Organization name
Contact name
Address and telephone number
For Immediate Release: (date)
Northampton City Council to Consider Resolution to Defend the Bill of Rights
City Council President Michael Bardsley will introduce a Resolution to Defend the Bill of Rights to the Council at its meeting on Thursday, April 4, at 7:45 PM in the City Council Chambers. The resolution addresses local concerns about certain provisions of the USA Patriot Act and several Executive Orders.
The resolution reviews the city's history of upholding the rights of its citizens and voices concerns that the new laws threaten several key rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens and non-citizens by the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution and the Massachusetts Constitution, such as freedom of speech, assembly, and privacy; the right to counsel and due process in judicial proceedings; and protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. Northampton residents who are concerned about the issue are invited to attend the City Council meeting.
At the meeting, members of the Northampton Bill of Rights Defense Committee, a community organization that has actively worked on the issue, will present a petition supporting the resolution, which has been signed by hundreds of residents. The Committee grew out of the Women's Congress for Peace held November 10, 2001, in Northampton. It organized a "town meeting" on February 4, which 400 people attended. Speakers at the event included Michael Bardsley; William Newman, Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Western Massachusetts; William Strickland, Professor of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Tandeka Nkiwane, Assistant Professor of International Relations, Smith College; and Russell P. Sienkiewicz, Northampton Chief of Police.
Amherst and Leverett Town Meetings will vote on a similar resolutions this spring.
######
Press Advisory:
For press purposes only. Below are listed the names and phone numbers
of people key to the resolution and petition process:
Northampton City Council City Council President (name and phone
number)
Northampton Bill of Rights Defense Committee (names and phone numbers)