01/27/03 Regular - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Session 1867 January 27, 2003 Don Fitz, 720 Harvard Avenue, read some sentences from an editorial in Scientific American. He maintained that the Patriots' Act jeopardized liberty and asked the City to send a resolution which would ask for the repeal of the Act and call for University City to not turn over its residents to the FBI. Cynthia Edyed, 7437 Melrose Avenue, hoped that Council voted in favor of the resolution. She said that the registration of Japanese males was the first step before internment during World War II and registration of those of Arab descent was also a first step. Barbara Chicherio, 720 Harvard Avenue, asked Council to support a resolution to repeal the Patriot Act. Fred Reines, 5845 Nina Place, maintained that the Act was passed in a climate of hysteria and wouldn't be approved if proposed today. He asked for Council's resolution for repeal of the Patriot Act. Kelly Righton, 8657 Old Bonhomme, stated her opposition to the Patriot Act and asked that Council adopt a resolution opposing it and any other infringements on Civil Liberties. Matt LeMieue, Executive Director of the A.C.L.U. of Eastern Missouri at 4557 Laclede Avenue, congratulated Council for being among the first cities in Missouri to consider a resolution. He addressed a question that surfaced during the Study Session, i.e. would such a resolution preempt the powers of the federal government? Mr. LeMieue posited that the resolution would constitute a policy designed to provide guidance to employees on how to react when asked to enforce an action that runs counter to the Bill of Rights. He said that, according to new FBI guidelines, there is no need to prove criminality before investigating someone who expresses their first amendment rights. He asked if the FBI approached an employee, does Council want them to oblige. He also offered to provide analyses of the Patriot Act compiled by the A.C.L.U. and the CATO Institute, what other cities have introduced and 10 pages of quotes on the propriety of local law enforcement on routine immigration matters. Kay Drey, 515 West Point Avenue and a member of the Great St. Louis Bill of Rights Committee, claimed that the Patriot Act damaged civil rights in the name of national security and that everyone is threatened by the loss of these freedoms. She submitted a petition signed by 200 University City residents that asked the Council to continue to support civil liberties. She also offered a statement by Benjamin Israel that 30 or more City Councils have already passed resolutions reaffirming their commitment to civil liberties and concerns about the Patriot Act and that he hoped that University City would be the first in the state of Missouri to do the same.