10/26/2004

The Patriot Act Turns Three

Three years ago, on October 26, 2001, President Bush signed into law the USA PATRIOT Act, overwhelmingly passed by Congress with only Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) lodging a vote against it. Although the legislation was enacted as a means of improving and aiding our government’s ability to protect against further terrorist attacks, it was almost immediately denounced by communities and groups for its potential threat to civil liberties. According to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, “355 communities, four states, and hundreds of organizations including the American Library Association and the National League of Cities have registered their opposition to sections of the Act and to what they see as a general erosion of civil liberties since 9/11.”

The Rutherford Institute voiced its concerns about the Patriot Act early on and was also one of the first legal organizations to produce an extensive analysis of the mammoth legislation, entitled Forfeiting “Enduring Freedom” for “Homeland Security”: A Constitutional Analysis of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (PDF). In addition, when Attorney General Ashcroft embarked on a nationwide tour in defense of the Patriot Act and launched his Life and Liberty website, TRI offered a point-by-point response to Ashcroft’s statements: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Terrorists: A Rutherford Institute Response to Attorney General John Ashcroft’s “Patriot Act” Tour and Website (PDF). John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, offered his own blunt assessment of the Patriot Act in his commentary, The President Is Wrong: The USA Patriot Act Should Be Terminated. As well, an April 2004 legal feature asked Do We Need the Patriot Act?

Since the passage of the Patriot Act, The Rutherford Institute has also operated Operation Eroding Freedom, a weblog that documents the status of civil liberties since 9/11. Through the regular “blogging” of news items relating to civil liberties and the Patriot Act, OEF functions as an important resource for developments regarding your rights.

It seems unlikely that government support for this controversial legislation will wane anytime soon, given the fact that President Bush and his lead opposition Sen. John Kerry have expressed their wholehearted support for it. But as the more than 300 communities across the country have demonstrated, we must continue to challenge threats to and violations of our civil liberties. Through its various resources, The Rutherford Institute remains committed to standing with and supporting Americans in their ongoing fight for freedom.