bipartisan resolution, which some
political analysts see as a backlash to government
attempts to strip away at guaranteed civil liberties,
calls on Congress to revise controversial legislation
and make the changes necessary to bring it in
line with the Constitution. Leading Republicans
who voted for the resolution, include state Senators
Tom McClintock representing district 19, which
includes Santa Barbara county, and Sam Aanestad
representing district 4 which includes Yuba county
and Redding.
“This resolution demonstrates the support
of the Legislature for stronger protection of
our civil liberties,” said State Senator
Liz Figueroa who introduced the resolution. “With
the PATRIOT Act and the president’s domestic
surveillance program, Americans are justifiably
concerned about the erosion of civil liberties.
I am pleased that our state government took a
stand and I hope more members of Congress will
too.”
Assembly Member Alberto Torrico, who introduced
the censure in the Assembly, has passionately
argued, “We can fight terrorism at home
without sacrificing the essential civil rights
that are the foundation of this country. The security
measures we take must be carefully targeted to
maximize their usefulness against terror and minimize
their effect on our cherished freedoms.”
CCRA member, and past Chair of the Libertarian
Party of California, Mark Hinkle emphasized that
all members of the CCRA oppose terrorism. “If
the price of defeating terrorism via the Patriot
Act is surrendering our liberty, are we not then
left with just two choices: 1. Tyranny from within
or 2. Tyranny from outside? We think there's a
better way that maintains our freedom without
shredding the Bill of Rights.”
Senate Joint Resolution 10 declares that no state
resources will be used to collect information
based on residents’ activities that are
protected by the First Amendment or to scoop up
personal records without a direct connection between
the records sought and suspected criminal activity.
California’s resolution also demanded that
federal, state and local government security measures
“should be carefully designed and employed
to enhance public safety without infringing on
the civil liberties and rights of innocent persons
in the State of California and the nation.”
The California Civil Rights Alliance (CCRA) which
spearheaded the effort, called the PATRIOT Act
censure “a clear and unambiguous petition
from California to Congress to amend provisions
long believed unconstitutional.”
“Congress must not rush reauthorization
when Americans from across the country are demanding
real change. It is imperative that our efforts
to maintain our nation’s most sacred ideals
and liberties be as robust as our efforts to combat
the threat of terrorism,” it said in a statement.
The Coordinator of the California Civil Rights
Alliance (CCRA), Dr. Agha Saeed, added, “We
believe that many members of the US Congress are
waiting for this kind of popular support. We enthusiastically
commend State Senator Liz Figueroa and Assembly
Member Alberto Torrico for taking leadership positions
on this pivotal issue, and we applaud the state
legislature for its clear declaration.”
The passage of the California resolution has the
potential to affect the PATRIOT Act debate well
beyond California’s borders because it mandates
its representatives in Congress to strive for
greater checks and balances on the federal level.
Congress members tend to be willing to take a
strong stand in defense of civil liberties, when
their local government and constituents have already
passes resolutions to that respect, according
to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Its data
show that the 174 representatives who opposed
a PATRIOT Act reauthorization compromise bill
on December 14, 2005, were four and a half times
as likely to have one or more resolutions passed
in their districts as the 251 members who voted
in favor.
In a resounding critique after the passage of
the resolution, Congressman Pete Stark said "It's
a sad commentary on the cowardice of many of my
colleagues in Congress that we need a grassroots
movement in America to argue that citizens have
the right to live free of unwarranted government
intrusion into their lives." Rep. Pete Stark
(D-CA, 13th) added, “I thank the California
Legislature, led by my very own State Senator
Liz Figueroa and Assembly Member Alberto Torrico,
and the civil rights community for pushing Members
of Congress to do their jobs and uphold the Constitution."
Since the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, said
CCRA member and Co-Chair to the National Green
party, Jo Chamberlian “I have been sickened
by the silence throughout our nation about the
civil rights and liberties violations that we
see and hear daily from the media. The vision
and leadership shown by our CA state leadership
is a huge step toward supporting the civil rights
and liberties stated in our state and national
constitutions and federal Bill of Rights. The
CA Legislature strong stand for civil rights and
liberties is a shining light calling for freedom
in our country. Hopefully other states will see
the light and join us."
Senator Figueroa, also commending the various
efforts that contributed to the passing of Resolution
10, said the “broad coalition that is opposed
to the attacks on our freedom and our rights..
have a common belief that there's too much power
being concentrated in the executive branch of
our federal government and too little oversight
being conducted to hold it in check."
She added the “CCRA and other organizations
should be commended for their work on behalf of
our civil liberties. Without their efforts, these
issues would be swept out of sight and our citizens
would be in the dark about the threat to our freedom”
Senator Art Torres (Ret.), Chairman of the California
Democratic Party also praised the effort, “I
commend the California Legislature for passing
this important civil rights resolution. I also
commend the tireless work that the California
Civil Rights Alliance under the leadership of
Dr. Agha Saeed, has done in passing this legislation.
It is time that our nation stands up and declares
that every citizen deserves protection under our
Constitution.”
Hayward Demos Democratic Club, Board member, and
liaison to the CCRA, Harry Scott strongly thanked
Democratic Senator Liz Figueroa for her leadership,
and acknowledged, “It is my greatest wish
that the United States Congress will heed the
call from the state of California and communities
and states all over the US and take appropriate
action, to modify this horrendous legislation
erroneously called the USA Patriot Act which targets
us all.”
Stepehen Rohde, constitutional lawyer, and former
President of the ACLU of Southern California,
said, "As we learn more and more each day
about the extent to which our civil liberties
are being violated in America, it is heartening
for the California Legislature to speak out in
favor of the Bill of Rights and against the unwarranted
provisions contained in the USA PATRIOT Act.
“Our country has experienced dark chapters
from the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 to the
suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus during
the Civil War to the Red Scare and Palmer Raids
during World War I to the internment of 120,000
Japanese Americans during World War II to McCarthyism
and COINTELPRO. Elected officials and average
Americans need to speak out to ensure that we
do not live through another dark chapter, when
our liberties were sacrificed in the name of protecting
them."
CCRA organizations include American Muslim Alliance,
the libertarian party of California, the green
party of California, Hayward Demos Democratic
Club, The council on American Islamic Relations,
the Muslim Public affairs Council, the interfaith
Freedom Foundation, Arab American Anti-Discrimination
Committee (Bay Area Chapter), Ecumenical Peace
Institute /CALC, Northern California Interreligious
Conference, Office of Public Policy and Social
Concerns, The Archdiocese of San Francisco, South
Alameda County Peace and Justice Coalition, Peninsula
Peace and Justice Coalition, The Rt. Rev. William
E. Swing, Bishop Episcopal Diocese of California.
Non-CCRA organizations that endorsed the measure
include the ACLU, NAACP, the California Library
Association (CLA), and chapters of the Bill of
Rights Defense Committee (BORDC).
(Hazem Kira is a Legislative Analyst and Columnist.
He is the Principal Consultant with the California
Civil Rights Alliance which spearheaded the effort
to pass California's PATRIOT Act Censure. He can
be reached at hazemkira@yahoo.com)
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