HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

267

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO VOTE TO REPEAL THE usa PATRIOT aCT, TO VOTE AGAINST REAUTHORIZATION OF PROVISIONS OF THE uSA PATRIOT ACT, TO VOTE AGaINST THE DOMESTIC SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT, OR "PATRIOT ii," AND affirming the legislature's commitment to human rights, civil liberties, and all protections guaranteed by the constitutions of the United states and the State of Hawaii, and other international charters and covenants.

 

 

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has a long and distinguished history of protecting and expanding human rights, civil liberties, and constitutional protections, often serving as a beacon for our country's citizens when their rights, liberties, and protections are threatened; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has the most diverse population in the nation, and the contributions of citizens and noncitizens are vital to its character, harmony, and spirit of aloha; and

WHEREAS, the people of the State of Hawaii are in a unique position to understand the gravity and horror of a massive, lethal attack, as the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor was the last time American territory was attacked by foreign forces prior to the events of September 11, 2001; and

WHEREAS, numerous American citizens from Hawaii have served in the Armed Forces of the United States with courage and honor, including the 100th Battalion (the "Purple Heart Battalion") and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit of its size in American military history; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii contains many sites that memorialize the gratitude felt by the State of Hawaii and the nation for the supreme sacrifice made by those in the Armed Forces who have died in battle protecting these same cherished rights, liberties, and protections, including the National War Memorial of the Pacific at Punchbowl and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial; and

WHEREAS, actions taken by the federal government, including the adoption of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 and Homeland Security Act of 2002, and the promulgation of several executive orders and departmental regulations, may tempt the federal government to sacrifice fundamental human rights and civil liberties that are guaranteed by the constitutions of the State of Hawaii and United States, United Nations Charter, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention Against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which require the United States to promote human rights for all without distinction; and

WHEREAS, at least two American citizens are already being held incommunicado without charges, one of them without access to defense counsel, in violation of their right to a public trial guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, matters that will be heard by the United States Supreme Court in the coming months; and

WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act defines "domestic terrorism" so broadly as to potentially apply to certain acts of civil disobedience by lawful advocacy groups, which may be labeled as terrorist organizations and subjected to invasive surveillance, signal and electronic intelligence gathering, harassment, and criminal penalties for protected political advocacy; and

WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act grants unchecked power to the Secretary of State to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" and greatly expands the government's ability to conduct secret searches without warrants; and

WHEREAS, the Justice Department has issued a directive limiting Freedom of Information Act compliance, citing the threat of terrorism as justification, thereby limiting disclosure of public documents and records covering all government information, much of which has no connection to national security or law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, the United States Attorney General unilaterally, without consulting Congress, eased long-standing intelligence guidelines which were put in place in 1976 as a result of gross intelligence abuses by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and issues surrounding the Watergate Hotel break-in by operatives linked to the Nixon White House; and

WHEREAS, new guidelines allow Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to spy on religious groups, political rallies, and organized meetings without any suspicion that the organization is involved in terrorism or any other criminal activity; and

WHEREAS, this type of unchecked intelligence gathering led to the intelligence abuses of the 1960s and 1970s, including the severe disruption of the civil rights movement and the murder of many leading activists and dissidents; and

WHEREAS, there is a rising tide of opposition to these actions by the federal government including the voices of such leading conservatives as former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, former United States Representatives Bob Barr and Dick Armey, United States Senators Larry Craig, Lisa Murkowski, and Arlen Specter, and United States Representatives Butch Otter, Jim Leach, and James Sensenbrenner; and

WHEREAS, the Bush Administration has made a cornerstone of its policy agenda the extension of the USA PATRIOT Act's most controversial powers beyond the year 2005, when they are set to expire and the passage of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act, the so-called "PATRIOT II," that would erode checks and balances on presidential power, diminish liberty, and fail to bolster security; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that actions recently taken by the federal government pose a threat to the human rights, civil liberties, and constitutional protections of the residents of this State, and run the very serious risk of destroying freedom, security, and prosperity in a misguided attempt to save them; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature remains firmly committed to the protection of the human rights, civil liberties, and constitutional protections of all people residing within the State, including those who are citizens of other nations, and affirms its commitment to embody the true spirit of democracy, to embrace and defend the rights, liberties, and protections now under siege, and to make them equally viable for all, regardless of citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation, racial identification, religious affiliation, age, or country of origin; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that federal and county law enforcement officials acting within the State work in accordance with the policies of the county police departments, and in cooperation with those departments, are requested to not engage in law enforcement activities that threaten the human rights, civil liberties, and constitutional protections of people residing in the State of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States monitor the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act, Homeland Security Act, executive orders, and federal departmental regulations cited herein, and actively work for the repeal of those Acts and against reauthorization of those provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act set to expire in 2005, for withdrawal of those executive orders, and federal departmental regulations, and against the enactment of the proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act (or PATRIOT II), that violate human rights and civil liberties stated in the constitutions of the State of Hawaii and United States, United Nations Charter, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention Against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, county law enforcement authorities and relevant state departments are requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2005 on the extent and manner in which they have acted under the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, Homeland Security Act of 2002, executive orders, and federal departmental regulations, that weaken or destroy our human rights and civil liberties stated in the constitutions of the State of Hawaii and United States, United Nations Charter, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention Against Torture, and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination, including the disclosure of the names and locations of any detainees held in the State of Hawaii or any Hawaii residents detained elsewhere as "enemy combatants"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; United States Attorney General; Secretary of Homeland Security; Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; President of the United States Senate; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; members of Hawaii's delegation to the Congress of the United States; the Governor; Attorney General; and the Mayor of each county.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Civil liberties; human rights