[Vision2020] Butch Otter is coming to town

[Bill London]

Representative Otter Leads Forum on Patriot Act

 The USA Patriot Act will be the topic of discussion on Tuesday, August
26, 7pm, at the University of Idaho Law School Courtroom. U.S.
Congressman Butch Otter (R. ID), Idaho State Senator Gary Schroeder (R.
5th Dist.), Idaho State Representative Shirley Ringo (D. 5th Dist.) and
UI professor of law Elizabeth Brandt will speak on the Patriot Act and
then answer questions from the audience.  Jack Hill, president of the
Moscow City Council, will introduce the panel.

Representative Otter has recently released a letter calling for local
jurisdictions to pass resolutions countering some provisions of the
Patriot Act. He recently co-sponsored and passed a resolution in the
U.S. House of Representatives which denies funding for “sneak and peek”
provisions in the Act, whereby a search warrant may be served without
informing the effected persons. Otter is currently working to pass The
Freedom to Read Protection Act, which would deny the government the
right to secretly collect information on the bookstore and library
activities of citizens.

 Elizabeth Brandt is a national board member of the American Civil
Liberties Union. She has frequently spoken on the Patriot Act in Idaho
and around the United States. The ACLU has mounted a national campaign
against the act, including a federal lawsuit. To date over 152
communities and three states have passed resolutions against provisions
of the Patriot Act.

 Local citizens have begun campaigns to pass resolutions in Moscow,
Latah County, Lewiston, Sandpoint and Boise.  A statewide resolution is
currently gaining momentum. For more information on the Moscow and Latah

County campaigns, or with questions regarding the panel discussion,
please call Palouse Peace Coalition representative Christopher LaPaglia
at 208-892-8671.

The panel discussion is sponsored by the Palouse Peace Coalition and the

UI School of Journalism and Mass Media. The University of Idaho Law
School Courtroom is located at 6th and Rayburn, Moscow. Admission and
parking are free.