in which way it has affected the rights of the common citizen?
2007-10-02 16:30:59 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I have serious doubts about the effectiveness of the Patriot Act. As a law abiding citizen, I'm not concerned with getting "caught" doing something illegal. However, there seem to be no limits to what the government feels it can do based on its efforts to curb terrorism.
An example is this: it used to be that when a kid did something stupid in school like get in a fight or threaten to get into a fight, they got suspended or detention. Now, you get charges like "terrorist threats" etc.
In Boston a year or so ago, some morons promoting some product hid devices that the authorities deemed to be "bomb-like" and raised all kinds of hell shutting things down and bring out all kinds of police to investigate.
We've become a nation whose far-reaching reaction to terrorism has done more to curb the freedoms, that terrorists despise so much, than the terrorists have themselves.
And in my mind, the Patriot Act is yet another tool the goverment can use to curb the civil liberties and basic rights afforded to American citizens. In weighing the benefits of the potential to hinder or halt terrorists against the reality of infringing on our privacy and our freedoms such that we become a police state, I find the latter to be of higher import.
2007-10-03 00:45:42 · answer #1 · answered by bmattj121 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is very little, if any, effect to the law abiding citizen. People that use phone for drug buys or sales and for pedophiles that are looking for sex with minors do have a problem just as the terrorists have.
I have no objection to catching terrorists, drug users/pushers or pedophiles, we need none of those in our society.
For those that claim we are losing freedoms, think about all of the Japanese American citizens that were put in to prison camps during WWII for the security of the United States. These people lost every right the Constitution had to offer
2007-10-03 00:12:42 · answer #2 · answered by justgetitright 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It reserves the right to listen to their phonecalls and a bunch of other crazy things!
Check this out http://www.conservapedia.com/Patriot_act
2007-10-02 23:33:28 · answer #3 · answered by mrr86 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It stops you from freely communicating with members of terrorist groups. do you consider that to be one of your rights?
2007-10-02 23:34:14 · answer #4 · answered by smsmith500 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You're copying my question from earlier today.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ageb21WZHGbkvX4C6TEF757sy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071002135608AAywMgi
2007-10-02 23:36:33 · answer #5 · answered by winter_new_hampshire 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋