Suffolk NYCLU > Newsletters > 1/14/04 E-Newsletter: Our First E-Newsletter

January 14, 2004
Suffolk NYCLU E-Newsletter

Dear Supporters,

Hello and welcome to the first e-newsletter of the Suffolk NYCLU! We are very excited about your involvement with our chapter, and we look forward to providing you with information about the state of civil liberties in our county and diverse opportunities to participate in their defense.

This Thursday night (Jan 15th) at 7:30pm in the Huntington Cinema Arts Centre (Address below), the Suffolk NYCLU is participating in a meeting with the Huntington Committee of the Suffolk Bill of Rights Defense Campaign. The Suffolk Campaign is an effort to empower our county with the tools to protect against the intrusion on our basic freedoms of the Patriot Act and related federal actions. There is no doubt that this is a difficult time for our country, but removing the core of our democratic system -- checks and balances -- will make us a much weaker nation by preventing open discourse and the ability to collectively shape our country's direction and future.

Some of these provisions that have already passed are:
1). Delayed notice of a warrant is now acceptable by law in not just intelligence probes, but in criminal cases. By delaying notice of a warrant, you will not know if your property was searched.

2). Allows civil disobedience to fall under the terms for domestic terrorism, which can lead to indefinite detention of US citizens, and unnamed, indefinite detention of non-US citizens.

3). Allows student records to be seized without proper judicial oversight, including medical information, grades, and demographic information.

4). Allows the CIA access to financial information without judicial review, proper cause, or notice to the individual being searched.

Some of the provisions that are waiting to be passed include:
1). Americans can be detained indefinitely without disclosure -- ANYONE can just disappear.

2).Association with a group that engages in "domestic terrorism" (such as civil disobedience) is grounds for revoked citizenship.

3).Removal of judicial oversight in wiretapping and immigration hearings.

4). Summary deportation without evidence of a crime.

The Suffolk Campaign is starting in Huntington to get the ball rolling, but we are soon going to be reaching out to the rest of the county. We would be happy to have you join us tomorrow, even if you are not a resident of Huntington. If you have any questions about this meeting, the Campaign, or any of our work, please don't hesitate to reach me at jfeuer@nyclu.org.

I look forward to developing a strong chapter in Suffolk, and to working with all of you.

Best,
Jared Feuer
Executive Director, Suffolk NYCLU

Huntington Cinema Arts Centre Address:
423 Park Avenue, Huntington NY 11743
(100 Yards South of Rt 25A, Main Street)

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