Protesters demonstrate against the USA PATRIOT Act!
WASHINGTON (PNN) - March 13, 2011 - In Washington, DC on Sunday, demonstrators rallied in front of the White House in protest of repressive governments around the world.
Included in the protests were those opposed to extending the USA PATRIOT Act, which gives law enforcement authorities sweeping surveillance powers that have been criticized for endangering innocent Americans’ civil liberties.
"The American citizenry has been giving up their rights over the last eleven years," Tighe Barry of CODEPINK told Press TV at the protest. "It's a shame that someone like George (W.) Bush, who came into power, thought he could just tear up parts of our Constitution."
Congress passed a bill in February that extended three controversial provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act until May 27, 2011.
The three provisions allow authorities to conduct surveillance without identifying the person or location to be wiretapped, permits surveillance of "non-U.S." persons who are not affiliated with a terrorist group, and allows law enforcement to gain access to "any tangible thing" during investigations.
"It creates a very 'Big Brother' atmosphere where the government can monitor everything," said Ginger McCall of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The protesters called for a repeal of the USA PATRIOT Act, claiming it gave the government too much power to conduct surveillance of Americans, that it flies in the face of both the letter and spirit of the Constitution, and that is it patently un-American.
