September 10, 2004

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) applauds the Mercer County Freeholder Board for their unanimous vote in support of the Pro-Civil Liberties Resolution adopted at their meeting last night.

The Resolution calls upon the County to affirm their commitment to securing national security, but without sacrificing the fundamental civil rights and liberties upon which our country has been founded.

By passing the resolution, Mercer County has become the first county in New Jersey to pass a resolution in reaction to the federal government's controversial USA PATRIOT Act.

Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no debate. This 342-page piece of legislation allows for the broadest expansion of police and law enforcement powers in the recent history of our country. Some of the most troubling provisions of the Act enable the FBI to access private records, including medical records, library records and student records, without the need for a warrant or establishing probable cause that a crime has occurred or is about to occur. A "gag provision" within the Act makes it so that the person searched may never learn that he or she has been the subject of government surveillance.

In the two years since the passage of the Act, numerous lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, have condemned some of the Act's most far-reaching provisions and have called for closer scrutiny into how the government uses its expanded powers.

Eleven municipalities in New Jersey, including three Mercer County municipalities (Princeton Borough, Ewing Township and Lawrence Township) have passed such resolutions. Nationally, over 347 communities and four states have passed resolutions condemning the Act. These local votes come at a crucial time, as President Bush presses to extend the surveillance provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act beyond 2005 when they are scheduled to sunset.

The Mercer County resolution, which will be sent to Senators Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, calls for assurances that the surveillance provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act do in fact expire at their scheduled sunset date, and that no further expansion of government surveillance powers is taken that infringes upon individual rights and civil liberties.

The campaign to pass a pro-civil liberties resolution in Mercer County was initiated by resident Allan Willinger, who founded the group Mercer County Coalition for Civil Liberties (MCCCL). "Its great to be represented by a Freeholder Board that is so concerned about the threat that the USA PATRIOT Act poses to our civil liberties. I hope citizens in other counties and towns join the grass-roots movement to pass a resolution in their counties and towns," said Allan Willinger, co-founder of MCCCL.

"The USA PATRIOT Act threatens the very rights and freedoms that we are struggling to protect," said ACLU of New Jersey Executive Director Deborah Jacobs. "Communities across America are very concerned about the expansion of government powers. They see it limiting civil liberties and not keeping us safe from terrorism. I commend the people of Mercer County for taking a stand to ensure that we remain both safe and free."

MCCL, a coalition of organizations and Mercer County citizens, has organized public forums and meetings to increase public awareness and promote dialogue about the importance of civil liberties and the rights granted to us under the U.S. Constitution. Some of the member organizations of MCCL include: the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Coalition for Peace Action, Peace and Social Justice Task Force of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, ImmPACT (Immigrant's Public Advocacy Coalition of Trenton), and others.

More information about the USA PATRIOT Act, about the various communities that have passed resolutions, and other information about the expansion of executive powers since September 11 can be found at: http://www.aclu.org/safeandfree.