Emergency Patriot Act Update!!

EMERGENCY! SUPPORT FILIBUSTER Against Obama's Push to Extend Patriot Act!

Push is on NOW to Stop Congress from Destroying the Fourth Amendment!

RIGHT NOW Senator Rand Paul has been on the floor of the U.S. Senate for over SEVEN HOURS, fighting attempts to ram through the USA PATRIOT Act extensions and urging Senate Democrat Leader Reid to keep his agreement to allow amendments and votes.

The amendment, which Sen. Paul is insisting upon, would exempt certain gun records from USA PATRIOT Act rules and searches. Apparently, this amendment is causing problems and holding up further amendments and votes -- WHICH WE WANT TO KEEP HAPPENING!

WE NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW TO KEEP THIS GOING!

The Obama administration is seeking to extend three provisions of the Patriot Act through June 1, 2015; and they want the provisions passed quickly and without debate over the ever-expanding power the law gives to the government.

Extending the provisions of the Patriot Act further erodes Americans rights and freedoms secured by the Fourth Amendment.

Senators began debate on the bill, S. 1038 on Monday, with Sen. Majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), calling for a cloture vote to end Senate debate on the three of the provisions of the Patriot Act. Members of the House and Senate will vote by Friday, which is why we must ACT NOW to tell Congress to oppose the extension!

The provisions that the Obama administration wants to extend include the roving wire taps, the "loan wolf" provision, and the business records provision. These three provisions "...come under scrutiny over concerns about invasion of privacy..." reports the Chicago Tribune.

Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), said, "Americans have an expectation of privacy. The provisions up for renewal in the Patriot Act may have legitimate uses in combating terrorism; however, we have a higher duty to uphold the constitutional protections all Americans are guaranteed."

The Associated Press reports that: The provisions allow the government to use roving wiretaps on multiple electronic devices and across multiple carriers and get court-approved access to business records relevant to terrorist investigations..."

The lone wolf provision permits government surveillance of individuals; the business records provision allows national security investigators to issue seizure orders for "any tangible thing;" and the roving wiretap provision ignores the Fourth Amendment's guarantee of probable cause and proper court order in favor of indiscriminate searching of citizens' private information.

Americans are concerned about the government's increasing surveillance powers that are infringing on our right to free speech and protections against unwarranted searches and seizures.

This is a state of emergency!

We are facing the slow erosion of our rights that some members of Congress will be voting to pass. This is why the Obama administration and Congressional leaders want to circumvent debate on extending these provisions of the Patriot Act.

Earlier this year, there was a bi-partisan effort to defeat the extension of the Patriot Act, as many Congressional freshmen said they had not been given adequate time to review these provisions and consider their Constitutionality.

Americans fought a revolution to ensure that our rights and our freedoms would no longer be ripped from our hands by a governing authority. With Congress considering an extension of the Patriot Act and the Supreme Court having ruled that local law enforcement have the right to enter a home without a warrant, we are witnessing the slow erosion of our core American values are our freedoms.

We believe in protecting the property rights and freedoms of law-abiding citizens who should not be facing the government's encroachment of their rights.

Extending the provisions of the Patriot Act increases surveillance powers that are infringing on our right to free speech and protections against unwarranted searches and seizures.

We believe in protecting the property rights and freedoms of law-abiding citizens, and the Patriot Act infringes on Americans' Constitutional rights.

RIGHT NOW we need to encourage the efforts of Senator Rand Paul, who has been on the floor of the U.S. Senate for over SEVEN HOURS, fighting attempts to ram through the USA PATRIOT Act extensions and urging Senate Democrat Leader Reid to keep his agreement to allow amendments and votes.

So RIGHT NOW we need to make our voices heard LOUD AND CLEAR in Congress!

SEND FAXES to every member of Congress to tell them to OPPOSE the extension of the Patriot Act that undermines the U.S. Constitution!

Sincerely,

Alan Gottlieb
Chairman, AmeriPAC

American Political Action Committee (AmeriPAC)
PO Box 1682
Dept Code 6293
Bellevue, WA 98009-1682

received by e-mail from AmeriPAC on Tue, May 24, 2011 10:00 pm