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If authorities abandon these principles, everyone's rights are at risk, the ACLU saying its study documented "the nature and magnitude of the harm posed by the unregulated proliferation of video surveillance cameras." Unless new legislation balances their use against civil liberty and privacy protections, democratic freedoms will be sacrificed for public safety, that, in fact, won't be offered or gained.
Proposed Repressive Legislation and other Measures
Senator Scott Brown (R. MA) will join Senator Joe Lieberman (I. CT), Rep. Jason Altimire (D. PA), and Rep. Charlie Dent (R. PA) in proposing a Terrorist Expatriation Act to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship for having committed terrorist acts or aiding a designating foreign terrorist organization (FTO). Lieberman said persons called terrorists "should be turned over to the military" for prosecution, denying them their rights in civil courts. More on that below.
AFP reports that Senator Chuck Schumer (D. NY) signaled his support, saying: The measure "sounds like something I'd support, but I'd have to look at the legislation." Senator John McCain (R. AZ) said Americans should lose their citizenship rights "if they're designated an enemy combatant."
McCain also supports denying alleged terrorists their Miranda Rights, based on the Supreme Court's Miranda v. Arizona (1966) ruling that both inculpatory and exculpatory police-obtained statements are admissible as evidence only if defendants were informed of their right to an attorney before and during questioning, against self-incrimination, and that they understood them. Denying them is a clear violation of constitutional freedoms, being lost at an alarming rate post-9/11.
Lieberman supports McCain saying:
"The first thing you want to get from (a suspected terrorist) is information about other co-conspirators, perhaps other attacks that are planned at the same time, and then (decide) whether he should be read his Miranda rights."
With inflammatory media reports, other lawmakers from both parties may offer support when legislation is introduced, perhaps enough to get these or similar measures passed. If so, anyone charged with terrorism or conspiracy to commit it, with or without proof, will be vulnerable.
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