[North-NV-Greens] SPARKS CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER ANTI-PATRIOT ACT RESOLUTION ON AUGUST 22!

[Bob Tregilus]

SPARKS CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER ANTI-PATRIOT ACT RESOLUTION ON AUGUST 22!

Your help is needed to make sure this resolution is passed, which will
dramatically affect our efforts in Nevada!

EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN SPARKS YOU CAN HELP! Please read on . . .

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Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 27, at 6:30. The new location is 1890
DONALD STREET which is in RENO.  The nearest cross street is Neil Road and
Peckham, and you can follow this link for a map: http://inyurl.com\d77je.
Or call 826-4514 for more information.  
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What you can do:

* IF YOU LIVE IN SPARKS please call your councilperson and the mayor NOW!
Tell them that you support the Nevada Campaign to Defeat the Patriot Act
(NCDPA) draft resolution (Below is the list of council members, their
contact information, suggested talking points, and a link to a ward map if
you don't know who your representative is.)

* Please attend the July 25, 3:00 PM, City of Sparks Council meeting at 745
Fourth Street and make a public comment. (Public comments are first on the
agenda so you need not stay for the whole meeting.)

* IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN SPARKS you can help support the effort by posting
NCDPA flyers in area stores and/or going to the Sparks Marina (anytime) and
Farmer's Market (Thursday evening in front of the Nugget) and handing out
handbills. Call 786-6757 or visit http://www.ncdpa.org/outreach.htm for
printable materials and instructions. 

* Call anyone you know in Sparks and ask them to call their representatives.

* Forward this email to everyone you know!

* Have YOU endorsed the NCDPA resolution? Do it - NOW - online in a few
simple clicks. Follow this link: http://www.ncdpa.org/read.htm

Nevada Campaign to Defeat the Patriot Act http://ncdpa.org
775/826-4514

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Contacting the Sparks City Council -

The mayor and city council may be contacted by dialing 775/353-2311. If your
representative is not available please leave your message with the
attendant. You may email them as well, although a phone call is more
effective. If you are not sure which ward you live in, a ward map is located
here (You DO NOT have to be a registered voter):
http://www.ncdpa.org/download/sparkswardmap.jpg

(See below for talking points.)

Mayor, Geno Martini
gmartini at cityofsparks.us	

Ward 1, John Mayer
jmayer at cityofsparks.us

Ward 2, Phil Salerno
psalerno at cityofsparks.us

Ward 3, Judy Moss
jmoss at cityofsparks.us

Ward 4, Mike Carrigan
mcarrigan at cityofsparks.us

Ward 5, Ron Schmitt
rschmitt at cityofsparks.us

It is helpful if you contact the city manager and the chief of police as
well.

City Manager, Shaun Carey
scarey at ci.sparks.nv.us
775/353-2310

Chief of Police, John Dotson
jdotson at ci.sparks.nv.us
775/353-2220

Talking points -
	
Why Pass a Local Resolution? 
A local resolution does NOT ask the city or county to break the law. The
proposed resolution affirms the U.S. Constitution and current constitutional
practices of city departments, including local law enforcement. The
resolution expresses the opposition of the council or the county
commissioners to the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, related
anti-terrorism legislation, and executive orders that threaten civil
liberties, and to any subsequent acts that restrain or inhibit the rights
and freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and
the Nevada State Constitution. 

Five Reasons Why the USA PATRIOT Act is a Local Issue 		
Local officials are sworn to uphold the constitution of the United States
and Nevada and it is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure that its
residents feel safe and protected by instituting just laws and insuring
equal treatment under the laws. They are also charged with the
responsibility that local law enforcement will not invade your privacy
without probable cause or detain you without charge or in secrecy.
Additionally, elected officials have sworn to honor the laws and resolutions
of other jurisdictions. This is important since so many communities and
states have passed resolutions opposing the USA PATRIOT Act. Nearly 400
jurisdictions, including seven entire states, have passed resolutions
affirming the Bill of Rights and opposing the USA PATRIOT Act.

1. Racial profiling: Under Nevada Revised statute, NRS 289.820, it is
prohibited for an officer of the law to rely "upon the race, ethnicity or
national origin of a person as a factor in initiating Action when the race,
ethnicity or national origin of the person is not part of an identifying
description of a specific suspect for a specific crime."

2. Unfunded mandate: Under the USA PATRIOT Act, local law enforcement agents
are expected to be the “first responders,” to have FBI liaisons on police
forces, to question people from certain countries without probable cause, to
assist with INS responsibilities, etc. With local and state budgets being
cut, this unfunded mandate can force local police to set aside its
job—protecting the community. This happened in Las Vegas over the 2003 -
2004 New Years' celebration when the FBI used local police to assist in the
collection of information of over 300,000 residents and tourists. 

3. Involving the police in immigration enforcement: Efforts to involve local
police in enforcement of immigration law will overburden already scarce
resources and undermine already fragile community relations. It drives a
wedge between law enforcement and the immigrant communities they serve.

4. Setting limits on police participation: It is important that northern
Nevada sets clear limits, in advance, on what types of activities its police
will participate in, so that local police support only those activities that
meet the standards of our federal and state constitutions.

5. Sending a message to Washington: Passing a local resolution also
expresses to the federal government, and specifically to our representatives
in Congress, that their constituents are not happy with limits on and
violations of civil liberties.