Librarians Push Against Patriot Act
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By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 11/30/2009
When it comes to the Patriot Act, there’s little dissension among librarians.
As of late November, 32 state chapters of the American Library Association (ALA) passed resolutions that call for Congress to allow section 215 of the law to sunset, instead of Capitol Hill reauthorizing it before December 31, 2009.
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ALA's Lynne Bradley, director of the American Library Association’s Office of Government Relations. |
“It’s often called the library provision because the ALA made such a stink about this when no one else would,” says Lynne Bradley, director of the American Library Association’s Office of Government Relations in Washington, DC.
ALA passed the first resolution against the section at its national meeting in July. Vermont followed as the first state chapter in September, tweaking its resolution to include opposition to Section 505, which allows the FBI to use National Security Letters to demand similar information within a gag order as well.
Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Kentucky are the latest four states to pass resolutions, too, and ALA heads expect all 50 state chapters to pass similar acts before the end of the year.
While no one is allowed to speak about whether they’ve been served with a Section 215 order, Bradley says a handful of libraries have received them, and a few have even challenged them in court.
“But before the challenges were heard, the FBI withdrew the orders before the information was made public,” she says.
As to whether Congress will be swayed by the library resolutions, Bradley appears unmoved. She notes that the White House appears supportive of the Department of Justice recommendations, which would prefer to have all sections re-ratified.
Besides Section 215, these include Section 206, which deals with roving wire taps, and Section 6001 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 called “Lone Wolf,” which isn’t part of the Patriot Act, but lets intelligence groups investigate single suspects—which many groups fear could be used against protesters.
“I’m normally a betting woman, but I’m not betting on this one,” says Bradley. “We are very disappointed that the White House appears to be have accepted the recommendations of the Department of Justice to move forward with very little changes. And that’s more than a disappointment.”
