Protesters at Ashcroft Speech Call for

Bill Affirming Civil Liberties

BYLINE

On Tuesday, September 9, a diverse and energetic crowd of protesters replaced the usual suits and ties at the corner of Broad Street and Exchange Place, just outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The gathering, organized to call attention to Attorney General John Ashcroft’s visit to New York, was sponsored by the New York Bill of Rights Defense Campaign, a project of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Other sponsors included New York’s Health and Human Service Union (1199 SEIU), United for Peace and Justice, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and many others. Ashcroft visited the city as part of a public relations tour intended to garner support for the USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act, which has come under attack for its alleged unconstitutionality and civil rights violations. Just forty-five days after September 11, the PATRIOT Act sailed through Congress with little debate, and only recently has it undergone any semblance of cool-headed scrutiny.

The New York protest brought attention to proposed City Council Resolution number 909, which calls upon “federal, state, and local officials, and upon New York City agencies and institutions to affirm and uphold civil rights and civil liberties.” The full resolution can be read at http://www.nycbordc.org/resolution0909-2003.html. Udi Ofer, director of the New York Bill of Rights Campaign, stressed the importance of contacting members of City Council to oppose the PATRIOT Act by passing Resolution 909. The possibility that a majority of City Council members are opposed to the PATRIOT Act is a reality, he argued. For instance, City Council member Margarita Lopez, who has already indicated her support for the resolution, defined a “patriot” as a leader in a movement to battle the PATRIOT Act. In the context of such vocal support for 909 among some City Council members, Ofer stressed the public’s responsibility to dictate the will of the people to the entire Council and ensure passage of the act.

The CUNY Graduate Center is currently host to a series of lectures on human rights. The next lectures will take place on Monday, November 3 and Tuesday, December 2, at 7pm. See http://web.gc.cuny.edu/CEPP for more information.