Forum gathers group to voice Patriot Act protest

On the eve of Independence Day, more than 50 people gathered at the main library on Greene Street to celebrate their freedom of speech.

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The group gathered in a 100-city national protest of the Patriot Act, which was passed Oct. 26, 2001, and designed to curtail the efforts of terrorists at home and abroad.

Those gathered Thursday want the act repealed.

"Both nationally and locally, petitions have been circulated which reflect a nonpartisan, nonsectarian desire for the reversal of this repressive legislation," said Denice Traina, the organizer of the event. "Events like these are very patriotic because the freedoms that every American holds true are evident in public meetings."

The legislation known as the Patriot Act came shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, as an attempt to limit terrorists living or working in America. Certain aspects of the Patriot Act include allowing federal agents to search an individual's library records; providing authority for wire taps, broad surveillance tactics and voice mail confiscation; and providing authority for stringent penalties for terrorists.

"The act was a hasty decision made after a horrible occurrence," Ms. Traina said. "We are all here to show that we will not stand for a loss of civil liberties."

The Patriot Act protest drew a cultural melting pot of individuals to the second floor meeting room of the library. Blacks, whites, Muslims and even a man from Paraguay attended the event.

Anibal Ibarra, an American resident of 10 years, said he knows about the loss of freedoms from growing up in Paraguay.

"I grew up in an oppressive, military regime," he said, adding that only a person who hasn't had freedom for a time can truly understand the loss.

Some used the forum to attack the Bush administration, with one person comparing President Bush to Adolf Hitler and the Patriot Act to the Japanese internment policies of World War II.

Terence Dicks, a member of the Georgia Rural and Urban Summit, said, "If nothing else, this gives us a chance to hold meetings to talk about things going on in the community. We are America and getting together to talk about things puts us in the right direction."

Reach Jonathan Heeter at (706) 823-3224.

--From the Friday, July 4, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle