August 19, 2003
Contact Person: Samina Faheem, (650) 387-1994
Silicon Valley for Civil Rights
South Bay Mobilization, (408) 998-8504

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Say NO to PATRIOT Act

Santa Clara County - A resolution opposing the PATRIOT Act was passed
today  by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors with only one
opposing vote.

The driving force behind the resolution was a coalition called Silicon
Valley  for Civil Rights. Many members of the Coalition, members of the
community, as  well as a multitude of other organizations spoke in
support of the  resolution, including the ACLU, Green Party, South Bay
Mobilization, American Muslim  Voice, Blue Triangle Network , SEIU Local
715, South Bay Labor Council, South  Alameda County Peace and Justice
Coalition, Iranians for Freedom and Democracy,  Palo Alto Patriot Group,
We R One/Inter-Community Action Circle, Pakistan  American Alliance,
Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace, California Bill of  Rights
Defense Committee and Justice for Palestinians.

Supervisors Blanca Alvarado, Pete McHugh, James T. Beall Jr., and Liz
Kniss  all voted in favor of the resolution, with District 1 Supervisor
Don Gage being  the only board member to vote against the resolution.

By voting for this resolution, the Board of Supervisors has affirmed its
 strong support for fundamental constitutional rights and its opposition
to past  and future legislation which threaten important civil liberties
and immigrant  rights. The Board of Supervisors also affirmed its strong
support in opposing  racial profiling and scapegoating of immigrants.

Santa Clara County has joined over 150 other communities across the
nation  that have taken a stand for civil liberties and against the
PATRIOT Act. Silicon  Valley for Civil Rights has already started the
process for passing a similar  resolution by the City of San Jose.

"I am very happy today," said Samina Faheem, Executive Director of
American  Muslim Voice,  and member of Silicon Valley For Civil Rights.
"This is the  Miracle I have been talking about. I truly believe that
our fellow Americans are  open minded, kind, generous and fair people.
They would not stand for unjust  treatment of anybody in our country.
Together we can build the most beautiful  diverse human wall of
resistance and support, one that can't be shaken. My dream  is to help
America remain a country where all of us feel at home."

"The 'war on terror' is a massive power-mongering ploy by a corporate
elite,"  said Don Spark of the Blue Triangle Network. "The unfortunate
reality is that  the 'war on terrorism' is: a war on truth, a war on
freedom, a war on  justice."

Over thirty years ago, California voters overwhelmingly adopted a
Constitutional right to privacy to protect against a "proliferation of
government  snooping and data collecting [that] is threatening to
destroy our traditional  freedoms." The rising tide of patriotic efforts
in California to protect America's  basic freedoms shows that
Californians take the right to privacy and our other  rights guaranteed
by the Constitution and Bill of Rights seriously.

The current draft of the resolution against the PATRIOT Act can be
viewed on  the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors web site at
www.sccgov.org. To see  the organizations that endorse this resolution,
and for more information  about Silicon Valley for Civil Rights, see
their web site at www.siliconvalleyforcivilrights.org.

Silicon Valley for Civil Rights (SVCR) is a broad-based, grassroots
coalition  of individuals and organizations deeply concerned about the
Bush administration's post-September 11 crackdown on civil liberties.

www.siliconvalleyforcivilrights.org
Wake Up America, Your Rights Are Slipping Away!