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The U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T ( Uniting
and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools
Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act was
passed in response to the September 11th attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. In July
2004, the U.S. Justice department released a report that
failed to address the public's concerns over the effects
of the Patriot Act on civil liberties. Passed on October
25th 2001, this Act changed the structure of American
privacy rights as many people know them.
Privacy, in any culture, is something highly valued
by many people, and rights are something not to be toyed
with. Yet, the Patriot Act is stepping on everyone's
toes.
So, the question is, what does the Patriot
Act do? Does
it fight crime, privacy rights or terrorism? According
to the Patriot Act itself, it is an act to deter and
punish terrorist acts in the United States and around
the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools,
and for other purposes. The act goes about its task by
increasing the applications of a subpoena and by granting
investigators more ease in delving into records once
unavailable without higher court approval and notification
of the suspect.
Originally, the Patriot Act was created with the intention
to prevent or, at least, slow down terrorism. However,
since its approval, the Patriot Act has been employed
in situations that have had nothing to do with terrorism.
One such case prevented a school attack similar to the
one on Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, that
was planned for March 2004. Using information obtained
through Section 210 of the Patriot Act, the suspect was
identified and interviewed by investigators. Another
case, involving a 13-year-old girl from Southern Indiana,
led to the arrest of her abusive father. Once again,
using Section 210 of the Patriot Act, investigators requested
the father's Internet subscriber information and used
it to procure a warrant to search the father's home.
Section 210 of the Patriot Act gives the government power
to request a customer's name, address, local and long
distance telephone connection records, or records of
session times and durations, length of service (including
start date) and types of service utilized, telephone
or instrument number or other subscriber number or identity,
including any temporarily assigned network address; and
means and source of payment for such service (including
any credit card or bank account number of a subscriber
from an electronic service providers.
 On the other had, according
to Chelsea Gregory, an NYU student who called the Patriot
Act "...one of the most serious attacks on
civil liberties in the history of this country , " the
patriot act is fighting your privacy rights. Chelsea
Gregory further explains saying " I think the focus
is wrong" and that "the terrorist threat is
used as an excuse to take more political power from the
people."
Celeste Faison, an organizer with Action
for Community Empowerment shared Chelsea's perspective
in stating that the Patriot Act is "A necessary tool for the government
to control people. " She also described it as "Cointelpro
to the 10th degree." Cointelpro describes an array
of FBI counter intelligence programs designed to subdue
political dissidents.
People on the street , unaware of the Patriot Act, found
it outrageous and obtrusive once they were informed about
it. Some even said  things like "I don't approve
of that" and "no, it shouldn't be made into
a law at all". A well informed citizen, Robert
Ship, went down on record against the Patriot Act saying "I
think the incarceration of citizens of the United States
or foreign immigrants just based upon the suspicious
nature of their character is unwarranted and unconstitutional.
A small farmer named Carl Butts, visiting from Tampa,
Florida also knocked the Patriot Act by stating that, "it's
a part of the war that Washington is waging at home along
with its war abroad against the rights of working people."
How has the Patriot act gone about protecting
America from this nation's predators ? According to justice
officials, nearly 50 defendants were detained secretly
as material witnesses in connection with the September
11th attacks in 2001. Other questions regarding
what the Patriot Act has solved when it comes to terrorism
are still being asked and have yet to be answered.
The Patriot Act fights crime, terror and privacy rights.
The big question is, should the Patriot act be fighting all three? With its permanency
to be voted on in 2005 I guess we'll have to see.
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