Title: Constitutional Rights Foundation
Headings: Articles
Articles
BRIA 19 4 a The Patriot Act: What Is the Proper Balance Between National Security and Individual Rig
The Patriot Act and Privacy
The Debate Over the Patriot Act
For Discussion and Writing
For Further Information
Patriot Act Background
Critics of the Patriot Act
Defenders of the Patriot Act
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A C T I V I T Y
National Security and Freedom

Content: Only 22 percent responded that it goes too far. Forty-eight percent said it is about right, and 21 percent answered that it does not go far enough. In June 2003, the attorney general called for another law to further strengthen the powers of law enforcement to fight terrorists. Called "Patriot Act II" by critics, the proposed new law would, among other things, enable the government to ask a court to revoke the citizenship of any American who provides "material support" to terrorists. The courts are just beginning to review the constitutionality of the Patriot Act. In the first major legal challenge to the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in July 2003 against Section 215 searches. The suit argues that these searches violate the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures as well as First Amendment freedoms of speech and association. In a report called " Unpatriotic Acts ," the ACLU warned that American freedom was endangered by the Patriot Act: Section 215 is likely to chill lawful dissent. If people think that their conversations, their emails, and their reading habits are being monitored, people will feel less comfortable saying what they think—especially if they disagree with government policies.