Patriot Act Pros And Cons Essay

The Patriot Act, an act passed by Congress in 2001 that addressed the topic of privacy in terrorist or radical situations, is controversial in today's society. Although it helps with protection against terroristic events, The Patriot Act is not fair, nor is it constitutional, because it allows the government to intrude on citizens' privacy, it gives governmental individuals too much power, and because the act is invasive to the 4th amendment right. To further describe key points in the act, it states that it allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking, and it allows law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant anywhere a terrorist-related activity occurred.

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the United States became a very different place. This drastic change was caused by the initial emotional reactions that American citizens, as well as government leaders had towards the tragic event. The government, in an effort to assure that these events never happen again passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym that stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The major goal of this act is to combat terrorism by giving the government more leeway in what areas they are allowed to use their surveillance tools and also to what circumstances these tools can be used. The major issue that arise with this act are the fact that many of the act can be seen as unconstitutional.

One common idea many Americans have is that the USA Patriot Act keeps them safe. Even Robert Mueller, the former director of the FBI, believed having such an act in place prior to 9/11 could have prevented the attacks (CBS News). He further explained that having the act in place at the time could have tracked the phone of one of the terrorists that carried out the attacks. He implies here that the information from the act is

This Act may be cited as the "Uniting and Strengthening America Act" by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism. President Bush signed the Patriot Act on October 29, 2001. It passed and with no debate voted on; many members of congress did not fully read the act. Due to the anthrax scare many Congressman did not have access to their offices. Attorney General John Ashcroft silenced any debate by warning that anyone who contested the Act would be "akin to a traitor abetting the terrorist."(Podesta, 2001) Congress had rejected many of the provisions previously debated. It was a recycled compilation of many extreme "wish lists." In the post 9/11 wake of fear, it became a reality.

September 11, 2001 sparked many different feelings into the hearts of Americans. People sprang into action to seek revenge and protect America’s precious soils from another deadly attack by reinforcing America’s strength through her government. The men and women of Congress retaliated to the terrorist attacks by drafting and passing the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The bill was moved through Congress with amazing speed and little hesitation. After the passing, the unsuspecting citizens of America were bombarded with many new rules and regulations that

The USA PATRIOT Act was rushed through Congress 45 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism", and extremely broadens the authority of U.S. law enforcement to conduct investigations. Agencies can conduct a

Congress ushered in the Patriot Act by arming law enforcement with new tools to detect and prevent terrorism by expanding federal officials’ powers to keep tabs on our personal information, from credit card use to cell phone calls to car travel. It allows investigators to use the tools that were

The September 11 terrorist attacks led to the Patriot Act, which was a law passed just six weeks after the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit. This Act was passed by the Senate the day before by a vote of 98-1. The Bush Administration considered this Act a form of "anti-terrorism weapon."* Despite his opinion many citizens consider this Act unconstitutional and a violation of our rights. In addition, some felt that their privacy was being invaded and soon coming to an end. On the other-hand some consider this Act reasonable due to the safety it would bring the citizens because many lives are threatened here in America. The Patriot Act expands the powers of the Executive Branch, such as search, surveillance, and INS powers

Based on the information in the article, and what I know about the Patriot Act. I believe my rights have been imposed upon by the FBI, but I also believe they are trying to protect the Amercian citizens. The Patriot Act, which is an act of Congress, was signed into law by President George W. Bush this law was intended to halt terrorism and preserve life and liberty. This act was passed after the 9/11 incident. As with any bills or laws passed there are some glitches. Many Americans citizens and critics argue that the patriot act was passed before being introduced to the people. Most provisions of this act are considered invalid or unenforceable by its terms. Some optimist in major cities and communities are criticizing the patriot act as an

The basis of the USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept

In the years since the passing of the Patriot Act, there has been much controversy and debate regarding the positive and negative advantages, and consequences of this bill. As a member of the law enforcement community I have experienced firsthand some of the changes the Patriot Act has brought upon this nation. A result of this experience along with information obtained in the studying of this act and

Since the USA Patriot Act was signed into law, multitudes of Americans have voiced their opinions over the matter. Many have ascertained that the law violates our rights under the constitution. This is a valid response to the new law, however, the provisions passed by Congress and the President, helps to cut off the support networks that make terrorism possible. Monitoring of terrorist type activity should not be thought of as an invasion of citizens privacy, it is a

The war on terrorism immediately followed the 9/11 attacks on American soil. However, shortly after the horrific event came the USA Patriot Act. The Act, was immediately passed by those in the House of Representatives and signed by the president became the new law. It passed abruptly and by the majority without being fully examined giving new privileges to the U.S. Government over the private individual. The USA Patriot Act consists of hundreds of pages of changes and revisions of law that could eventually affect the rights of American citizens forever. In particular, the Act entails major alterations to existing surveillance laws expanding the government 's authority to spy on citizens, while at the same time reducing their public and constitutional accountability to American citizens. The main idea is that spying on citizens is a useless weapon; its methods are misused, it is unnecessary, it threatens a constitutional democracy, and it is unconstitutional for the United States government to spy on its citizens when combating terrorism.

After researching and reading the different issues and topics I have learned more about why things have come to the way they are. But the one that really got me was the Patriot Act. Some say it is necessary and some say it is not worth it. The Patriot Act became a new law that was passed in secrecy six weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Some say they feel that the Act may bring a greater danger to America and also that we are all enemies of the state. Which that is one I do not agree with. The Act is composed of many laws that we already have and is designed to encounter terrorism in the U.S. But in some ways the Act proved to be a very necessary tool for the U.S to fight against terrorism and ensure public safety even at the expense of some of our privacy and rights. Either way to me it is all confusing. I personally think it is necessary but, at the same time I don’t. Basically this tells me for me to be safe I have to give up my rights and privacy

The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush. The act expanded the surveillance capability of both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. When this law was passed it was under the assumption “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” (The USA Patriot). The Patriot Act has given the government the power to spy on the average American through monitoring phone records and calls, gaining banking and credit information, and even track a person’s internet activity. This is an unbelievable amount of power intelligence agencies wield all under the umbrella of national security. This power has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the