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Anchorage Assembly protests Patriot Act
ANCHORAGE July 15, 2003 - Anchorage's governing body today joined the state and other Alaska communities in formally protesting the USA Patriot Act.
The wide-ranging law grants federal authorities new powers to peer into people's personal lives. Congress passed it after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The Anchorage Assembly approved member Allan Tesche's resolution, 6-3. Tesche's resolution requests that Anchorage police and other city agencies refuse to help federal agents acting under the Patriot Act in ways that violate ''the rights and liberties guaranteed equally under the state and federal constitutions.'' The act could demand that local police initiate or help with immigration investigations and surveillance, which Anchorage police are not trained for and do not have time for, Tesche said.
''I do think it's time for Anchorage to weigh in on this and rule caution,'' said Tesche, who represents downtown.
Nationwide, more than 150 state and local governments have adopted resolutions criticizing the act. Municipal bodies in Fairbanks, Juneau, Kenai, North Pole, Skagway and Gustavus have questioned the law. In May, Alaska's Republican-dominated Legislature voted nearly unanimously to oppose it.
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/071603/ala_071603ala001001.shtml
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