CC Resolution 10283RESOLU'rZON NO. 10283
RESOLUTZON OF THE CZ'TY COUNC'rL OF THE CZTY OF CAMPBELL AFF'rRMTNG
THE PR.I:NC'rPLES OF FEDERAL'rSM AND CzV'rL L'rBER'rZES
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell believes there is no inherent conflict between national
security and the preservation of liberty, and affirms its strong support of the rights of
Americans to be both safe and free;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell recognizes the Constitution of the United States as our
nation's charter of liberty, and that the Bill of Rights enshrines the fundamental and
inalienable rights of America, including the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly,
privacy;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell has a distinguished record of upholding the
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, and safeguarding the freedoms and rights of
American residents;
WHEREAS, on September 11, 2001, terrorists from abroad attacked the United States
by commandeering four commercial airliners, and destroyed the World Trade Center in
New York, significantly damaged the Pentagon, and caused a jetliner crash resulting in
significant civilian casualties;
WHEREAS, the terrorist attack was an attack on a nation that is home to a diverse
population and plunged the nation into deep concern regarding its national security and
vulnerability to future attacks;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell condemns all terrorist acts wherever occurring;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell believes that efforts to prevent and respond to acts of
terrorism require extensive coordination, cooperation, and accountability among the
federal, state, and local levels;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell recognizes that protecting our citizens against future
terrorist attacks requires the federal government to aggressively pursue potential
terrorists but these efforts to combat terrorism should not disproportionately infringe on
the essential civil rights and liberties of the people of the United States;
WHEREAS, the prevention of future terrorists attacks is a critical national priority, but it
is equally important to preserve the fundamental civil liberties and personal freedoms
embodied in the Bill of Rights over 200 years ago, and which have been preserved
through a constant vigilance against periodic threats to its principles;
WHEREAS, in response to the terrorist attacks, on October 26, 2001, the United States
Congress passed, and President Bush signed into law, the USA PATR]~OT Act, an
acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Tntercept and Obstruct Terrorism," by a Senate vote of 95-1 and House of
Representative vote of 357-66;
WHEREAS, the City of Campbell believes that a number of provisions of the USA
PATRTOT Act threaten fundamental rights and civil liberties, including:
§ Section 213 which permits law enforcement to perform searches with no one
present and to delay notification of the search of a citizen's home;
§ Section 215 which permits the FB! Director to seek records from bookstores
and libraries including books of patrons based on minimal evidence of
wrongdoing and prohibits librarians and bookstore employees from disclosing the
fact that they have been ordered to produce such documents;
§ Section 218 which amends the "probable cause" requirement before
conducting secret searches or surveillance to obtain evidence of a crime;
§ Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508 which permit law enforcement authorities to
have broad access to sensitive mental health, library, business, financial, and
educational records despite the existence of previously adopted state and federal
laws which were intended to strengthen the protection of these types of records;
§ Sections 411 and 412 which give the Secretary of State broad powers to
designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" and the Attorney General
power to subject immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation even if no
crime has been committed; and
§ Sections 507 and 508 which impose an unfunded mandate on state and local
public universities who must collect information on students that may be of
interest to the Attorney General.
WHEREAS~ municipal governments budgets across the nation are strained and these
added duties constitute unfunded mandates on cities' police departments, libraries,
universities, etc. that cities cannot financially absorb;
WHEREAS, new legislation has been drafted entitled the Domestic Security
Enhancement Act (DSEA) (also known as PATR]~OT II) which contains numerous new
sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers, many of which are not
related to terrorism, and which would severely dilute, if not undermine, many basic
constitutional rights; and
WHEREAS~ in response to the threats against civil liberties embodied in certain
provisions of the PATRIOT ACT, legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate
that would roll back certain provisions of the PATRTOT ACT.
THEREFORE BE ZT RESOLVED~ that the City of Campbell supports the United States'
campaign against terrorism, but the City of Campbell affirms its commitment to the
United States Constitution and respective state constitutions;
BE :['1' FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Campbell urges the President, and
executive branch members to review, revise and rescind executive orders and policies
adopted since the terrorist attacks, that limit or compromise the liberties guaranteed by
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights;
BE 1'1' FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Campbell strongly urges the United
States Congress to amend the PATRIOT ACT in order to restore and protect our nation's
fundamental and inalienable rights and liberties;
BE 1"1' FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Campbell supports the "Freedom to Read
Protection Act of 2003" that would reinstate legal standards for libraries and bookstores
and the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act which would require a court order
before conducting electronic surveillance;
BE ]T FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Campbell supports the sunset of key
provisions of the PATRIOT Act and increased Congressional oversight over the role of
the agencies responsible for enforcing the law;
BE I'T FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Campbell calls on Congress, the Department
of Homeland Security, and other related agencies to partner with cities to protect our
hometowns while simultaneously preserving the liberties of Americans; and
BE :IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the
President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, and to each
member of Congress.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20th day of January, 2004 ., by the
following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers: ~urtado, Watson, Dean, Kennedy, Burr
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
APPROVED:
Donald R. Burr, Mayor
Al-rEST:
Anne Bybee, City Clerk