Other Columns by Paul M. Weyrich
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Then there is Section 215. In our view this section needs to be brought in line with the Constitution even though we are not calling for repeal. It allows the federal government to seize information about you - the books you borrow or purchase, other purchases, your medical records - even if no specific fact connects you to a foreign agent. Congress should require probable cause that you are connected with terrorism before such secret searches are allowed. This bill is supposed to be about terrorists and not ordinary law abiding citizens. Allowing the government to collect personal information on medical records, guns, finances and other personal purchases without probable cause is a threat to personal privacy and a violation of American's Fourth Amendment freedoms. We believe Congress should restore the checks and balances we traditionally have had on government power.

Finally, there is Section 802. We want Congress to modify Section 802 by linking a new definition of terrorism to specific crimes such as assassination attempts or kidnapping. Currently the Patriot Act's overly broad definition can be used by federal agents to deploy an array of invasive new authorities which really do not involve terrorism at all. The Act could be used against pro-lifers, or anti-war demonstrators or pro-gun control and anti-gun control demonstrators or anyone who dissents from government policy.

This very modest modification would ensure that the thrust of the Patriot Act is against terrorists and not ordinary Americans.

Yes, we have a number of other troubling provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Individual groups which are part of this Coalition will be contacting the Congress on their own in this regard. But Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, at least until we all can reach a consensus, will stick with educating Congress and the public on those three provisions.

As I mentioned at the press conference my friend, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, was absolutely close-minded on the USA Patriot Act. My colleague Steve Lilienthal and I met with a representative of the Justice Department and someone from the White House. They would consider no change whatsoever. Not even on the question of what defines a terrorist. They wanted the flexibility to define a terrorist as anyone who disagreed with them. I hope new Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is more reasonable on this matter.

In addition to the Free Congress Foundation, the American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Association of Physicians and Surgeons are among the groups on the right who are part of this effort. The ACLU says it is recruiting others on the left who agree with our view. I can't wait. Meanwhile, as former Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia has noted, we have an uphill fight to get the attention of the Congress and the media to fight for these changes. Fight we will. Rumsfeld was right. Yet we feel in some ways the enemies of this country have already prevailed. We want to turn that around while we still have the freedom to do so.

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