2003-12-04 Human Relations Advisory Committee Minutes

Home Browse Search

I tlrLD HUMAN RELATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEEi C LER K MINUTES _,.;S. M1 ss. December 4, 2003 at Police Station First Floor Community Room lc°t `�� - P 4` 3 Present: Margaret Soli, Chair, Chief R. Silva, J. Keigley, C. McDonald, E. Toland and P. Kelley, members, Nancy Murray, invited speaker, K. Linn, Town Librarian, responder and a number of members of the public. The meeting was called to order by Ms. Soli, Chair, at 7:35 PM. She introduced Nancy Murray of the American Civil Liberties Union, Massachusetts who addressed the group on the topic of the Patriot Act. Ms. Murray described how in September of 2003 the government asked for additional powers under the Patriot Act and numerous people had come out to protest and she noted that it was important to speak out in opposition to such greater powers quoting a statement from Justice Douglas to the effect that, as night does not fall all at once, neither does oppression, for at first there is twilight and we must be aware of the twilight. For non -citizens the darkness has arrived under circumstances which are a reminder of the police state. She detailed some seeming abuses for Muslims and alleged `enemy aliens' which have been criticized by human rights organizations including Amnesty International. Many feel that these things are a price that must be paid for security but they have given rise to ethnic and religious profiling and have been criticized by reports of ajoint Congressional Committee. She noted that prior to September 11, there were at least 12 intelligence agency reports that Bin Laden might act and more could have been done to ® prevent him. The Patriot Act is a battery of things including anti -terrorism measures and changes in the immigration law, making distinctions between citizens entitled to various constitutional protections and non -citizens who are not, permitting the monitoring of conversations between a lawyer and the client, surveillance of domestic groups without evidence of a crime, monitoring anti -war demonstrations, overly broad definitions of "terrorist activity" and "domestic terrorism" which may render one subject to search and surveillance without court oversight, sharing of grand jury testimony, interception of credit card records, demanding tangible things from libraries without the need to show any wrongdoing, and secret FISA courts. She cited several reports alleging that the Act has been used in connection with minor legal infractions rather than terrorism, in political investigations and as a tool against joumalists. The substance of her presentation is contained in three handouts made available following the meeting which are attached hereto and incorporated herein: 1. The USA Patriot Act: A Civil Liberties Briefing. 2. Immigrants & The "War On Terrorism": A Civil Liberties Briefing, and 3. Patriot Act 11 Must Be Stopped! Following Ms. Murray's presentation, Kimberly Linn, Town Librarian, commented with respect to the issues affecting the library. Although Attorney General Ashcroft said that librarians were responding hysterically, she said that they have their reasons because the government can get access to library records without cause while librarians have an obligation not to disclose ® information about their clients. She cited reported instances of a search made in Connecticut without a warrant and a situation in New Jersey where a person reading non-English material was held in custody for several days. She stated that 48 states protect the confidentiality of library data