As a writer and a reader, I’m horrified that Section 215 of the US Patriot Act gives the government the power to obtain secret court orders to learn what you read in libraries, and buy in bookstores. I am especially appalled as many of us in the TG community absolutely need privacy of our reading material.
I received a message today from the Campaign for Reader Privacy (a group of booksellers, publishers, & writers) about the Freedom to Read Act, which would eliminate the FBI’s authority under the USA PATRIOT Act to secretly search readers’ book purchasing and library records. I urge you to call your House member’s Washington office to convey your support of the Freedom to Read Act as soon as possible.
Check out the Reader Privacy website to find out what you can do!
Here’s the letter:
Re: URGENT:House Votes Next Week on Freedom to Read Amendment!
We have just learned that the U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on an amendment that cuts off Justice Department funding for searches of bookstore and library records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will offer a Freedom to Read Amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill of 2005. The amendment is co-sponsored by Ron Paul (R-TX), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), C.L. “Butch” Otter (R-ID), and Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
The prospects for victory appear good. Last year, over 300 House members voted to bar the Justice Department from using its appropriation to implement another controversial provision of the PATRIOT Act, “sneak and peak” searches. Had Bernie not run into technical problems, he would have offered the Freedom to Read Amendment then, and it probably would have passed.
But we can’t win unless we generate a lot of telephone calls, faxes and e-mails to House members between now and Wednesday or Thursday when the CJS bill will be on the floor for a vote. It doesn’t help matters that we have less than a week to get out the word and that the Fourth of July weekend will shorten our time even more.
Therefore, please call your House member’s Washington office TODAY and tell whoever answers the phone that you urge their boss to vote “yes” on “the Sanders-Paul-Conyers-Otter-Nadler Freedom to Read Amendment to the Commerce, Justice and State appropriations bill.” (“CJS bill” is the Congressional shorthand for the appropriations legislation.) Then, immediately follow up by faxing a note containing the same message on your letterhead.
If you need contact information for your Congress member, you can use the “Contact Congress” search aid on the Campaign for Reader Privacy Web site, http://www.readerprivacy.org, or go directly to the U.S. House of Representatives Web site, http://www.house.gov/writerep. (You can send an e-mail through the House Web site, but telephone calls and faxes get more attention.)
Section 215 has created a dangerous chilling effect on First Amendment rights by giving the FBI the power to secretly search the bookstore and library records of anyone it believes may have information relevant to a foreign intelligence investigation. In March 2003, Sanders introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) to restore the protections for customer privacy eliminated by the Patriot Act. The bill has gained wide support and is co-sponsored by 145 House members in both parties.
However, the House leadership is refusing to hold a hearing on H.R. 1157. The Freedom to Read Amendment will give supporters of the bill an opportunity to achieve its purpose through the appropriations process.
Please help us spread the word about the importance of calling Congress today! Feel free to forward this memo or to use any part of it.
Thank you for acting quickly!
Christopher Finan, president
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
139 Fulton St., Suite 302
New York, NY 10038
telephone (212) 587-4025
fax (212) 587-2436
www.abffe.com