WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has a long and distinguished history of protecting and expanding human rights, civil liberties, and constitutional protections, often serving as a beacon for our country's citizens when their rights, liberties, and protections are threatened; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has the most diverse population in the nation, and the contributions of citizens and noncitizens are vital to its character, harmony, and spirit of aloha; and

WHEREAS, the people of the State of Hawaii are in a unique position to understand the gravity and horror of a massive, lethal attack, as the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor was the last time American territory was attacked by foreign forces prior to the events of September 11, 2001; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is further uniquely situated as it witnessed and bore the burden of having many of its citizens of Japanese ancestry interned and subject to governmental scrutiny, under the guise of "national security" during World War II, so it is alarming that, even today, the government may act to deny United States citizens their inherent and supposedly inalienable fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, numerous American citizens from Hawaii have served in the Armed Forces of the United States with courage and honor, including the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated unit of its size in American military history; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii contains many sites that memorialize the gratitude felt by the State of Hawaii and the nation for the supreme sacrifice made by those in the Armed Forces who have died in battle protecting these same cherished rights, liberties, and protections, including the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial; and

WHEREAS, several actions recently taken by the federal government, including the wiretapping without warrant of United States citizens and the extension of the USA PATRIOT Act show that the federal government is prepared to sacrifice fundamental human rights and civil liberties that are guaranteed by the constitutions of the State of Hawaii and United States; and

WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act defines "domestic terrorism" so broadly as to potentially apply to certain acts of civil disobedience by lawful advocacy groups, which may be labeled as terrorist organizations and subjected to invasive surveillance, signal and electronic intelligence gathering, harassment, and criminal penalties for protected political advocacy; and

WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act grants unchecked power to the Secretary of State to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" and greatly expands the government's ability to conduct secret searches without warrants; and

WHEREAS, new guidelines allow Federal Bureau of Investigation agents to spy on religious groups, political rallies, and organized meetings without any suspicion that the organization is involved in terrorism or any other criminal activity; and

WHEREAS, this type of unchecked intelligence gathering led to the intelligence abuses of the 1960s and 1970s, including the severe disruption of the civil rights movement and the murder of many leading activists and dissidents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that actions recently taken by the federal government pose a threat to the civil liberties and constitutional protections of the residents of this State and run the very serious risk of destroying freedom, security, and prosperity of Americans in a misguided attempt to save them; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature remains firmly committed to the protection of the civil liberties and constitutional protections of all people residing within the State, including those who are citizens of other nations, and affirms its commitment to embody the true spirit of democracy, to embrace and defend the rights, liberties, and protections now under siege, and to make them equally viable for all, regardless of citizenship status or country of origin; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to the extent legally possible, no state resources – including law enforcement funds and educational administrative resources – should be used for unconstitutional activities, including but not limited to the following under the USA PATRIOT ACT:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that Hawaii's congressional delegation monitor the ongoing implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act and actively work for the repeal of the Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the United States Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor, the State Attorney General, and the Mayors and Council Chairpersons of the respective counties.

Report Title:

Civil Liberties; USA Patriot Act