3.24.2005
Coalition Forms to Oppose Parts of Antiterrorism Law (NYTimes.com)
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: March 23, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 22 - Battle lines were drawn Tuesday in the debate over the government's counterterrorism powers, as an unlikely coalition of liberal civil-rights advocates, conservative libertarians, gun-rights supporters and medical privacy advocates voiced their objections to crucial parts of the law that expanded those powers after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Keeping the law intact "will do great and irreparable harm" to the Constitution by allowing the government to investigate people's reading habits, search their homes without notice and pry into their personal lives, said Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman who is leading the coalition.
Mr. Barr voted for the law, known as the USA Patriot Act, in the House just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks but has become one of its leading critics, a shift that reflects the growing unease among some conservative libertarians over the expansion of the government's powers in fighting terrorism.
He joined with other conservatives as well as the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday in announcing the creation of the coalition, which hopes to curtail some of the law's more sweeping law-enforcement provisions.
But Bush administration officials on Tuesday affirmed their strong support for the law as an indispensable tool in tracking, following and arresting terrorist suspects. As one of his top legislative priorities, President Bush has prodded Congress repeatedly to extend critical parts of the law that are set to expire at the year's end.
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Coalition Forms to Oppose Parts of Antiterrorism Law) ¶ 08:06
Published: March 23, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 22 - Battle lines were drawn Tuesday in the debate over the government's counterterrorism powers, as an unlikely coalition of liberal civil-rights advocates, conservative libertarians, gun-rights supporters and medical privacy advocates voiced their objections to crucial parts of the law that expanded those powers after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Keeping the law intact "will do great and irreparable harm" to the Constitution by allowing the government to investigate people's reading habits, search their homes without notice and pry into their personal lives, said Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman who is leading the coalition.
Mr. Barr voted for the law, known as the USA Patriot Act, in the House just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks but has become one of its leading critics, a shift that reflects the growing unease among some conservative libertarians over the expansion of the government's powers in fighting terrorism.
He joined with other conservatives as well as the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday in announcing the creation of the coalition, which hopes to curtail some of the law's more sweeping law-enforcement provisions.
But Bush administration officials on Tuesday affirmed their strong support for the law as an indispensable tool in tracking, following and arresting terrorist suspects. As one of his top legislative priorities, President Bush has prodded Congress repeatedly to extend critical parts of the law that are set to expire at the year's end.
(More ... The New York Times > Washington > Coalition Forms to Oppose Parts of Antiterrorism Law) ¶ 08:06
