March 13, 2003

Oregon Senate Bill 742

There is a draconian anti-civil rights bill currently in the Senate Judicial Committee. Senate Bill 742,  would define "terrorism" as :
 
  SECTION 1.  { + (1) A person commits the crime of terrorism if the person knowingly plans, participates in or carries out any act that is intended, by at least one of its participants, to
disrupt:
  (a) The free and orderly assembly of the inhabitants of the State of Oregon;
  (b) Commerce or the transportation systems of the State of Oregon; or
  (c) The educational or governmental institutions of the State of Oregon or its inhabitants.
 
And then defines punishment as "a minimum of 25 years without possibility of parole, release to post-prison supervision".
 
You can read the full text here.
 
The bill was written by Senator John Minnis (R-Fairview) who also chairs the Judicial Committee and it is scheduled for a public hearing on March 24.
 
The Oregon ACLU has asked that public pressure be applied to the below committee members, asking them to refuse to allow a hearing and to not allow the bill to come out of committee.
 
 
Democrats:
Senator Ginny Burdick, Vice-Chair
Party: D District: 18
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1718
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE S-317, Salem Or 97301
 
Senator Charlie Ringo
Party: D District: 17
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1717
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE S-314 Salem, OR 97301
 
Senator Vicki Walker
Party: D District: 7
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1707
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE S-210, Salem Or 97301
 
Senate Leadership:
Senate President Peter Courtney
Party: D District: 11
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1600
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE S-203, Salem Or 97301
 
Senator Kate Brown, Democrat Leader
Party: D District: 21
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1700
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE S-323, Salem Or 97301
Capitol Fax:503-986-1080
 
Please write or call these Senators today!
Posted by John at March 13, 2003 09:56 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Please allow us the freedom of assembly, in america we are supposed to be able to voice and have a conflicting opinion. do not allow this bill to see daylight.

Posted by: kathie foreman on March 20, 2003 01:27 PM

Please allow us the freedom of assembly, in america we are supposed to be able to voice and have a conflicting opinion. do not allow this bill to see daylight.

Posted by: kathie foreman on March 20, 2003 01:27 PM

Please reject even a hearing for SB 742. It is a clear attack on civil liberties.
Margaret Theisen
4486 Briars St.
Eugene, OR 97404

Posted by: Margaret Theisen on March 21, 2003 09:39 AM

Thank you for your message concerning SB742.

While it is true that our need for public awareness, caution and appropriate law enforcement has become critical in recent months, I share your view that 742 goes too far beyond what is reasonable, necessary or useful. As you also realize, it is much too broad, imprecise and open ended.

I am also concerned about those House bills that affect ORS 181. I oppose them as well.

In fact, I would declare that if such legislation is a response to our present security challenges, we are in much greater danger from within than from without. If, in our drive for security, we voluntarily surrender our basic freedoms, we have indeed lost this war with terrorism before it has even begun.

Plese share your opinions with Senator Minnis, the sponsor of this bill.

State Senator Kate Brown

Posted by: John on March 21, 2003 10:12 AM

Dear John,

Thank you for your email on SB 742. I appreciate your concerns and will take your thoughts into consideration should this bill make it to the full Senate for a vote.

Respectfully,
Peter Courtney
President of the Senate

Posted by: John on March 21, 2003 10:13 AM

Thank you for writing, John. I am not supporting this bill. Thank you.

Vicki L. Walker
State Senator

Posted by: John on March 21, 2003 10:15 AM

Please reject even the hearing for SB742. It is a knee jerk reactionary move in the name of security, extreme in attacking civil liberties & surrenders our freedom to fear. It is ultimately self-destructive and self defeating of our country.

Posted by: marilyn marcus on March 21, 2003 10:27 AM

We all need to be strong in our oppositin to S.B. 742. Please do not allow it to get to hearing.

Posted by: Pam Ring on March 21, 2003 03:33 PM

Below is the message I sent to the State Senators listed. Keep in mind I never send the first draft on such occasions. This version is toned down:

Dear Senators,
Please tell me the following bill is nothing more than an early April Fools joke:

SECTION 1. { + (1) A person commits the crime of terrorism if the person knowingly plans, participates in or carries out any act that is intended, by at least one of its participants, to
disrupt:
(a) The free and orderly assembly of the inhabitants of the State of Oregon;
(b) Commerce or the transportation systems of the State of Oregon; or
(c) The educational or governmental institutions of the State of Oregon or its inhabitants.

Someone hand Mr. Minnis a dictionary! No definition of terrorism comes close to what is described here. A more accurate name for the crime described above is inconveniencism. By the vague standard above, the following could be convicted of terrorism:

Myself, my wife, and our three year old daughter - for participating in a peace march in which another participant disrupted traffic by crossing in front of a vehicle, causing it to stop quickly resulting in a rear-end collision.

Any candidate for government office who holds an outdoor rally in which a participant intentionally interferes with traffic.

Any participant in any gathering in protest of, or in favor of government action held at a site where it is most likely to be of value - the subject government office.

All participants in the peace march held in Ashland involving high school and college students.

Imagine having to release murderers and rapists to make room in our prisons for all the “terrorists” listed above.

If this bill passes, the “real” terrorists have won.

Thank you,
Doug Cochran,
Ashland

Posted by: Doug Cochran on March 21, 2003 07:11 PM

Senate Bill 742 sponsored by Sentor Minnis is a attack on what America stands for. Please don't let it go to hearing.

Posted by: Helen Bibelheimer on March 21, 2003 07:55 PM

thank you john, for being so vigilant. Yay for the youth. we will call these people on Monday.

Posted by: jill iles on March 22, 2003 06:11 AM

Looking at this proposed Senate Bill SB 742 brings to mind the way that the rights of Jewish peoples, under Natzi Germany, were slowly and methodically eroded till they had no rights at all left! Fear and silence is the enemy now as it was then. I am not afraid, I will not be silent, I am opposing this bill, that cloaks itself in patrotism, yet so clearly is an attack on our unique and precious civil liberties. I pray that others will also stand up against this 'misgiuded/misuse of power' by Republican Karen Minnis that we empowered to represent those same civil liberties of all people, of all points of view.

Posted by: Michael Paul Gebert on March 22, 2003 02:14 PM

Senate Bill 742 depicts a frightening erosion of our rights to free speech, to free assembly -- civil liberties upon which our country was founded. Do not allow this bill to come out of committee.

Posted by: Diane Schauer on March 23, 2003 12:03 PM

Wake up and be aware of what is taking place.

Posted by: Robert North on March 25, 2003 08:45 PM

Please help me understand the process. When we encourage the lawmakers to "not let a bill get out of committee", if they commit to do this, what do they do to make this happen?

Also, we've already had the public hearing. How has this been detrimental to trying to stop it?

Posted by: Kris Richardson on March 26, 2003 07:05 AM

I oppose this Senate Bill 742! It is a clear violation of our civil rights as an American. Please do not let this leave the commmittee.

Posted by: Marcie Lockhart on March 26, 2003 11:30 AM

I want to post my entire letter here for you all to read. I appologise if it is a little long for the "Comments section".

Dear Senator,
I am a resident and registered voter in Eugene Oregon. I’m writing you today in reference to Oregon Senate Bill 742. I consider this bill to be one of the greatest and most immoral disservices to the populace of this state that I have ever read.
The clear and explicit purpose of 742 is to criminalize the act of following your conscience. It essentially establishes any act of civil disobedience, even non-violent civil disobedience, as “terrorism”. Under this law Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu would have all be considered “terrorists”. Further, as “terrorists” they would all have been subject to life imprisonment for their non-violent actions. All of these men are Nobel Peace Prize recipients except for Gandhi, and it is commonly believed that Gandhi should have received it as well.

The bill itself is very clear.
SECTION 1. { + (1) A person commits the crime of terrorism if the person knowingly plans, participates in or carries out any act that is intended, by at least one of its participants, to disrupt:
(a) The free and orderly assembly of the inhabitants of the State of Oregon;
(b) Commerce or the transportation systems of the State of Oregon; or
(c) The educational or governmental institutions of the State of Oregon or its inhabitants.
(2) A person commits the crime of terrorism if the person conspires to do any of the activities described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) A person may not be convicted of terrorism except upon the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or upon confession in open court.
(4)(a) A person convicted of terrorism shall be punished by imprisonment for life.
Etc...

That’s right, FOR LIFE! These things are already covered under existing laws. Anyone who protests by using civil disobedience should, and does expect to be arrested for their actions. That is the purpose of non-violent civil disobedience. Those who practice this form of protest have chosen to face arrest for their beliefs. They are not however “terrorists”. The do NOT assault, kill, maim, or even act to intimidate anyone. They are not seeking to destroy the country, or injure any individual or group. They act as a voice of conscience in extreme times. Threatening life imprisonment and a label of "terrorist" for those who are clearly not a threat is not an effective way of halting real terrorism
So I must now express my conscience, and ask that you refuse to allow a hearing and to not allow this bill to come out of committee. I would also remind you that Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu are not terrorists. They were all followers of the writings of Henry David Thoreau.
Thoreau said, “But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them? Why does it always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels?”
Sincerely and with great hope for justice,
Matthew M. Kale

Posted by: Matthew Kale on March 26, 2003 08:14 PM

Do not let this bill go to the floor for a vote, or you are actually giving it validity it in no way deserves. The American people are actually beginning to smell the coffee as they brutally wake up to the fact that our administration is using every propoganda tactic it can to take away so many of our very hard won rights.

Posted by: Robin Clark on March 27, 2003 12:57 AM

Dear Senators:

Please do not let this Nazi-like, knee-jerk legislation reach the Senate floor.

Dear Citizens of my beloved Oregon:

please do not allow Minnis a second chance in HELL to run in the next election. He should step down. He is a fascist pig.

Posted by: Susan on March 29, 2003 10:17 AM

So, what has been the outcome thus far?

Posted by: on April 13, 2003 11:58 AM

This bill is rather outrageous, I would like to note that in section 19, point nr. 10, it would be a terrorist act to sell anyone under the age of 18, is it thus implied that it is ok to sell those over 18?

Posted by: on May 21, 2003 02:38 AM

That "sell anyone under the age 18" thing is on the list of felonies, which the bill would update. Rather than just say "And add terrorism to the end of the list", they repeated much of the list, and added terrorism to the end.

So selling anyone under the age 18 is a felony, not a terrorist act. Apparently selling people over the age 18 is not prohibited except by federal law.

The mostly republican oregon state legislature knows that they've pissed off all their supporters enough that they won't be re-elected for quite some time. So the last several months has been them basically saying "Well, screw you too."

They've reduced our public schools to 3 days a week and cut several weeks out of the school year, eliminated unemployment services that help people find new jobs (oregon has the country's highest unemployment), and spent the surplus on tearing down and rebuilding our busiest roads to look exactly as they did before they were torn down. They also started building this massive library two blocks downtown from another large, underused library, then announced that they forgot to include books in the budget.

I don't really see a strategy to their madness. Maybe they think we'll forget what they've done, blame the democrats who follow them for the aftermath, and reelect them the following election.

Posted by: David Finch on May 21, 2003 07:40 PM

Once the protesters lose sight of the difference between freedom of speech and civil disruption its time to reeducate them. You might say they wrote bill 742 themselves.

Posted by: Max on June 8, 2003 10:16 AM

Below is the email I sent to our legislators:

It is with absolute shock that I read the text of Senate Bill 742. While laws are needed to ensure public safety against terrorism, Bill 742 goes to the utmost extremes, making vitually every crime capable of being declared terrorism. Not only will it jail, for life, people that aren't terrorists, it will also place an undue burden on our police officers, judicial systems, and legislators such as yourself.
Please refuse a hearing on Senate Bill 742. It is poorly planned and written, and should not come out of committee.

Posted by: jen vering on July 31, 2003 09:02 PM
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