Cities in revolt over Patriot Act

The number of Americans coming under scrutiny of the Patriot Act is growing significantly, and so is the number of Americans calling on Congress to repeal or modify the law.

Hundreds of city and county governments across the nation last year initiated the grass-roots effort by passing resolutions declaring they would not cooperate with the federal government in enforcing the law, which they claim undermines civil liberties.

Those voices grew louder last week when the nation’s oldest and largest national group of elected municipal government officials, the National League of Cities (NLC), passed a resolution at its annual meeting calling for Congress to repeal parts of the act.

“Cities and towns need a partnership with the federal government on homeland security issues that makes sure we have the resources we need to get the job done but also preserves the liberties that Americans hold dear,” Charlie Lyons, NLC president and Arlington, Mass., selectman, said in a written statement.

The NLC members represent 18,000 cities with 225 million residents.

The concerns listed by the NLC mirror those expressed by civil liberties and national librarian organizations, as well as some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill pushing legislation to overhaul the act, which became law in the month after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Critics question the law’s broad powers, such as allowing law enforcement to perform “sneak and peek” searches without notification or anyone present, and permitting FBI officials to obtain records from libraries while prohibiting librarians from notifying the persons involved.

Justice Department officials defend the Patriot Act as a needed tool in the war on terrorism, and say criticism of its use is overblown.

After the American Library Association last year attacked a provision allowing the review of library records, Attorney General John Ashcroft declassified information to show the act had never been used to look at library records.

The resolution passed by the NLC urges the president and Congress to amend the Patriot Act “to restore and protect our nation’s fundamental and inalienable rights and liberties.”

The group also cited the following concerns:

• The secretary of state is given broad powers to designate domestic groups as “terrorist organizations” and the attorney general has power to subject immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation even if they have committed no crime.

• Public universities are required to collect information on students who may be of interest to the attorney general.

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