Resolution on loss of civil liberties

WHEREAS, the Bush administration has promoted a welter of proposals, including legislation which invades the privacy and civil rights of millions of Americans under the guise of fighting terrorism; and

WHEREAS, the Administration has jailed several American citizens who are being held without the constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel, is holding other individuals in secret with no charges and no information as to whom is being held and has caused the deportation of individuals without public hearings; and

WHEREAS, the Administration, under a program known as Total Information Awareness, intends to create a grand database of public and private information on all Americans, which would allow the government to analyze billions of records, ranging from credit card purchases to Internet surfing habits, travel documents, e-mails and personal medical files without any knowledge of the individuals concerned or adequate Congressional oversight, Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee urges the Congress of the United States to undertake a far-reaching debate on the erosion of civil rights in this country and that the Congress question the need for the Total Information Awareness Program and take all steps necessary to ensure that all of our citizens are afforded the privacy and personal liberties we have so long taken for granted.

Submitted by the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee Executive Board

November 25, 2002

From Emily Thurber, Director of Political Outreach