Repeal the USA PATRIOT Act..

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WHEREAS, President Bush pressured Congress to pass the USA PATRIOT Act without adequate debate; and

WHEREAS, Congress repeatedly rejected many provisions of this law in the past; and

WHEREAS, This law abridges citizens' rights to privacy by allowing the FBI to search private medical records or access library records without a warrant or probable cause; and

WHEREAS, This law cancels citizens' right to know by forbidding doctors and local libraries to notify them when these searches take place; and

WHEREAS, This law further impinges on citizens' right to privacy by allowing government agents to search homes without probable cause while the residents are away and in some cases confiscate their property; and

WHEREAS, Judicial oversight of these measures is inadequate; and

WHEREAS, This law defines domestic terrorism as activities that "appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population . . . a government or to affect the conduct of a government" by various means, and the Bush administration has used the "appearance" clause to intimidate dissenters; and

WHEREAS, This law condones discrimination against certain races and ethnicities by requiring government registration and allows their interrogation without council; and

WHEREAS, Americans did not authorize this unprecedented assault on the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, This law defies the very principles of a democracy by condoning less privacy for individuals and more secrecy in government; therefore, be it

RESOLVED That the USA PATRIOT Act be repealed.

Originally written by the Texans for Kucinich campaign in Jan. 2004.