This press release is originally dated May 5, 2006.
Contacts:
Andrew Schuyler, Chief of Staff, Senator Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr. 617-722-1625
Carol Rose, ACLU of MA, 617-482-3170, ex. 313
Robin L. Rich, League of Women Voters of MA, 617-523-2999
Nancy Talanian, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, 413-582-0110
Katie Baxter, Massachusetts Library Association, (781) 320-7230
Boston – Citizen groups applaud the resolution adopted by the Massachusetts Senate yesterday reaffirming the civil liberties of the people of Massachusetts as set forth in the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.
“This is an important statement by our Commonwealth that the people want the government to stop illegal spying on ordinary Americans, the indefinite detention of people without due process, racial and religious profiling, and other government abuses of power,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “We thank the citizen-patriots in the Senate who, through this resolution, have called for the restoration of our Constitutional system of checks and balances.”
Nancy Talanian, director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee said, “We thank the Massachusetts Senate for affirming the civil rights and liberties of their constituents, as more than 400 state and local governments throughout the nation have done. This makes Massachusetts the ninth state to stand up for the principles that the United States was founded upon.”
Senator Andrea Nuciforo (D-Pittsfield), was the lead sponsor of the resolution, which was adopted yesterday on a voice vote.
“While we must always support the aggressive pursuit of terrorist activities at home and abroad, some of our leaders in Washington feel compelled to pry into the private daily lives of Americans, despite any reasonable cause for doing so,” said Nuciforo. “This resolution puts Massachusetts on record as questioning some of the most offensive provisions of the Patriot Act.”
The resolution will be transmitted to President Bush, Attorney General Gonzales, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Michael Sullivan, all members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, and all city and town halls and public libraries in Massachusetts.
“The Massachusetts Libraries Association is pleased with the Massachusetts Senate Resolution Affirming the Civil Rights and Liberties of the People of Massachusetts, as the resolution calls for support for the Bill of Rights and is in accordance with libraries’ commitment to upholding our state law to protect the right of privacy in using libraries,” said MLA President Katie Baxter. “MLA’s long-standing allegiance to principles of intellectual freedom leads the Association to assert the individual’s right to seek information without undue intimidation or interference by the government. The Senate’s resolution both upholds measures to keep America safe and safeguards the very fundamental individual freedoms that allow libraries’ to remain democratic cornerstones for learning, self-improvement, and public good.”
Madhu Sridhar, President of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, said: “The League of Women Voters applauds the Legislature for taking action to protect our civil liberties. The Legislature has now affirmed its belief that the state, Congress, the President and all Americans must vigilantly work together to preserve the greatest degree of civil liberty in the fight against terrorism.”
“When it comes to protecting civil liberties, the League of Women Voters is not the new kid on the block,” added Sridhar. “Today, the League is once again involved in this great national debate: What do we gain as a nation if as we strive to protect national security we lose the very liberties that are the foundation of this country?
