For Immediate Release August 5, 2013
Contact: Mark Daugherty 540-885-5627
Email: trail100liberty@gmail.com 540-255-1431
Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation Thanks Four Virginia Congressmen for Supporting the Amash-Conyers Amendment, Condemns Seven Virginia Congressmen for Opposing
(Richmond, VA) “The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation thanks four Virginia congressmen (Connolly, Griffith, Moran, Scott) for supporting the Amash-Conyers Amendment of the Defense Appropriations Bill, HR 2397,” said, Mark Daugherty, Chairman. “Furthermore, we condemn the seven Virginia congressmen (Cantor, Forbes, Goodlatte, Hurt, Rigell, Wittman, Wolf) who voted against the Amash-Conyers Amendment, expressing their disdain for personal liberty and privacy,” Mr. Daugherty added.
The Amash-Conyers Amendment #100 was intended to end authority for the blanket collection of personal records under the Patriot Act and would bar the NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect records, including phone call records that pertain to persons who are not subject to an investigation under Section 215.
By opposing the Amash Amendment, seven Virginia congressmen tossed aside the 4th Amendment Constitutional rights of all Americans, which guarantee, ‘the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.’” Congressman Goodlatte has the unfortunate distinction of being the leading Congressional proponent of domestic spying, supporting it all 6 occasions that it has come before the House1.
Rick Buchanan, Vice-Chair, Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, said, “Seven Virginia Republican congressmen apparently support warrantless seizures of personal information of 315 million American citizens, without probable cause. It’s not enough for Congressmen to merely give lip service about reading the Constitution. It’s expected that they will actually abide by it.”
Mark Daugherty said, “On a positive note, we applaud the vigilant efforts of the U.S. Military, Coast Guard, Border Patrol, and other agencies in their remarkable work protecting the life, liberty, and property of American citizens, without invading the privacy of law-abiding citizens.”
The Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation is a coalition of 44 independent Tea Party and patriot groups that stand for fiscal responsibility, constitutionally-limited government, and free market principles.
1 http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/06/congress-government-spying-votes-charts/65969/
