The moment that the Twin Towers fell in New York, America became destined for change. In the wake of these attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was quickly passed through congress, and signed by then-president, George W. Bush. The act itself gives the FBI and other government agencies the ability to do and use certain methods, many of which are already used by other law enforcement organizations, to help prevent future terrorist attacks. Since then, this piece of legislation has been the center of much debate and controversy. But, there is ample reason to believe that the Patriot Act is needed and effective. The Patriot Act has been used effectively because it has extensive supervision, is completely constitutional, and has helped to protect …show more content…
One group that argues this is the American Civil Liberties Union, which strongly disagrees with the Patriot Act. They have stated that investigations into the Patriot Act, “reveal thousands of violations of law,” (ACLU), while this is simply not true. One controversial piece of the Patriot Act are roving wiretaps. These allow government investigators to follow and put surveillance on certain people, rather than certain devices, so that they may save time and effort. According to Nathan Sales, a law professor at George Mason University, “Federal courts agree that Title III’s roving wiretaps authority is constitutional and… provides strong support for constitutionality,” (Sales). This is a clear example that shows that even the most controversial parts of the Patriot Act are not just constitutional, but strongly supported by the Constitution. From this, many see that any attempted claims that the Patriot Act is wrong in the law are based merely on thought. But, there are more than one sections of the Patriot Act that are up for debate. Any arguments against the Patriot Act are destroyed quickly due to the fact that, “no single provision of the Patriot Act has ever been found unconstitutional,” (McNeil). Once again, it is clear that the Patriot Act is constitutional. This becomes extremely important in the eyes of the law however, because there is now no argument against the Patriot Act when seen from this
Trying to strengthen national security as quickly as possible, this act made changes to US law, so that future acts of terrorism could be prevented. This act specifically allows foe the wider uses of actions and tools when looking for harmful terrorists. Although both acts called for enhancing national security and defense when it was needed, the Patriot Act is more effective in not only securing protection for US citizens, but is also a necessary action. In
After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the United States government reacted quickly and firmly with the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism). The purpose of this act was to prevent another terror attack of the same magnitude as the 9/11 attack, but some people believe this act encroaches too heavily on civil rights. The USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act) threatens liberty more than it hinders terrorism, goes against the Constitution, and needs to be modified so it doesn’t breach the Constitution. The USA PATRIOT Act interferes with the liberties of companies and people in the United States while doing more to impact lawful Americans than terrorists.
According the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the most important and unconstitutional parts is in Section 215 of the act. It expanded ability for the government to gain access to third party records such as internet service providers and cell phone service providers. One of the most significant provisions of the Patriot Act makes it far easier for the authorities to gain access to records of citizens ' activities being held by a third party. This also would include forcing doctors, lawyers, anyone at all that has electronic communications records to turn such records over to the FBI when requested. Another concern raised by the ACLU is the provision’s violation of the 4th Amendment which allows investigates to conduct such searches without showing probable cause.
Many American citizens are willing to give up a certain degree of their rights, including their own privacy, to try and keep our country safe from terrorism. No matter the reason, however, it is never justifiable to interfere on our Constitutional rights. Former President Bush eavesdropping on innocent citizens, the USA PATRIOT Act, the Freedom Act, and Japanese internment camps are all primary examples of our constitutional rights as Americans being overlooked. “The United States trampling on the Constitutional rights of its citizens to protect the nation is never justifiable.” After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942, the United States were on their toes.
Even Obama who promised, “In his campaign for the presidency, a repeal of some of its more sinister provisions (surveillance, wiretaps and so forth). It has not been repealed… Obama this year signed a four-year extension of it.” The Quote makes a point that the government officials believe that everything under the patriot act should still
The USA Patriot Act was signed into law on Oct. 26, 2001, due to the need for cooperation among all levels of security. Police and other department agencies were given powerful authority and encouraged to share information. This is to meet the goal for a safer America in times of turmoil including international affairs. But as the years have passed and as terrorist attacks seem to cease, people have begun to question if there’s too many restrictions on law enforcement were called off.
Not every policy and strategy enacted can be a success, as a country we would never learn or find ways to improve if there were no failures. Since the inception of the Department of Homeland Security, many policies and strategies have been proposed and implemented, some being successful and some needing a revision or another policy enacted to change the failure to potential success. Here we will look at two policies, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022. While these are reactions to events that have occurred, as many policies proposed or implemented, were reactions to events that had occurred. They are also future prevention strategies to help efforts to keep the homeland safe and secure.
The patriot act has in my opion violated the 4th amendment. It has its advantages as far as terrorizim but to normal citzens this is a complete violation of our privacy. bThe late Benjermin Franklin warned us about trading our liberty for sucureity. This act has taken away a lot of our liberties it gives the government way too much power to invade our privacy. They now have unprecedented power to monitor the phone calls, e-mails, without a warrant.
“ No single provision of the Patriot Act has ever been found unconstitutional. This is a testament to the act’s limited applicability, procedural safeguards, and extensive oversight
The Patriot Act and Civil Liberties Civil liberties and freedoms are a fundamental part of America, and the lives of its citizens. Americans believe that they are born with these rights, and that nobody, not even the government who provides these rights, can take them away. Some people are willing to give up some of these freedoms for safety, but many have grown used to them and will not accept any infringement into their lives. The events of 9/11 are a major contributing factor to relinquishing of some of these rights by citizens for the protection of freedom and of the country. They believe that the government knows how to protect them from terrorists, but their rights will not be violated like those of a terrorist.
Have you ever wondered why the Patriot Act played a big part in history or why it is so important to us? Well the government has compromised our civil liberties through the use of the Patriot Act. They also abused our privacy which wasn’t fair for us. The history of the Patriot Act, the abuse of our rights, and the way everything ended made the Americans feel like they couldn’t trust their government because they felt like they were always being watched. Through the Patriot Act, the law enforcement agencies and the government are given wide optional powers to acquire information not only from suspected people but also from the law-abiding Americans.
Soon after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the United States felt the need to increase security and create something that would help the government prevent another attack. In came the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is laws passed that kept up with new technology to be able to keep up with the more sophisticated criminals. Many of the ideas I agree with and see as routes to keep the government officials on the right track; however, there is one part I feel is an unnecessary part and should not have been included in the Act. I personally don't believe that the Patriot Act has done anything to help prevent terrorist attacks.
In the midst of potential war and terror many are worried of what the future holds. This is how the American people felt after the terrible terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The government had to think fast and make brash decisions to protect our country, and The Patriot Act (during the time) was the best solution. The Patriot Act was one of the fastest acts passed, many government officials were only thinking of the present, and ways to prevent foreign attack. The act has been edited several times over the years due to many mistakes of violating individual’s rights.
The Patriot Act allows for government investigators to share information on suspected terrorists with other branches of the government much easier than before 9/11 so that tragedy’s like this can be avoided in the future. While intense backlash has been received regarding the Patriot Act’s effects on immigration, and unlawful surveillance, the small negatives that have yet to been proven true much outweigh the good this law can do in protecting the lives of innocent Americans. With the Patriot Act countless lives have been saved without the masses without even realizing they have been saved. According to a speech given by President Bush three years after he signed the law into place, with the Patriot Act a one man terrorist plan turned into
After the gruesome attacks of 9/11, the United States government passed a legislation called the Patriot Act in attempt to cut down on the terror attacks. This act gives the NSA, or National Security Agency, the ability to oversee our actions. The NSA’s approach to surveilling the population is obtaining the information by tapping into technology, such as phone calls, internet pages and searches, and viewing emails and texts. Thus, controversy has triggered due to the fact that these actions are unconstitutional, and much terrorism that remains. The NSA should be greatly altered because they invade the privacy of Americans, unlawfully goes against the constitution, and we lose our rights.