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http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/edit/index.php?op=edit&itemid=636

The Ben Franklin True Patriot Act

WASHINGTON (September 25, 2003) — Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) continued his leadership today on Capitol Hill by introducing the first comprehensive bill to repeal offensive sections of the misnamed “USA PATRIOT Act.” The Kucinich bill — called the “Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act” — is already supported by the ACLU, NAACP, a Jewish group, an Islamic group, and 20 members of Congress.

Kucinich’s bill would repeal sections of the original “PATRIOT Act,” that authorize ‘sneak and peak’ searches; warrantless library, medical, educational, and financial record searches; and the detention and deportation of non-citizens without meaningful judicial review. Passage would be the final deadline — or death — for the “PATRIOT Act.”

Rep. Kucinich is the only presidential candidate who voted against the “PATRIOT Act” in October, 2001. The other Democrats in Congress currently running for president all voted for it — and Howard Dean has said, “I never criticize them for that” in view of the post-9/11 pressure. Congressman Kucinich stood up to the pressure then…and now.

At a news conference today, Kucinich invoked the words of Ben Franklin, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Kucinich added: “Will we stand by as the Administration formulates a second more dangerous “PATRIOT Act” because, in the President’s words, ‘the first bill didn’t go far enough’? Or will we step back from this atmosphere of fear and work to restore our basic freedoms and rights? With the introduction of the True Patriot Act, I say we take back our Constitution.”

ACTION:
Call your representatives and ask that they take a position on the “True Patriot Act.”
For more details on this bill and additional information about Congressman Kucinich, contact this website: http://www.kucinich.us