Muslims in Eugene had been warmly supported and embraced by the community. He said the
<br />thing that lifted him from his depression was communication with the City leaders that he passed
<br />on to Eugene's Muslim community. He said that a resolution opposing the unconstitutional pads
<br />of the USA Patriot Act would make that community feel safer.
<br />
<br />Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, urged the people in the audience to remember the names of the
<br />councilors who had voted against the extension of the Public Forum to one hour.
<br />
<br />Dana Kay, 2350 Oakmont, speaking for the Tobacco Free Coalition of Oregon, thanked the
<br />council for passing the smoke-free ordinance in Eugene. She noted that written information had
<br />been mailed to all of the councilors, which contained feedback from the community on the anti-
<br />smoking ordinance.
<br />
<br />Jennifer Self, 129 Treehill Loop, spoke in favor of a resolution against the USA Patriot Act. She
<br />said it was a local issue because the act impacted people who lived and worked in the community
<br />as resident aliens, impacted social justice organizations, those who used the Internet, those who
<br />bought books, those who checked out books from the library, religious organizations, and students
<br />in public schools and higher education. She said the act unconscionably combined immigration
<br />law, criminal law, and foreign surveillance laws and fundamentally eroded the Bill of Rights for the
<br />United States. She encouraged a resolution rather than a letter since it would be an official
<br />document that would show where Eugene stood in regard to the act. She urged the council to
<br />show that it could stand up and be counted with the rest of the nation.
<br />
<br />Hope Marsten, 3040 Ferry Street, speaking for the Lane County Bill of Rights Defense
<br />Committee, spoke in opposition to the USA Patriot Act. She presented a petition of 2,000
<br />signatures of Eugene voters against the act. She noted that 14 other local governments had
<br />passed resolutions opposing the act which allowed residents to be detained without charges or
<br />public trials, allowed "sneak and peek" searches without probable cause, and allowed searches of
<br />financial, educational, library, and bookstore purchase records without judicial supervision. She
<br />added that there were citizens in 35 cities in 24 states working on similar resolutions. She said
<br />the request for a resolution opposing the act was endorsed by the Eugene Human Rights
<br />Commission, the Lane County Human Rights Advisory Committee, the Eugene Middle East Peace
<br />Group, the Native Forest Council, Intelligent Future, Military Tax Resistance of Lane County, The
<br />Oregon Daily Emerald, Eugene Weekly, Eugene Peace Works, Oregon Peace Works,
<br />Progressive Responses, Community Alliance of Lane County, Network for Immigrant Justice,
<br />Community and Solidarity with Central American People, Whiteaker Community Council, Women's
<br />Action for New Directions, Citizens for Public Accountability, Centro LatinoAmericano, and Lane
<br />County political parties including Democrats, Libertarians, Socialists, and the Green Party.
<br />
<br />Misa Joo, 2327 Jefferson Street, expressed her pleasure in being able to come and speak for the
<br />Bill of Rights like she had been taught from the time she could talk. She said she learned about
<br />citizenship from her Japanese immigrant grandparents and what they endured during World War II
<br />while interned in camps as enemy aliens. She commented that the word "terrorist" was being
<br />used in the same way that "enemy alien" was used at that time. She related that her uncle had
<br />fought in the 442nd Battalion during that war and had justified the blood spilled so that things like
<br />the internment camps would never happen again. She said the USA Patriot Act came from the
<br />same mentality that had created the Japanese internment camps during the Second World War.
<br />She urged a resolution rather than writing individual letters.
<br />
<br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 25, 2002 Page 2
<br /> Regular Meeting
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