The League of Women Voters of Columbia-Boone County
Local Voices on Civil Liberties and Secure Communities
Saturday June 18, 2005
Dear Local Citizen:
You are invited to join a half-day seminar, "Local Voices: Citizen
Conversations on Civil Liberties and Secure Communities," to be held on Saturday, June 18 from noon until 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Expo Center. Attached is the agenda for the half day meeting.
The Patriot Act, passed shortly after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, has sparked considerable concern about the balance between liberties and security. Reflecting such concerns, Congress designated certain provisions of the act to expire or "sunset" this year.
Before Congress debates these provisions, the national League of Women Voters wants to assure that our legislators hear the broadest possible spectrum of citizen opinion about our liberties and safety. Through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, Columbia-Boone County LWV is one of the ten local Leagues chosen to conduct discussions on the topic. Our discussion groups should "look like Boone County"- all ages, all educational levels, all ethnic groups, and all special interests.
We'd like volunteers from all segments of our community to be part of the local discussion. We hope you will attend and invite others. Because lunch will be provided at no charge and space is limited, it's important that anyone who plans to join us notify Bertrice Bartlett, 442-5549 ( bbartlet@coin.org ) or Elda Kurzejeski, 445-4633( eldak@socket.net ). Don't worry about over - recruitment. If more wish to participate than we can accommodate on June 18, we will work to schedule another meeting.
The conclusions of the LWV of Columbia-Boone County's conversation, as well as the other League-led conversations around the country, will be gathered, analyzed, and compared with larger national trends. A report to Congress will be released in the fall to coincide with the debate about the sunset provisions of the USA Patriot Act. Here is your chance to speak directly to Congress.
Respectfully,
Bertrice Bartlett for
The Defense of Liberties Task Force
Columbia-Boone County League of
Women Voters
12:00 noon: Lunch and Welcome, Jo Sapp, President. LWV/ Columbia-Boone County; Introductions, Bertrice Bartlett, chair, Civil Liberties Task Force
12:30 p.m. Keynote speaker: Vicky Riback Wilson, former Missouri State Legislator
12:45 p.m.First Breakout Session (60 min.) How Do These Issues Affect Us
1:45 p.m. Second Breakout Session (75 min.) What Values Should We Uphold
3:00 p.m. BREAK and dessert
3:15 p.m. Local Issues: Speakers: Circuit Court Judge Chris Kelly and James McNabb, Director, Office of Emergency Management
3:50 p.m. Third Breakout Session: Promoting Security and Liberty at the Community Level (45 min.)
4:35 p.m. Completion of questionnaire and closing remarks
