Bill to Exempt Libraries
from Patriot Act Introduced
Legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives March 6 to rescind the provisions of the USA Patriot Act that allow the government to secretly view library and bookstore records without obtaining a probable-cause search warrant.
Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced the Freedom to Read Protection Act at a Washington press conference attended by members of the American Library Association and representatives from the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. “The threat of terrorism must not be used as an excuse by the government to intrude on our basic constitutional rights,” said Sanders. “We can fight terrorism, but we can do it at the same time as we protect the civil liberties that have made our country great.”
The bill, which Sanders proposed late last year after being contacted by the Vermont Library Association, would restore the previous standards for investigations. “If the FBI has probable cause to believe that information in a library or bookseller’s records is connected to an ongoing criminal or terrorism investigation, they can go to court and get a search warrant,” Sanders said.
Demonstrating bipartisan support, the act is being introduced by 24 representatives, including Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. “The focus of the war on terror should be on terrorists, not American citizens,” Paul said in the March 7 Brattleboro (Vt.) Reformer.
Posted March 10, 2003.
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