| Monday, July 19, 2004
Council Majority Expresses Reservations
6-2 majority in Pasadena votes against law
By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer
PASADENA — The City Council joined Monday night with more than 300 other cities across the country in expressing opposition to portions of the USA Patriot Act.
The council voted 6-2 along party lines, with the council’s only two Republicans, Sid Tyler and Steve Haderlein, voting no.
A crowd of about 100, many wearing green stickers indicating support for civil liberties, cheered when the resolution passed. Cities from Santa Monica to Moscow, Idaho, to Kalamazoo, Mich., have taken similar stances against the act, which was passed in the wake of 9/11 to give federal authorities broad new powers to combat terrorism.
Civil libertarians have said many provisions grant the government too much unchecked authority.
The council took a far different path Monday night than it did when it considered a resolution opposing the Iraq war in March 2003.
That debate ended with anti-war activists calling council members “cowards’ after the council opted not to take a position on the war.
Though he was opposed to the war, Mayor Bill Bogaard voted not to take a position, saying it was a foreign policy matter.
This time, Bogaard seemed more inclined to give the activists what they wanted.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the Patriot Act raises some threats to our traditional notion of civil liberties,’ Bogaard said. “When we’re talking about civil liberties, we’re talking about what our police officers do on the street, about what our libraries are asked to disclose. I consider that at the heart of the interests of local government.’
The debate focused on the wording of the resolution, as Police Chief Bernard Melekian expressed objections to passages that seemed to tie the hands of police. In particular, Melekian felt some wording could discourage the department from cooperating with federal law enforcement, from soliciting crime tips from the public or from turning over illegal immigrants who pose a security threat to federal authorities.
The council redacted those portions of the resolution that Melekian found objectionable.
Councilman Steve Madison was most outspoken against the Patriot Act, saying “I don’t think this act reflects the values of our community.’
Haderlein favored a more vague resolution that merely expressed “concern” that some portions of the act might violate the Constitution. He said the version that was approved Monday was “redundant.”
Tyler was the most skeptical, suggesting that the courts are the appropriate venue to assess the constitutionality of the act.
Many civil liberties activists spoke against provisions of the act that require libraries to divulge clients’ reading lists and define “domestic terrorism” broadly.
“We are still not so afraid that we are ready to surrender our freedom,” said Jim Lomako, of the Coalition for Civil Liberties.
Martin Truitt, past president of the Pasadena Republican Club, said that the city should not occupy its time with such partisan issues.
“I have concerns about some provisions of the Patriot Act,” he said. “But I don’t think the proper forum for expressing those concerns and resolving them is the Pasadena City Council.”
South Pasadena, Duarte and the Pasadena City College board have already taken positions against portions of the act. Four states have made similar resolutions: Hawaii, Alaska, Vermont and Maine.
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