Mendicino County opposes Patriot act

Thursday, April 24, 2003

UKIAH -- Mendocino County supervisors have approved a resolution opposing the U.S. Patriot Act.

On a 4-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a resolution that condemns the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act and executive orders intended to bolster the federal government's fight against terrorism.

Supervisor Michael Delbar, the lone dissenting vote, said the resolution's supporters have little regard for the law unless it suits them.

"The same advocates who ask us to uphold the Constitution are asking us to pick and choose which laws to uphold," Delbar said.

The county joins 89 other local governments across the country that have formally opposed to oppose the Patriot Act, which was passed a month after the Sept. 11 attacks./AP

The act, among other things, gives law enforcement agencies greater power to obtain business and personal records of people suspected of participating in terrorist activities.