Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Patriot Act faces council criticism

Vote is 3-0 as Sparks council condemns sections of law

The Sparks City Council voted 3-0 on Monday to condemn sections of the federal Patriot Act.

Members of the Nevada Campaign to Defeat the Patriot Act asked Council members to affirm the Bill of Rights and oppose any provisions of the Patriot Act that violate peoples' civil rights.

"We think we made an important statement," said Richard Siegel, president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "This is the kind of thing that can be viewed as having some weight."

Siegel, whose ACLU anchored a coalition of some 80 groups said he hoped the vote would be heard by Nevada's delegation before Congress votes on renewing the act in September or October.

Nearly 400 communities, including Elko, have passed resolutions asking that the Patriot Act be revised to conform to the Constitution.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said the agency plans to turn its attention to the Clark County Commission, the Las Vegas City Council and other local elected officials in Southern Nevada.

However, he said, the first priority is to educate local officials about the Patriot Act before asking them to vote on a resolution like the one approved in Sparks, and that a resolution may not be considered before Congress considers renewing the act.

"The next step is educating people," Peck said. "Will it happen before Congress acts? I don't know."

Among other things, the resolution approved in Sparks and Elko opposes government efforts to collect information about a person's library lending or research records, or book and video store purchases.

Also forbidden are ethnic profiling or gathering information about a person's political, religious or social views.

The grass-roots campaign also hopes to encourage Reno and Washoe County officials to adopt a similar resolution. Siegel said Lyon County also would be approached.

Enacted by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the Patriot Act gives law enforcement broader powers to investigate terrorism.

Peck said even though a resolution may not be considered soon by Southern Nevada officials, it's important that they know the effect of the Patriot Act so that they can set policies on library cards, racial profiling and other issues relevant to local government.

"Everyone in Southern Nevada wants us to be safe and secure, but safety should be balanced against individual rights and freedoms, and the Patriot Act, unfortunately, doesn't do a good job of balancing those," Peck said.

Review-Journal writer Frank Geary contributed to this report.