BILL REQ. #:  S-4354.2 

Read first time 02/04/2004.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN D. ASHCROFT:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington affirms its commitment to the war on terrorism and acknowledges that federal, state, and local governments need to protect the public from terrorist attacks such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001; and
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington has a long and distinguished history of protecting and expanding civil rights and civil liberties of all persons, its citizens and its noncitizen residents, as expressed in the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington has with gratitude for their supreme sacrifice honored those in the Armed Forces who have died in battle protecting these same cherished rights and liberties; and
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington is the proud home of a diverse population, including many residents and students from other nations, whose contributions to our community are vital to and enrich its character and function; and
     WHEREAS, The State of Washington has the following laws recognizing the value of freedom and privacy for its residents: RCW 9.73.030, protecting the private communications between persons from interception, recording, or disclosure by third parties, without the consent of all participants to the communication; RCW 43.101.410, condemning the practice of and adopting procedures to prevent racial profiling; and RCW 26.23.140, expressing concern to the federal government's demand that the state collect personally identifiable information on Washington residents; and
     WHEREAS, The Washington State Constitution, Washington law, the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution, and treaties ratified by the United States guarantee those living in the United States the following rights:

     Freedom of speech, religion, assembly and privacy;
     Equality before the law and the presumption of innocence;
     Access to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings;
     Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures;
     Protection against profiling based on race, religion, gender, national origin, and political beliefs or actions;
     Freedom from arbitrary and indefinite detention;
     Freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; and

     WHEREAS, We believe these civil liberties are precious and are now threatened by certain provisions of the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act (Public Law 107-56, hereafter referred to as the Patriot Act), which:

     Reduces judicial supervision of telephone and internet surveillance;
     Expands the government's ability to conduct searches with and without warrants;
     Grants additional power to the United States Secretary of State to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations";
     Grants additional power to the United States Attorney General to subject noncitizens to indefinite detention or deportation even if they have not committed a crime;
     Grants the FBI broad access to sensitive and personal information without having to show evidence of a crime, without a court order and, in some instances, without having to notify the target and demonstrate that the information relates to terrorism; and

     WHEREAS, A growing climate of fear among people in this country caused by the expansion of federal government powers under the Patriot Act undermines national unity, resolve, and the rights of the people, all guaranteed by the Constitution of the State of Washington, and the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights; and
     WHEREAS, The fight against terrorism requires city, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to cooperate in efforts to investigate, prosecute, and prevent acts of terrorism such as those that occurred on September 11, 2001; and
     WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Washington and the House of Representatives of the State of Washington concur that the fight against terrorism must not be waged at the expense of the essential rights and liberties of the residents of this state, as contained in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the State of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, We reaffirm our strong opposition to the indefinite detention of people who have not been charged with a crime, and measures that target individuals for legal scrutiny or enforcement activity based solely on their religion, country of origin, ethnicity, or immigration status;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray, reflecting the concern that portions of the Patriot Act may violate the rights and liberties guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the State of Washington, undermining the First Amendment right of public demonstrations, vigils, protests, marches, and similar forms of protected expression of ideas and views without fear of prosecution under federal terrorism laws, that the United States Congress correct provisions of the Patriot Act that unduly impair or infringe on civil liberties and oppose any pending or future federal legislation to the extent it infringes on civil liberties; and
     Your Memorialists further pray that the United States Congress work to modify the Patriot Act to the extent that it infringes on civil rights and liberties, ensure that provisions of the Patriot Act "sunset" in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and work to prevent the passage of new legislation that infringes on privacy, due process, civil rights, and liberties, and may alter the checks and balances in government.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, United States Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.