Protecting Civil Liberties Research Paper
Securing America and Protecting Civil Liberties
Mia A. Rapier
POL 201: American National Government
Instructor Scott Wilson
December 12, 2011
Civil liberties can be defined as “the personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation” (O’Connor et al, 2011). In the wake of the terrorist attacks in September 2011, the American government passed the USA Patriot Act into law. The Patriot Act in short gave law enforcement agencies increased, more broad powers to bring terrorists to justice and with its passing ignited controversy amongst many concerning the perceived violation of the first and fourth amendments. Advocates of the act believe that it is vital due to new threats …show more content…
What the American government did not take into consideration after passing the act into law, just a few weeks following September 11th, was how the Patriot Act could, and would invade the rights and privacy of countless people completely unconnected with terrorist organizations or how the act would discriminate against persons of the Muslim faith. New York Times columnist Adam Liptak (2011) described the Patriot Act as “shorthand for government abuse and overreaching.” Liptak suggests that the passing of the act would only allow problems like those at Guantanamo Bay to be exploited and certain religious groups to be watched more closely and hassled more often with the government condoning arrests of “potential threats” by way of immigration offenses while harassing groups that it believed to support certain nationalities and religions -- all in clear violation of First Amendment …show more content…
I also know firsthand that because of the immediate and intense scrutiny of Muslims and those practicing Islam, and the reality that very little was done by our government and media to distinguish the religion and culture of Muslims worldwide, that many people and groups have been falsely accused and discriminated against because of the Patriot Act. To be fair, the act did not clearly state that Muslims are the reason behind the ramped up efforts of our government post-9/11, per the Patriot Act other persons have been subject to increased scrutiny, but the reality is that this law has allowed the civil liberties of all Americans to be breached and because of that I cannot fully accept it. I would call upon our national leaders, with great input from international heads of state, to formulate a new more nondiscriminatory law to pursue and punish criminals without the interference of the civil rights and liberties of
Mia A. Rapier
POL 201: American National Government
Instructor Scott Wilson
December 12, 2011
Civil liberties can be defined as “the personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation” (O’Connor et al, 2011). In the wake of the terrorist attacks in September 2011, the American government passed the USA Patriot Act into law. The Patriot Act in short gave law enforcement agencies increased, more broad powers to bring terrorists to justice and with its passing ignited controversy amongst many concerning the perceived violation of the first and fourth amendments. Advocates of the act believe that it is vital due to new threats …show more content…
What the American government did not take into consideration after passing the act into law, just a few weeks following September 11th, was how the Patriot Act could, and would invade the rights and privacy of countless people completely unconnected with terrorist organizations or how the act would discriminate against persons of the Muslim faith. New York Times columnist Adam Liptak (2011) described the Patriot Act as “shorthand for government abuse and overreaching.” Liptak suggests that the passing of the act would only allow problems like those at Guantanamo Bay to be exploited and certain religious groups to be watched more closely and hassled more often with the government condoning arrests of “potential threats” by way of immigration offenses while harassing groups that it believed to support certain nationalities and religions -- all in clear violation of First Amendment …show more content…
I also know firsthand that because of the immediate and intense scrutiny of Muslims and those practicing Islam, and the reality that very little was done by our government and media to distinguish the religion and culture of Muslims worldwide, that many people and groups have been falsely accused and discriminated against because of the Patriot Act. To be fair, the act did not clearly state that Muslims are the reason behind the ramped up efforts of our government post-9/11, per the Patriot Act other persons have been subject to increased scrutiny, but the reality is that this law has allowed the civil liberties of all Americans to be breached and because of that I cannot fully accept it. I would call upon our national leaders, with great input from international heads of state, to formulate a new more nondiscriminatory law to pursue and punish criminals without the interference of the civil rights and liberties of