Resolutions On Horizon

Critics of the post-Sept. 11 legislation say it compromises civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.

SOME Mid-Hudson communities are joining a national grassroots movement promoting civil liberties and challenging the federal USA Patriot Act.

More than 100 localities, ranging from small college towns to big cities, are said to be actively considering resolutions to that effect.

The resolutions, some worded more strongly than others, call on local authorities to resist participating in investigative activities that infringe on civil liberties and urge federal representatives to work for repeal of sections of the USA Patriot Act. Critics say the post-Sept. 11 legislation violates fundamental rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution.

The village of New Paltz and city of Ithaca have joined the likes of Amherst, Mass., and the city of Detroit in adopting such resolutions. Plans to pass similar measures are in motion in Albany, New York City, Tompkins County and the Ulster County towns of New Paltz and Woodstock.

The USA Patriot Act created the new crime of domestic Terrorism and granted expanded surveillance and detention powers to the executive branch of government and law-enforcement agencies. (USA Patriot is an acronym for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.)

Among local congressmen, Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, and John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, voted in favor of the act on Oct. 24, 2001. New York's two U.S. senators - Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer - followed suit two days later.

But Hinchey backpedaled later on. His aide, Kevin O'Connell, said the congressman regretted his vote afterward and declared it to be a "mistake."

"The big thing he would like to see changed and vigorously objects to in the ... Patriot Act is the lack of judicial oversight in the granting of additional police powers, the most egregious being giving the police the ability to look into people's library usage and purchase of books in bookstores," O'Connell said. He said Hinchey maintains that the removal of necessary constitutional checks threatens the balance between security and privacy.

Sweeney, Clinton and Schumer could not be reached for comment.

Critics of the Patriot Act say "domestic terrorism" is so vaguely defined under the law that it could be applied to political activists and lead to the criminalization of legitimate dissent. They also say the law makes it too easy for law-enforcement authorities to wiretap telephones, monitor e-mail and Internet use and obtain library records.

"It's empowering to see that your voice is part of a large chorus," said Tanya Marquette, who, along with other members of the group 9-11 People Against Racism, organized efforts that resulted in the New Paltz Village Board's unanimous approval of a resolution that asks local law enforcers to uphold due process and affirms a commitment to the protection of free speech, the right to privacy and other civil liberties.

The New Paltz Town Board is expected to consider the same resolution tonight.

"It's a community-building experience," said Woodstock resident Michael Veitch, who is spearheading efforts to draft a resolution to present to the Woodstock Town Board for consideration. "To act locally and protect our rights when they are threatened is a way a community can do real good in a positive and effective manner."

Although Ann Arbor, Mich., and Denver, Colo., were the first two cities to pass such resolutions, it was the formation of the Massachusetts-based Bill of Rights Defense Committee that set the national movement in motion.

Having successfully lobbied the Massachusetts city of Northampton to pass a resolution in defense of the Bill of Rights last May, the committee established a Web site that today serves as a blueprint for communities that want to do the same.

"We provide the tools, strategies and materials, and assist in the coordination and networking among the cities and towns within a state or region," said Nancy Talanian, the group's co-director.

In addition to tracking those municipalities that have passed or initiated resolutions, Talanian said, the committee continues to promote the movement by sending a monthly newsletter to thousands of e-mail subscribers.

Both Marquette and Veitch said e-mails forwarded to them describing the resolution passed by the Northampton City Council contributed to their efforts to organize on a local level.