Patriot Act foes sound alarm locally

Collectively, they represent only a few hundred people. But, as their numbers grow, organizers who have presented resolutions imploring several communities north of Boston to petition Congress to revise the federal USA Patriot Act insist change can occur far from Washington.

Passed 45 days after the Sept. 11 attack, the Patriot Act gives the government broad powers in fighting terrorism, which affect non-citizens and citizens.

The act allows the government to search a person's home or business without prior notification; monitor anyone's telephone, e-mail, and Internet account; obtain unrestricted access to an individual's records; take Americans into military custody, while preventing them access to counsel or judicial review; and spy on political, social, or religious groups.

''Most people do not know what the USA Patriot Act is and do not care," said Jeremy McKeen, a Lynn schoolteacher who is working with a dozen other Salem residents on a proposal he hopes the Salem City Council will approve and send to Washington.

To date, 277 cities and towns in the country, and the states of Maine, Vermont, Alaska, and Hawaii have passed resolutions, ordinances, and ballot initiatives asking Congress to rethink the Patriot Act. In January, Peabody became the first Massachusetts city north of Boston to recommend revising the Patriot Act, and last week, Manchester-by-the-Sea Town Meeting voters affirmed a resolution seeking repeal of the act. With resolutions passed in 23 cities and towns in the state, similar proposals are set to be debated in the next two months in Salem, Beverly, Marblehead, Swampscott, and Haverhill.

Not all communities have embraced the mission of urging Congress to change the law. The Salem City Council tabled the motion in November and has yet to vote on it; the Haverhill City Council has expressed mixed views on the act but has not taken a vote on the matter..

''I'm not going to vote for it," said Haverhill City Councilor Louis T. Fossarelli. ''We don't know enough about it. I think it's for other people to decide at another level of government, so I'm out. I believe our government needs all the tools that are necessary to protect the lives of our people and our way of life in this country."

The activists already know they have at least one supporter in Washington. John F. Tierney, US representative from the Sixth District, was one of 79 members of the House of Representatives who did not vote for the Patriot Act, and wants it amended.

''The original intent of the Patriot Act was to provide increased resources to law enforcement agencies while protecting the rights of citizens. However, the version ultimately passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by President Bush, diminishes the privacy rights of Americans and weakens our civil liberties," he said.

''The grass-roots efforts in communities like Swampscott, Marblehead, Beverly, Peabody, and Manchester illustrate that voters are paying attention and many see severe deficiencies with the Patriot Act in its current form," Tierney said. ''I support their efforts to rework the Patriot Act to allow for the expansion of law enforcement activities within proper constitutional bounds while ensuring that we honor our constitutionally protected civil liberties."

Rabbi Ira Korinow, who chairs the Greater Haverhill Civil Rights Commission, has forwarded a resolution from his commission that calls for the Haverhill City Council to ask Congress to repeal parts of the act that violate fundamental rights and liberties. ''Most people are unaware that many of the civil liberties provided in the Bill of Rights are being taken away by the USA Patriot Act in the name of homeland security. While security is crucial in the world we live in, the Bill of Rights should not be eroded in the name of security," said Koronow.

Susan Wadia-Ells decided last July 4 that she would not celebrate the holiday in Manchester-by-the-Sea. She had Jose Padilla on her mind. Padilla, a US citizen, has not been charged with a crime, but has been held since June 2002 after the government alleged that he was involved in a plot to detonate a ''dirty bomb."

''I just could not celebrate the Fourth of July and instead, made up a flier, and got a petition going and walked around the town and talked about the Patriot Act," she said.

Wadia-Ells believes that lawmakers will ultimately understand their constituents' motives. ''If we're not vigilant as ordinary citizens and really hold our local, state, and federal governments accountable then we're in deep trouble," she said.

Last year, Larry Kepko, a physicist, was surfing the Web for information about the Patriot Act and found Russell Lane's website. Kepko contacted Lane, and mentioned that he was moving to Marblehead, and wanted to help him with his resolution. In the early winter, the two created a website, and next month, will present an article at the Marblehead Town Meeting that calls for Congress to repeal parts of the Patriot Act.

'' 'We can't let the terrorists win,' is a common refrain. My view is this: If we strip away our basic freedoms; if we lock up citizens without due process; if we search property without cause -- the terrorists have won," he said.

Margaret Somer helped start the Swampscott Bill of Rights Defense Committee. As the chairwoman of the Swampscott Democratic Town Committee, she attended a workshop on the Patriot Act last year, and organized a group of residents who carried a sign reading ''Cherish democracy, Protect the Bill of Rights," in her town's July 4 parade. Last month, she helped organize a League of Women Voters forum in town, and also helped draft next month's Patriot Act article that will be discussed at Town Meeting.

''It's time we stand up and take responsibility for our democratic institutions," she said. ''We're all worried about terrorism but what it feels like is that the issue of terrorism has been broadened to track and maybe even arrest or intimidate people who might oppose government policy."

Don Stacey, a retired investment banker, who has ''no political ambitions" said he is leading the Patriot Act opposition in Beverly out of a commitment to his grandchildren. ''I have eight grandchildren and I think the US Constitution is a treasure, and I can't imagine that they wouldn't have the same opportunities in their lifetime as I've had," he said.

Stacey, who plans to bring a resolution to the Beverly City Council within the next two months, is also planning a public forum on the Patriot Act. Like other opponents he believes voices will be taken seriously if concerned citizens act as a group. ''It's our hope that you can't ignore millions of people," he said.

Steven Rosenberg can be reached at rosenberg@globe.com.