Time To Reform the Patriot Act

Remember the Patriot Act? Yeah, the one that abused civil liberties and knocked the United States Constitution for a loop. Well, at the end of this year several sections of the Patriot Act will expire and Congress is just beginning consideration of what to do.

The USA PATRIOT Amendments Act of 2009 (H.R. 3485) offers significant changes that will restore some of our rights, including:

• Protection of the privacy of homes and businesses by ensuring that the "library records provision" does not authorize collection of library or bookstore records that contain information on the patron;
• Protection of our First Amendment rights by requiring the government to convince a judge that a national security gag order is necessary;
• Protection of privacy of records by amending the national security letter statues to guarantee that the government can get the financial, communication, and credit records only of people believed to be terrorists or spies.

Not included in H.R. 3485, but should be:

• A limitation on prosecution to individuals who actually intend to aid terrorists;
• A requirement on the government to show, when obtaining a warrant, to show the records actually relate to a suspected terrorist or spy.

Contact Rep. Bob Goodlatte, or your representative, and urge him/her to cosponsor or at least support these basic reforms to the Patriot Act. Yeah, I know talking to Bob is usually a frustrating experience. But, this is important... we're talking about our constitutional rights. So, get this job done, now!