PORT ANGELES — The USA Patriot Act, enacted after the 9/11 attacks to broaden the power of law-enforcement agencies to track and prosecute terrorists, will be the subject of a public forum on Sunday.
The forum, sponsored by the Bill of Rights Defense Committee of Clallam County, will include a panel discussion of the law and a question-and-answer period.
Sunday’s forum will run from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Raymond Carver Room of the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
The panel discussion will be moderated by John Brewer, editor and publisher of the Peninsula Daily News.
Panel members will be Jamie Bollenback of the American Civil Liberties Union; Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jill Landes; Rev. Vince Murray; attorney Chris Shea; George Stratton of the North Olympic Library System; and Odyssey Bookshop owner Craig Whalley.
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee wants Clallam County commissioners and the city councils in Port Angeles, Forks and Sequim to pass resolutions that call the Patriot Act a threat to the civil rights of local residents.
Port Townsend and Jefferson County are already on record in opposition to the federal law.
Three states and 182 cities, towns and counties have passed resolutions or ordinances condemning the Patriot Act and, in many instances, urging its repeal.
For further information, contact Milton or Ellen Patrie, 360-452-5003, or e-mail patrie@olympus.net.
Patriot Act background
The USA Patriot Act is actually an acronym — Uniting and Strengthening America By Providing Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.
It has been the subject of controversy since it was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Some civil libertarians say portions of the act are unconstitutional and have been used to detain and deport immigrants from Middle Eastern countries with no links to terrorism.
Defenders of the act, most notably U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, say it is a vital tool in the war against terrorism in that it removes policy restraints that have hampered law-enforcement agencies’ ability to meet the threat posed by clandestine groups operating in the United States.