USA PATRIOT ACT Position Page

Greens Oppose USA PATRIOT Act Violations of Civil Liberties

The Green Party of Sonoma County (GPSC) formally endorsed in January the civil liberties defense effort currently underway in response to grievous violations of Constitutional rights written into law through passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and similar executive orders. The GPSC rejects the Bush administration's claim that racial profiling, secret searches, surveillance, and detentions, violations of due process, and limitations on freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly called for in the USA PATRIOT Act will make our communities safer. The GPSC joins with the Green Party of California, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union and others in calling for our public officials to ensure that:

1. All local law enforcement officials continue to preserve the Constitutional rights of citizens, even if authorized to infringe upon these rights by the federal government.

2. Local authorities prohibit the detention of people without charge, forbid the surveillance of medical, financial, educational and library records without first showing evidence of a crime, and ban racial profiling as a justification for unreasonable search and seizure.

3. The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation regularly and publicly disclose any manner in which they have acted under the USA PATRIOT Act and other Executive Orders, including disclosing the names of any detainees held in Sonoma County or the names of Sonoma County residents detained elsewhere.

4. Our United States Congress members and Senators monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and Executive Orders and actively work for the repeal of the parts of that Act and those Orders that violate fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the Constitutions of the State of California and the United States.

The Green Party recognizes that protecting the inalienable rights and liberties of all members of society is the foundation of freedom. The GPSC supports the more than 45 cities, towns, and counties across the nation which have passed resolutions in opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act and will work for the passage of similar resolutions in the cities and County of Sonoma.

For more information or to get involved, please contact the Green Party of Sonoma County at bordc@sonomagreenparty.org or (707) 524-8818.