While Councilwoman Barbara Nesbet asked the council to vote for a declaration affirming fundamental human rights—already approved by 40-odd municipalities, including Los Gatos—her colleagues struggled with the fact that the resolution is a reaction to the USA Patriot Act.

"The city council has no place in making resolutions like this," said Councilman Curtis Wright on April 15. Wright said the Patriot Act was voted into law by the federal administration in a war setting and that cities should not take action on such laws.

Vice Mayor Erin Garner agreed, saying he thought the federal government had put to good use the Patriot Act and had done a fair job of protecting citizens against terrorist attacks since
Sept. 11.

"As local elected officials, we are the first defenders of national rights," Nesbet argued.

The act, put into place in October 2001, allows law enforcement to protect against any future terrorist attacks.

The language and interpretation of the Patriot Act "might result in overzealous enforcement of its provisions in derogation of the fundamental rights of all Americans, including members of this community," stated the resolution, drafted by Los Gatos Vice Mayor Steve Glickman.

Nesbet said the act gives the government the authority to track every book checked out at the library and every purchase made, which violates many civil liberties. "They are being attacked, and not many people know about it," Nesbet said.

In response, "local law enforcement [shall] continue to preserve and uphold residents' freedom of speech, assembly, association and privacy ... even if requested to do otherwise and infringe upon such rights by federal or state law enforcement agencies acting under new powers created by the USA Patriot Act," the resolution continued.

Nesbet pointed out that the act had been voted into place only weeks after Sept. 11 in a hurried manner. "It wasn't reviewed carefully," she said.

Monte Sereno Councilman Mark Brodsky said he agreed with the USA Patriot Act after hearing reports that some of the terrorists in the Sept. 11 attacks could have been caught beforehand if the government had tracked their movements. However, "my heart is in favor of civil rights," Brodsky said. "I will vote, reluctantly, in favor of the resolution."

Garner and Wright both held on to their opinions, with Wright mentioning that Congress can choose to "unpass" the act if it chooses to do so.

But Mayor David Baxter, who said he had difficulty with the city taking action on a federal act, said he could vote for the resolution if it was reworded.

Nesbet said later that she plans to refine the resolution's language and bring it back to the council. "We need to remind ourselves what the Bill of Rights is. We shouldn't be supporting anything that takes this lightly," Nesbet said.