USA Patriot Act Resolution

The Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire, being a diverse religious community with the shared values of justice, acceptance and compassion, hereby declares its opposition to the sections* of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Executive Branch Actions which threaten our fundamental rights and liberties of:

• Freedom of speech, religion, assembly and privacy;

• The rights to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings; and

• Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

All of which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and the United States Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Therefore:

• We urge our local, state and federal officials to work to repeal and/or resist
  those provisions* of the USA PATRIOT Act that threaten our civil liberties.

• We appeal to these same officials to prevent the passage of the Domestic Security Act (PATRIOT Act II).

• We encourage our members and friends to contact their Federal and State Legislators to request that they monitor the implementation of the Act and the Executive Branch Actions and actively work for the repeal of the provisions that violate the fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the Constitution of the Commonwealth and of the United States.

•  We support the effort by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Legislature to pass a statewide resolution supporting civil liberties and opposing those portions* of the USA PATRIOT Act and the Executive Branch Actions that violate the rights and liberties stated above.

We are motivated to call for these actions by our commitment to uphold the fundamental human rights of all individuals regardless of their citizenship, religion, ethnicity or place of national origin.

*Section 203, Section 213, Section 215, Section 218, Section 411, Section 412,
and Section 802