Just when it seemed that the Bush Administration's assault on our constitutional protections had begun to subside, Attorney General John Ashcroft has drafted new legislation that further threatens our core civil liberties and rights. The draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act" contains a multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers -- many of which are not related to terrorism -- that would severely undermine basic constitutional rights and checks and balances. If adopted, the bill would diminish personal privacy by removing important checks on government surveillance authority, reduce the accountability of government to the public by increasing official secrecy and expand on the definition of "terrorism" in a manner that threatens the constitutionally protected rights of Americans. .
The new legislation would allow government to spy on First Amendment-protected activities. By applying an overly broad definition of terrorism, organizations using protest tactics such as those used by Operation Rescue or protesters at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico would become victims of criminal wiretapping and other electronic surveillance. In addition, the act would terminate court-approved limits on police spying, which were initially put in place to prevent McCarthy-style law enforcement persecution based on political or religious affiliation. This style of law enforcement is basically where the accuser doesn't have to have a scrap of proof to make the accusation, and the accused is punished immediately without being given the chance to prove their innocence. Worse, the accused then has to prove their innocence, rather than the usual American legal policy of being considered innocent until proven guilty. .
The new act would also radically diminish personal privacy by removing checks on government power and establish a new terrorist related DNA database. It would permit, without any connection to anti-terrorism efforts, sensitive personal information about U.
