“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” - United States Constitution, Amendment I.V.
Earlier today the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill titled “FISA Amendments Act of 2008.” To become law, all that is now needed is for the Senate to also vote in favor of the bill, plus the president’s signature. Given the fact that it is the administrative branch that introduced this bill, there is no chance that George W. Bush will veto it, and it is also highly unlikely that the Senate will stand against it.
Don’t let the word “foreign” in “Foreign Inelegance Surveillance Act” fool you: this law claims to give the Feds permission to spy-on/search anyone they want. However, this goes directly against the Forth Amendment to our Constitution. Our legal system provides methods for changing and removing things from our Constitution, and those methods have been used 27 times in the past. Not one of the subsequent 23 Amendments have altered the 4th, therefore making today’s legislation unlawful.
What does this say of the people who voted for this unlawful legislation? There are many opinions on this, but I would say that it makes the people who voted in support of it criminals, as they have violated our laws. Criminals by our law are unfit to hold an elected position in our government.
I sent an email to my representatives yesterday, telling them that I would actively campaign against them if they voted for this legislation. This is just the beginning of my fulfillment of that promise:
- The Honorable Lamar Alexander: (202) 224-4944
- The Honorable Bart Gordon: (202) 225-4231
