by Two major Republican candidates sparred in a debate over the merits of the Patriot Act. This legislation was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001 as a response to the events of September 11 of that same year. The acronym USA PATRIOT actually stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”
Patriot Means More Power for Law Enforcement
The main thrust of the act is to remove many of the restrictions law enforcement agencies were previously faced with when collecting information about suspects, including both on the domestic and international front. Searching telephone, e-mail, medical financial and other records was made easier, and it gave law enforcement agencies more authority to detain and deport immigrants who were suspected of terror-related acts.
Paul Says “Nay”
Ron Paul had this to say about the Patriot Act:
“I think the Patriot Act is unpatriotic because it undermines our liberty. I’m concerned, as everybody is, about the terrorist attack. Timothy McVeigh was a vicious terrorist. He was arrested. Terrorism is still on the books, internationally and nationally, it’s a crime and we should deal with it. We dealt with it rather well with Timothy McVeigh. But why I really fear it is we have drifted into a condition that we were warned against because our early founders were very clear. They said, don’t be willing to sacrifice liberty for security. Today it seems too easy that our government and our congresses are so willing to give up our liberties for our security. I have a personal belief that you never have to give up liberty for security. You can still provide security without sacrificing our Bill of Rights.”
Gingrich Says “Yay”
Newt Gingrich was asked if he would like to respond. Gingrich had this to say in answer:
“Timothy McVeigh succeeded. That’s the whole point. Timothy McVeigh killed a lot of Americans. I don’t want a law that says after we lose a major American city, we’re sure going to come and find you. I want a law that says, you try to take out an American city, we’re going to stop you.”
