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Just Say No To Book Cops
By Andy Thibault
FBI agents walked into libraries looking for suspicious readers more
than 200 times in the months after the bombing of the World Trade Center
on 9-11-01.
Here's something they forgot to read on the way in: "Congress shall make
no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances." Of course, just about the whole
Congress forgot it, too, when they passed the USA Patriot Act. Section
215 of the Act lets the FBI look at the reading habits of anyone,
without probable cause to believe they are involved in criminal acts.
The secret court that issues these warrants has a track record of saying
yes to the FBI in virtually all cases. This new federal law also
conflicts with privacy laws in many states. We used to worry about
banned books. Now we can worry about banned people as well. Or, we can
do something about it.
Many librarians are standing up against the long arm of Big Brother.
They are the front-line heroes as the War on Terror evolves into The War
on Immigrants and The War on Book Readers. The Patriot Act, mind you,
requires librarians not only to give the FBI what it wants, but also to
keep quiet about it. Bookstores are next; they have the same deal under
the so-called Patriot Act.
Bravo to Judith Krug, director of the American Librarian Association's
office for intellectual freedom. She has a plan.
"The only way to overcome this," Krug told The Miami Herald, "is to act
illegally."
Krug and other friends of libraries have suggested shredding records of
what patrons read before the FBI comes knocking. Librarians and
bookstore owners under siege should also seek the assistance of lawyers
to examine any warrant delivered by the FBI. This has become the
official position of the library association.
Why not take it a step further? Entire communities could help examine
such warrants, as a sort of citizen's militia against government gone
awry - the kind of oppressive government against which our ancestors
spilled blood.
As candidates for Congress visit local communities, they should be
asked: "Why did you let this happen?" Or, "What are you going to do to
fix it?"
In Connecticut recently, librarians and even some politicians celebrated
free speech by reading banned books aloud in public schools. Some of the
hundreds of books banned illegally in the United States over the years
have included Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird," "The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin," Thomas Paine's "The Rights of Man" and Harriet Beecher
Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Torrington Mayor Owen Quinn read a chapter from "To Kill A Mockingbird,"
the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel about race relations, during a
celebration of free speech at his local high school. Credit Torrington
Library Media Specialist Robin Magistrali with putting the event
together.
This is great, but it's not enough. Our judges need to stand up against
the federal government when it tramples our privacy rights. Local
libraries must heed the national call for civil disobedience, and
ordinary citizens can join in.
Libraries were once sanctuaries of the First Amendment. They have been
violated by the federal government. It's up to judges and ordinary
citizens to protect these freedoms and stop the book cops at the library
and bookstore doors.
Reprint Courtesy of Connecticut Law Tribune.
Andy Thibault's two latest books, "Law And Justice In Everyday Life" and
"The 12-Minute MBA For Lawyers," arrived in bookstores and at outlets
including Amazon.com in August. He can be reached by email at: tntcommllc@compuserve.com
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