CC Minutes - 11/25/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gerry Shapiro, 1395 Cross, urged the council pass a resolution to defend the Bill of Rights against the USA Patriot Act. He noted that the Eugene City Charter made it clear that the oath of office for the council was to uphold the Oregon and United States constitutions. He expressed concern over the fact that the council was so reluctant to perform its primary duty. Amy Pinkus Merwin, 2220 Sanny Drive, presented written material to the council. She related a communication that she shared with Representative Peter DeFazio regarding how the USA Patriot Act was passed. Diane Lobos, 160 East 37th Avenue, said fear had increased in the community since the passage of the USA Patriot Act. She said that fear would be allayed if the City Council would have the courage to oppose the act. She asked that, to the greatest extent possible, the City use none of its funding to enforce or uphold the act. Ferrid Assan, 1020 River Road, said he had earned his citizenship over 30 years ago. He said the USA Patriot Act was a misnomer and took away liberty and justice for all from the citizens of the United States. Brian Michaels, 295 East 5th Avenue, said the philosophy of "it's not going to affect me" would do nothing but hinder progress in the country. With that philosophy, he said there would still be segregation in Mississippi, Japanese internment camps, and McCarthyism in the United States. He said those reasons were why the council should pass a resolution opposing the USA Patriot Act. He stressed the importance of protecting the Americans who were impacted by the act and of being able to say that he had opposed the act just as other Americans had opposed such things as segregation and McCarthyism. He noted that the number of citizens opposing the act would continue to grow. Mr. Michaels urged the council to have the courage to stand up for those who would be affected by the act. He called attention to the sign at the back of the Council Chamber that stated "The People are the City," and said that was not just a slogan. Patrica McCabe, 530 East 50th Avenue, spoke as an American Muslim living in Eugene. She said that, over the past year, the federal government had gone through America's Muslim community with a fine- tooth comb. She said Muslims had to shave their beards and take off their scarves to make other people feel safe around them. She said she did not want what had happened in Portland (a mysterious small plane circling the largest Islamic community day and night) to happen in Eugene. She said the USA Patriot Act was making many remember the kinds of things they had fled to America to get away from. She said the USA Patriot Act should be put into a more proper scale. Nadia Sindi, 3550 Goodpasture Island Road, noted that persecution of Muslim and Arab Americans had been on the increase since September 11, 2001. She stressed the importance of passing a resolution and not sending individual letters. She commented that many Muslims in Eugene were too terrified to attend the Mosque during Ramadan and added that her own home had been broken into and searched by the FBI even though she had been a citizen of the United States for 32 years. She urged the council to pass a resolution for the sake of Muslim and Arab American citizens. Brian Bogart, 2365 Cai Young Road, said he did not trust the government at the federal level. He said he could no longer rely on planning for an intelligent future at the federal level of representation because legislators were being paid by special interests. He said there was no MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 25, 2002 Page 3 Regular Meeting