Kucinich on the Patriot Act
The following is taken from the Kucinich campaign's issues page on the Patriot Act
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Just 45 days after the September 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush rammed the "PATRIOT Act" through Congress with virtually no debate. This law poses an unprecedented threat to Americans' individual freedoms and is a violation of our civil liberties. Many provisions of the act had been long sought after by law enforcement and repeatedly rejected by Congress in the past.
Without a warrant or probable cause, the FBI can now search your private medical records or access your library records. Your doctor or local library is forbidden from notifying you when these searches take place. The government may search your home while you are away and in some cases even confiscate your property. Judicial oversight of these measures is virtually nonexistent. These are only a few of the PATRIOT Act's provisions that compromise our civil liberties.
Dennis Kucinich believes the only way to stop these unconstitutional infringements on basic American freedoms is to revoke the exorbitant powers the PATRIOT Act has granted the government. He is the only presidential candidate who voted against the PATRIOT Act. As president, one of his first moves will be to repeal it.
Kucinich, along with 20 other members of Congress, has introduced the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act, which would repeal several major sections of the law. It would eliminate the PATRIOT Act's subjective search-and-seizure provision, unwarranted incarcerations, and the authority of federal officials to search our private records without probable cause. The act would restore the fundamental right of attorney-client privilege, revoke various Department of Justice secrecy orders, and repeal provisions harmful to the rights of immigrants. In addition, it would restore transparency to Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security administrative procedures by revoking Freedom of Information Act secrecy orders.
Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." In eroding our civil liberties, President Bush has taken our freedom while making us no safer, no better protected against terrorism. The "PATRIOT Act" is not what American patriots fought and died for. As Americans, we cannot allow fear and scare-mongering to lead us to a place where we abandon our most precious traditions.
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