John F. Kerry's position on:

The Patriot Act: On October 26th, 2001, Congress passed the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001." The bill's subhead or intent was: "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes." Electronic Privacy Information Center

Description of candidate's position: As a senator, Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, as did most of Congress. But faced with evidence that the new law would take away the rights of some citizens, Kerry, along with 14 co-sponsoring Democrats and four Republicans, are attempting to amend the Patriot Act in a bill titled the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act" (SAFE Act). This bill keeps many of the intel-sharing components that help the CIA and FBI interact while adding "checks and safeguards" and "judicial modification" to the areas of civil liberty concern (Fact Check). Kerry states on his website that he, "supports and would retain over 95% of the approximately 140 provisions in the Patriot Act." He strongly believe that some changes need to be made some of these changes would include new safeguards to prevent abuses of the Patriot Act&emdash;while retaining all of government's needed power to fight terror. For example, Kerry would require a judge to review the evidence before allowing a search of a person's library records, instead of having the judge act as a rubber stamp, as under current law. In addition, Kerry would require real proof that a sneak-and-peek search is necessary before allowing that type of search, instead of allowing that search virtually anytime. These measures would not reduce the government's power to fight terror&emdash;they would just ensure that the government's use of these powers is truly necessary. link

In partcicular, the Kerry campaign believes the Ashcroft Justice Department has unfairly targeted Muslim and Arab Americans and has selectively enforced the immigration laws against these communities. John Kerry and John Edwards will uphold constitutional rights and protections, and civil rights laws. They will also strengthen terrorism laws that work, including sharing information with local law enforcement. And they will ensure that American citizens held as detainees receive access to counsel, an opportunity for judicial review and at least minimal constitutional safeguards.

Quotation from the candidate: "We must always remember that terrorists do not just target our lives; they target our way of life. And so we must be on constant guard not to sacrifice the freedom we are fighting to protect. We will strengthen some parts of the Patriot Act, like the restrictions on money laundering, and improve other aspects of it, like information sharing. At the same time, we will revise parts of the Patriot Act such as the library provisions to better protect our freedom. We will ensure government can take all needed steps to fight terror. Our government should never round up innocent people only because of their religion or ethnicity, and should always honor our Constitution. We believe in an America where freedom is what we fight for-not what we give up." From the Kerry campaign website.

Assessment of the proposal:

Positive: The Independent Institute, which claims no political bias in either direction, opposes the Patriot Act on the grounds that it takes away civil liberties. It also compares it to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which the American people resisted at election time.

Negative: The Independent, however, does not endorse John Kerry due to his lack of a firm stance on the issues. They claim that Kerry's only position is that "the problem is not with the PATRIOT Act itself, but with those enforcing it" and that Americans will have no choice but to trust him with the powers he admits have been abused."

Comparison: As a senator, Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, as did most of Congress. But faced with evidence that the new law would take away the rights of some citizens, Kerry, along with 14 co-sponsoring Democrats and four Republicans, are attempting to amend the Patriot Act in a bill titled the "Security and Freedom Ensured Act" (SAFE Act). This bill keeps many of the intel-sharing components that help the CIA and FBI interact while adding "checks and safeguards" and "judicial modification" to the areas of civil liberty concern.

Link to Bush's Patriot Act issue page