Letter Printed in the Montclair Times

The Un-Patriot Act
Wednesday, April 7, 2004

On Tuesday, March 30, the Montclair Campaign to Defend Civil Liberties appeared before the Township Council to propose a resolution that asks our local elected officials to protect us against the unconstitutionality of the Draconian Patriot Act law that the Bush administration sped through a disheveled post-9/11 congress. Many of those congresspeople have since said that they didn’t read the lengthy document before voting for it, and some now have deep reservations about having done so. Both Democrat and Republican senators have expressed concerns that shredding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is not the way to protect Americans from terrorism. Furthermore, most legal experts agree that the laws already on the books give law enforcement all the authority they need to investigate, arrest, and prosecute terrorist threats.

Attorney General John Ashcroft described critics of the Patriot Act as “giving ammunition to terrorists.” To those of us who exercise our First Amendment rights by protesting against the immoral and illegal invasion of Iraq, he stated “your tactics aid terrorists.” In Ashcroft’s words we see the real motive behind the Patriot Act: To scare, spy on and silence those of us who dare to exercise our constitutional rights and speak out against the lying pack of neo-con marauders that have hijacked our country and our Constitution.

For those on the council who do not see this as a local issue, understand that many in this local community, activists, teachers, lawyers, Arab and Muslim people, etc., feel threatened by this law. Please live up to your oath and protect our constitutional rights.

Montclair residents, if you’re familiar with the Un-Patriot Act, please learn about it. The Un-Patriot Act is un-American and un-democratic. Contact your council members and ask them to pass this much-needed resolution.

ALAN SMITH

Montclair

 

Montclair Campaign to Defend Civil Liberties