Gun Groups, Civil Liberties Organizations Announce Opposition To Provisions of Counter-Terrorism Legislation Groups Urge House to Reject Expanded Powers for Federal Law Enforcement And Raise Concerns About Use of Secret Evidence, Bans on Fundraising FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, December 6, 1995 WASHINGTON -- Expanding upon its previously expressed concerns about federal law enforcement, an unusual coalition of civil liberties organizations and gun rights groups today urged the House of Representatives to reject the current proposals dealing with counter-terrorism. At a news conference here, coalition members said that, as written, the various anti-terrorism proposals would expand federal law enforcement powers at a time when the American public remains worried about potential abuses of existing authority. "The bills as presently proposed fail to ensure that individual liberty and privacy interests are not violated," the coalition said in a joint letter to Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt. "No counter-terrorism bill should be passed unless it addresses the concerns we have raised here." The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Frontiers of Freedom, Gun Owners of America and Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, ethnic, religious and privacy groups and others. Approximately 25 organizations signed the joint letter sent to Congress today. In its letter, the coalition points to six specific provisions in explaining its "profound objections." The provisions and the coalition's objections to them include: -- Depriving people of liberty based on secret evidence: "To convict or deport individuals based on evidence kept secret from them because it is classified' deprives them of a liberty interest in violation of their most basic due process rights." -- Designating disfavored groups terrorist' organizations: "It is a fundamental, well-established law that people in the United States have a First Amendment right to support the legal activities of any group they choose to support ... mere membership in a group, including groups labeled terrorist,' should not be a bar for admission to the United States." -- Privacy and investigation without evidence of criminality: "We reject the proposition that law enforcement can investigate people in the United States -- and compel disclosure of private information -- absent a reasonable indication of criminal activity." -- Wiretapping and exclusionary rule: "Wiretapping is an extremely invasive investigatory technique...Provisions that would expand law enforcement wiretapping powers and courtroom use of conversations illegally intercepted in a wiretap should be struck from any proposed bill." -- Posse Comitatus Act: "The bill should contain no expansion of military involvement in civilian law enforcement." -- New definition of domestic terrorism: "One of the indirect consequences of such a broad definition [of terrorism] would be the federalization of much state criminal law, as well as increasing the amount of politically motivated selective enforcement that would inevitably occur." Just last month, members of the coalition wrote to leaders of the House and Senate to request that Congress adopt various law enforcement reforms and accountability measures. "During the Waco and Ruby Ridge hearings, we saw the problems that have arisen in how federal law enforcement is using the vast authority it already has," the coalition concluded. "We urge members of Congress to heed the objections we have raised to the pending antiterrorism legislation." Transmitted: 3/7/96 11:01 AM (lg12695f) -- Stanton McCandlish
mech@eff.org

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