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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	543
Proposal	PLATFORM: Civil Liberties
Presenter	GPUS Platform Committee, Green Party of California, sponsor
Floor Manager	David Strand
Phase	Closed
Discussion	08/04/2010 - 08/06/2010
Voting	08/07/2010 - 08/15/2010
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	75 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

GPUS Bylaws Article IX. Platform

9-1.1 The GPUS Platform represents policies upon which most Greens would agree and serves as a basis for Green Presidential and Congressional campaigns. The Platform may only be amended as provided by this Article.

9-1.3 In even numbered years in which there is no Presidential Nominating Convention, the National Committee shall be the decision-making body responsible for amending the platform. The process shall be as established in the GPUS Rules and Procedures.

9-1.4 Amendments to the Platform may be submitted for consideration by any accredited state party or caucus, or any committee whose Mission Statement authorizes it.

Proposal

Section title: Civil liberties

Our position: Greens want to stop the assault on our civil liberties that intensified after 9/11, and restore these and other freedoms to all people.

During the last several decades, there has been an erosion of freedom in the United States. This has come from many sources and takes many forms, including the war on drugs and widespread imprisonment of nonviolent drug offenders; the increased use of personal identification, surveillance of employees at work, and the growing use of private security forces by corporations; restrictions on the speech of protesters and students; and random traffic stops of persons of color and the commonplace use of roadblocks.

Since 9/11, this erosion has turned into a collapse of our freedoms, as then President Bush authorized torture, illegal wiretapping, indefinite detention without trial, and widespread government surveillance.

Greens want to make sure that the United States is not the first nation in history to lose its constitutional freedoms because we forgot what they were, and why we had them in the first place. We believe that the people of the United States must, once again, act as if we were free, and force our government to restore our constitutional freedoms.

Green Solutions

1. Strict enforcement of our First Amendment rights of speech, assembly, association and petition. Federal, state and local governments must safeguard our right to public, non-violent protest. It is intolerable that law enforcement agencies intimidate lawful protesters with brutality, surveillance, repression and retaliation.

2. End torture, such as in prisons like Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and other U.S.-controlled facilities. Ensure those guilty of ordering or executing torture are held accountable for violations U.S. and international law.

3. Restore habeas corpus, a legal action to obtain relief from illegal detention. End the use of indefinite detention without trial.

4. Revoke the 2010 re-authorization of the Patriot Act, including “John Doe” roving wiretaps and the “library records” provision.

5. End the abuse of National Security Letters, which the FBI uses to force internet service providers, libraries, banks, and credit reporting companies to reveal sensitive information about their patrons.

6. End illegal government spying, including the use of warrantless wiretaps. Three federal judges have ruled that President Bush’s National Security Agency warrantless wiretaps violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which contains criminal sanctions. Ensure that anyone who violated the FISA is held accountable for crimes committed.

7. Enact a constitutional amendment affirming that the rights outlined in our Bill of Rights are human rights and do not apply in any way to corporations.

8. Support U.S. constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and that there shall be no religious test for public office. Eliminate federal, state, and local laws that discriminate against particular religious beliefs or non-belief. End faith-based initiatives and charitable choice programs, whereby public funds are used to support religious organizations that may not adhere to specified guidelines and standards, including anti-discrimination laws.

9. Oppose the death penalty in the United States and worldwide.

10. Support students’ constitutional rights to free speech.

11. Ensure that government actions towards immigrants comply with our Constitution and universal human rights principles.

12. Support strict Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure.

Resources

none

References

References
Visit the Platform Committee webpage for this proposal at: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/comments/?p=513.

On the webpage, you can see various formats of the proposal created by the GPUS Platform Committee and the amendment proposal sponsors including the 2004 and 2010 texts side-by-side. You can also read and respond to comments from Greens around the country, including many who are not on the Green National Committee.

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2004 Platform original language
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CONTACTS:
Marnie Glickman marnie - at - greenchange.org
Bruce Hinkforth bhinkforth - at milwpc.com
Gary Ruskin gary - at - greenchange.org

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