(Host) A group in Brattleboro is asking the Selectboard to consider a resolution that questions the constitutionality of the Homeland Security and USA Patriot acts.
Sarah Edwards is vice chair of the Brattleboro Selectboard. She says the resolution is similar to others that have been proposed or have passed in other Vermont communities. Edwards says the resolution reflects local concern about the balance between individual liberties, and security:
(Edwards) “People are concerned about their rights being infringed upon. And it goes even deeper than that, because people are concerned that we’re quietly eroding the rights that we have as Americans, in our own country.”
(Host) The resolution asks local law enforcement to, among other things, not participate in acts that violate civil liberties such as surveillance, wiretaps, racial profiling and detention without charges. It also asks the town government to work to repeal sections of the acts that violate the Constitution.