The Mountain View City Council and the Patriot Act

The Mountain View City Council decided on September 2 after almost 20 statements by members of the public and after a lengthy discussion to take a position opposing a number of elements of the federal USA PATRIOT Act as encroaching on the civil liberties of city residents and asking our congressional representatives to address the issues. The final resolution will be adopted at the next council meeting on September 16.

The city's staff report for the 9/2 meeting includes an excellent analysis of the controversial law by Stanford Law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuellar.

The staff report for the 9/16 meeting includes the previous material and an updated proposal for a letter to Attorney General Ashcroft (at the end) which does not appear to take into account the desire of the Council to "beef up" the letter with a statement of "opposition" vs "concern" and with a request that our congressional representatives report back to the Council with the steps taken to remove the egregious elements of the Act.

See below for the position presented to the Council by the Mountain View Voices for Peace on September 2.