NEWS FROM
GAYS AND LESBIANS FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
P.O. Box 3913
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
Phone (202) 903-5555
URL: http://www.gayliberty.org
CONTACT: Richard Sincere
202-903-5555 or
804-245-8426
Gay Libertarian
Organization Removed from "Broad Coalition" Concerned with Civil Liberties
"Sole
Reason for Rejection Is Our Members Are Gay and Lesbian," Says GLIL President
(Washington,
D.C., July 1, 2002) --- A self-described "broad coalition [of] conservative,
religious, libertarian and other organizations," that invited Gays and
Lesbians for Individual Liberty (GLIL), a libertarian advocacy group, to participate
in its efforts has now removed GLIL because GLIL's members are mostly gay men
and lesbians.
The ad hoc coalition, led by the Washington-based Free Congress Foundation,
circulated a draft letter addressed to U.S. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner,
Jr., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on June 10, which included GLIL's
signature. After objections from members of the Free Congress Foundation's "broad
base," according to the Foundation's vice president, Lisa Dean, GLIL's
signature was excised. That "broad base" is made up primarily of religious-right
organizations and individuals, said GLIL President Richard Sincere, who added:
"Their base may be 'broad' but their minds appear to be narrow."
"Lisa
Dean told me that there was no policy disagreement involved," Sincere said.
"She made it clear that GLIL's name was removed solely because our members
are gay and lesbian."
Sincere pointed out that the coalition included such disparate groups as the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Gun Owners of America. "GLIL
members have a stronger commitment to the First Amendment than the ACLU. (GLIL
and the ACLU were on opposite sides in the Supreme Court's gay scoutmaster case;
GLIL argued in an amicus curiae brief that the Boy Scouts had a constitutional
right to exclude gay troop leaders, despite GLIL's disagreement with that policy.)
Like our comrades, the Pink Pistols, we're as strongly committed to the Second
Amendment as Gun Owners of America."
The letter to Chairman Sensenbrenner expressed concerns that new FBI guidelines
issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft "will usher in an invigorated
campaign against lawful dissent and religious expression." It adds: "The
First and Fourth Amendments and the system of checks and balances established
in our Constitution should not be undermined under the guise of mendacious explanations
for failure."
"We
and the Free Congress Foundation, like other coalition members, are natural
allies. We want to protect citizens against government intrusion and limit the
scope of government. Our commitment to the Bill of Rights and individual liberties
enshrined in the U.S. Constitution is not in question," said Sincere. "From
a freedom of association standpoint, the Free Congress Foundation may exclude
us from participating in their coalition. But when they do so for petty and
childish reasons, they have no right to escape embarrassment and public scrutiny.
By choosing to narrow the pro-liberty coalition, the Free Congress Foundation
undermines its own cause -- our cause."
Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty was founded in 1991 to advance the
ideas of economic and personal freedom and individual responsibility. For more
information, including GLIL's brief in the Boy Scouts' case and GLIL's opposition
to the FBI's "Carnivore" program, visit www.glil.org or www.gayliberty.org.
A copy of the letter to Congressman Sensenbrenner, with a list of signatories
as of June 10, 2002, is attached to this news release.
June
18, 2002 [signatures accurate as of June 10, 2002]
Chairman
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear
Chairman Sensenbrenner:
On
behalf of a broad coalition ranging from conservative, religious, libertarian
and other organizations, we want to congratulate you for taking the initiative
to protect our Constitutional rights and liberties regarding the recent decision
of the Attorney General to loosen the guidelines restricting the surveillance
of religious and political organizations in the United States.
Given
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's actions under the old guidelines, we
are concerned that the new era will usher in an invigorated campaign against
lawful dissent and religious expression.
During
the previous Administration, the American people witnessed an FBI that routinely
overstepped the boundaries of its authority by eroding the Fourth Amendment
protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Under Attorney General
Reno, the FBI targeted religious groups as well as pro-life and pro-Second
Amendment organizations and labeled them as likely to commit acts of terror.
That created a mindset within the agency that those who previously have stood
for American ideals, are now seen as potential terrorists.
In
1999 the FBI released a report to all state and local law enforcement authorities
entitled "Project Megiddo." The report aimed at increased surveillance
of individuals and groups "who profess an apocalyptic view of the millennium
or attach special significance to the year 2000." This was a clear example
of unwarranted surveillance of those citizens who profess strong religious
beliefs, oppose United Nation's policies, are pro-Second Amendment or pro-life.
A
product of the Project Megiddo report was the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force
flyer put out by the Phoenix office a few years ago instructing law enforcement
officers to report individuals who are "'defenders' of the US Constitution
against federal government" and others.
Unfortunately,
even under a new administration, the same mindset exists within the FBI. That
mindset revealed itself after the horrific events of September 11th when Attorney
General Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller announced sweeping new changes
within the agency. What that meant and what it should have meant are very
different. It should have meant a change from the "Reno mindset"
within the FBI to a more traditional mindset where the real suspects are targeted
as opposed to innocent American citizens.
We
understand that law enforcement is under pressure to prevent terrorism from
ever again occurring on American soil but to toss out our Constitutional rights
must not be the way to proceed. The lower standards for surveillance of religious
activities and political expression has the effect of casting a wider net
for information when most analysts cite the inability to analyze the available
information as contributing to the intelligence failure regarding the tragic
events of September 11th, 2001. The emphasis now should be on the processing
of information into meaningful analysis and a more directed focus of accurate
information gathering. More importantly, conclusions must be based on the
information gathered rather than information gathered to fit already drawn
conclusions.
The
First and Fourth Amendments and the system of checks and balances established
in our Constitution should not be undermined under the guise of mendacious
explanations for failure. We are concerned that lowering the surveillance
standards would cause such a system of checks and balances to implode. "If
it looks bad, it's bad for the FBI" is a motto that invites trouble and
after September 11th and the negative press that the agency has endured, it
is also one that will undoubtedly be taken more seriously. [The new guidelines
should explicitly prohibit agents from acting outside the boundaries of the
law in order to apprehend or persecute a suspect, however innocent, in order
to make the agency look effective. There should be no objection to a specific
prohibition on investigators acting as agents provocateur or encouraging others
to violate the law in order to make cases that would not otherwise have existed.]
Furthermore,
since the changes only apply to domestic guidelines and not foreign, these
changes would have done nothing to prevent the horrific events of September
11th had they been in place. However they will target American citizens when,
in fact, surveillance efforts ought to be focused on foreign nationals and
visitors to the U.S.
We
would be happy to work with you and your staff on this issue. If you would
like, please contact J. Bradley Jansen at the Free Congress Foundation at
202-204-5324 or by email at
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Sincerely,
Lisa
Dean
Vice President for Policy
Free Congress Foundation
William
J. Murray
Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition
Jane
Orient, MD
Executive Director
Association of American Physicians & Surgeons
Larry
Pratt
Executive Director
Gun Owners of America
Majed
Jafari
Director, Government Relations
Arab American Institute
Connie
Mackey
Vice President for Government Affairs
Family Research Council
Amit
A. Pandya
Counsel
Open Society Policy Center
Joe
Eldred
President and Founder
God Bless America
Larry
Cirignano, Esq.
President
CatholicVote.org
Katherine
Albrecht
Founder and Director
CASPIAN - Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
James
Landrith
Editor & Publisher
The Multiracial Activist
F.
Paul Valone
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Richard
Sincere
President
Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty
Christopher
Whalen
The Whalen Consulting Group
New York
Kathryn
Serkes
President
Square One Media Network
Kat
DeBurgh
Chair
Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia
Doug
Stiegler
Executive Director
Family Protection Lobby - Maryland
Mike
Fellows
Chair
Montana Libertarian Party
Gays
and Lesbians for Individual Liberty was founded in February 1991 to advance
the ideas of economic and personal freedom and individual responsibility.
It has members across the United States and in several foreign countries.
For more information, visit http://www.glil.org or telephone 202-903-5555. -30-
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