Our America Initiative

Redefining the liberty movement in America!

DEMAND THAT CONGRESS END NSA’S WAR ON THE 4TH AMENDMENT

We, the undersigned, respectfully urge both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to enact meaningful restrictions, such as those contained in the USA FREEDOM Act as introduced, on the power of the Federal Government to gather information about and from American citizens without due process of law and the protections granted by the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. SIGN THE PETITION!

When our Founding Fathers made the fateful decision that liberty and individual rights were important enough to declare our independence from Britain and wage the war that such a declaration would bring, one of the key factors in that decision was British Crown’s  issuance of “General Warrants” and “writs of assistance” that empowered the King’s agents to search virtually anyone in the Colonies for virtually anything -- with or without cause. American distaste for such intrusions into their homes and lives not only served as a significant catalyst for the Revolution, but also prompted the inclusion of the 4th Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Today, the Patriot Act, secret FISA Courts, and a National Security Agency (NSA) run amok have combined to mount an attack on our 4th Amendment protections that would shock those same Founders. Writs of assistance and general warrants appear to be alive and well when it comes to our phones, our computers and our electronic data. Congress created the opportunity for the federal government to wage this war on our rights, and Congress must act to put a stop to it. Several bills have been introduced in Congress to try to curb NSA abuses.  Many of them are worthy of consideration.  One, in particular, the USA FREEDOM Act, enjoys bipartisan support and has as its principal sponsors the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of the primary authors of the Patriot Act in the House of Representatives. 


As outlined by the ACLU, who strongly supports it, the USA FREEDOM ACT would:

  • End the bulk collection of Americans' records shared with third parties and put reasonable limits on Patriot Act powers targeted at people in the U.S. The new restrictions would apply not only to phone records collected under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, but national security letters and pen registers that have also been abused. 

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  • Amend the 2008 FISA Amendments Act to require court orders before the government could use American information collected during foreign intelligence operations.

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  • Increase transparency by allowing communications providers to disclose the number of surveillance orders they receive, mandate the government publish how many people are subject to surveillance orders, and make public significant FISA Court opinions since July 2003.

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  • Create a public advocate that could advise the secret surveillance court in certain cases.

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Governor Johnson and the Our America Initiative urge you to sign the petition above urging Congress to act on this important legislation.  While we support more comprehensive reforms, beginning with the actual repeal of the Patriot Act, the USA FREEDOM Act is a real step in the right direction -- and deserves our support.