- New York City Bill of Rights Defense Campaign NEW YORK
CITY COUNCIL
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- BILL OF RIGHTS RESOLUTION Address:http://www.nycbordc.org/resolution0060-2004.html
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- New York City Council Bill of Rights Resolution Res.
60-2004 (formerly 0909-2003-A)
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- Adopted by the Council on Wednesday, February 4, 2004
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- Resolution calling upon federal, state and local officials,
and upon New York City agencies and institutions, to affirm and uphold
civil rights and civil liberties.
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- By Council Members Perkins, Barron, López, Monserrate,
Seabrook, Vann, Yassky, Baez, Boyland, Brewer, Clarke, Comrie, deBlasio,
Dilan, Foster, Gerson, Gonzalez, Jackson, James, Jennings, Koppell, Liu,
Martinez, Speaker Miller, Moskowitz, Provenzano, Quinn, Reed, Reyna, Rivera,
Sanders, Serrano, Stewart, and Weprin.
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- Whereas, The protection of civil rights and civil liberties
is essential to the well being of a free and democratic society; and
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- Whereas, The City of New York has a diverse population,
including immigrants and students, whose contributions to the city are
vital to its economy, culture and civic character; and
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- Whereas, The members of the Council of the City of New
York believe that there is no inherent conflict between national security
and the preservation of liberty -- Americans can be both safe and free;
and
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- Whereas, Government security measures that undermine
fundamental rights do damage to the American institutions and values that
the residents of the City of New York hold dear; and
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- Whereas, Federal, state and local governments should
protect the public from terrorist attacks, such as those that occurred
on September 11, 2001, but should do so in a rational and deliberative
fashion in order to ensure that security measures enhance the public safety
without impairing constitutional rights or infringing on civil liberties;
and
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- Whereas, Certain federal policies adopted since September
11, 2001, including certain provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law
107-56) and related federal actions unduly infringe upon fundamental rights
and liberties; and Whereas, These new policies include the power to authorize
the indefinite incarceration of non-citizens based on mere suspicion of
terrorist activity, and the indefinite incarceration of citizens designated
as “enemy combatants” without access to counsel or
meaningful recourse to the federal courts; limitations on the traditional
authority of federal courts to curb law enforcement abuse of electronic
surveillance in anti-terrorism investigations and ordinary criminal investigations;
the expansion of the authority of federal agents to conduct so-called “sneak
and peek” or “black bag” searches, in which
the subject of the search warrant is unaware that his property has been
searched; grants to law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access
to personal medical, financial, library and education records with little
if any judicial oversight; and Whereas, These new policies may undermine
trust between immigrant communities and the government, and in particular,
pose a threat to the civil rights and liberties of the residents of our
city who are or who appear to be Arab, Muslim or of South Asian descent;
and Whereas, The federal government has drafted new legislation entitled
the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA) (also known as PATRIOT II),
which may further compromise constitutional rights and our government’s
unique system of checks and balances; and Whereas, Three states and more
than 200 communities throughout the country have enacted resolutions that
reaffirm support for civil rights and civil liberties and that demand accountability
from law enforcement agencies regarding the exercise of the extraordinary
new powers referred to herein; now, therefore, be it
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- Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls
upon federal, state and local officials, and upon New York City agencies
and institutions, to affirm and protect civil rights and civil liberties;
and be it further Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York affirms
its strong support for the rights of immigrants and opposes measures that
single out individuals for legal scrutiny or enforcement activity based
primarily upon their country of origin; and be it further Resolved, That
the Council of the City of New York affirms its commitment to uphold civil
rights and civil liberties, and therefore expresses its opposition to:
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- (a) investigation of individuals or groups of individuals
based on their participation in activities protected by the First Amendment,
such as political advocacy or the practice of a religion, without reasonable
suspicion of criminal activity unrelated to the activity protected by the
First Amendment;
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- (b) racial, religious or ethnic profiling;
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- (c) participation in the enforcement of federal immigration
laws, except as directed by New York City Executive Order 41;
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- (d) deployment of biometric identification technology
that is unreliable;
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- (e) establishment of a network of general surveillance
cameras unless such a network is subject to regulations that provide reasonable
and effective protections of privacy and due process rights of individuals
who appear in recorded material; and
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- (f) “sneak and peek” searches, pursuant
to Section 213 of the Patriot Act, unless the search is authorized and
conducted in accordance with New York State law; and
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- (g) establishment or maintenance of an anti-terrorism
reporting system that creates an electronic record on an individual unless
subject to regulations that provide for the protection of individuals subject
to unfounded reports; and be it further
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- Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York opposes
requests by federal authorities that, if granted, would cause agencies
of the City of New York to exercise powers or cooperate in the exercise
of powers in apparent violation of any city ordinance or the laws or Constitution
of this State or the United States; and be it further
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- Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges
each of the City’s public libraries to inform library patrons
that Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act gives the government new authority
to monitor book-borrowing and Internet activities without patrons’
knowledge or consent and that this law prohibits library staff from informing
patrons if federal agents have requested patrons’ library records;
and be it further Resolved, That in order to assess the effect of antiterrorism
initiatives on the residents of the City of New York, the City Council
calls upon federal officials to make periodic reports, consistent with
the Freedom of Information Act, that include:
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- (a) the number of New York City residents who have been
arrested or otherwise detained by federal authorities as a result of terrorism
investigations since September 11, 2001;
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- (b) the number of search warrants that have been executed
in the City of New York without notice to the subject of the warrant pursuant
to section 213 of the USA PATRIOT Act;
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- (c) the number of electronic surveillance actions carried
out in the City of New York under powers granted in the USA PATRIOT Act;
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- (d) the number of investigations undertaken by federal
authorities to monitor political meetings, religious gatherings or other
activities protected by the First Amendment within the City of New York;
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- (e) the number of times education records have been obtained
from public schools and institutions of higher learning in the City of
New York under section 507 of the USA PATRIOT Act;
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- (f) the number of times library records have been obtained
from libraries in the City of New York under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT
Act; and (g) the number of times that records of the books purchased by
store patrons have been obtained from bookstores in the City of New York
under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act; and be it further Resolved, That
the Council of the City of New York calls upon our United States Representatives
and Senators to monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and related
federal actions and to actively work for the repeal of those sections of
the USA PATRIOT Act and related federal actions that unduly infringe upon
fundamental rights and liberties as recognized in the U.S. Constitution
and its Amendments; and be it further Resolved, That the Council of the
City of New York calls upon our United States Representatives and Senators
to take a lead in Congressional action to prohibit passage of the Domestic
Security Enhancement Act, known as “Patriot II”; and
be it further Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls
upon Governor George Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver and the members of the State Legislature to ensure
that state anti-terrorism laws and policies are implemented in a manner
that does not infringe upon fundamental rights and liberties as recognized
in the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments and in the New York State Constitution.
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- ©2002-2004 New York Civil Liberties Union. All rights
reserved. Website by Isotope Media, LLC Included Page: New York City Bill
of Rights Defense Campaign
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- NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL BILL OF RIGHTS RESOLUTION
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