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Patriot Act vs Civil Rights

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Patriot Act vs Civil Rights
The Patriot Act vs. Civil Rights The Patriot Act clearly violates the constitutional rights of those living directly under it. There are many reports of United States citizen’s civil rights being violated. Phone conversations being listened in on when no terrorist conversations were taking place. Private medical records being looked at, personal computers being tapped into and web site visits being checked and arrests taking place with no solid proof that any crime took place. The accused weren’t even granted the opportunity to be allowed legal representation to defend them. And in America we as citizens are supposed to be protected by the United States Constitution which contains a Bill of Rights section that is supposed to protect citizen’s rights and freedoms who live under it. Because of the Patriot Act being passed into law the civil liberties of United States citizens were being violated based on stereotypical opinions and ideas of fellow citizens who share the same homeland as them. President Bush stated in his National Security Strategy that terrorism will be defeated by “Using every tool in our arsenal including law enforcement.”He went further in his National Strategy for Homeland Security, where he stated that we have historically “used our laws to promote and safeguard our security and our liberty. The law will both provide People of Muslim or Arab descent aren’t the only ones getting falsely arrested under the Patriot Act. A caucasian woman named Tamera Freeman was arrested for spanking her child on a commercial airline, and people have been arrested for raising their voices on airlines also. In Baltimore a group of animal activists were arrested for filming the police officers overseeing their demonstration. And an 8th grade student was brought in for questioning when he decided to write a paper about the Golden Gate Bridge and was discovered to be checking out research material about the bridge at his local library. None of these cases resulted


Bibliography: www.archives.gov The United States Constitution www.epic.org “USA Patriot Act Page” 10/24/2001 www.nolan chart.com The Patriot Act www.ushistory.org “The Electric Ben Franklin” copyright 1999 www.youtube.com Documentary Unconstitutional: The War on Civil Liberties 6/12/2007 David Cole and Jules Lobel- Are We Safe? Los Angeles Times: Opinion 11/18/2007
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