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Bill Richardson on Civil Liberties and Domestic Security

Civil liberties are the freedoms and rights that protect individuals from government abuse. Civil liberty and domestic security concerns generally involve the rights granted to the federal government to involve them self in the private lives of citizens. With a greater concern for terrorism in the US and an increase in technological capacity for surveillance, this issue has played a large role in US foreign and domestic policy. This topic includes information about candidate positions on such issues as: the Patriot Act, the federal government's surveillance powers, and rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The issues

Bill Richardson opposes the 2006 extension of the Patriot Act

"We must stop Bush administration abuses of human rights, violations of international law, and infringements on civil liberties. To restore our moral leadership in the world, and to show the Islamic world that we respect Muslims, we must close the prison at Guantanamo and we must respect the Geneva conventions."

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"Isn't the Democratic Party at risk of being painted as soft on the war on terror, soft on war in general by having held up the Patriot Act and risking having it expire? RICHARDSON: "I don't believe so."

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Bill Richardson opposes giving the federal government more domestic surveillance power

"I believe that the privacy and civil rights of Americans is one of our fundamental rights. And my only point here is, if there is going to be eavesdropping, if there is going to be wiretapping of American citizens, there should be a due process."

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"This administration clearly believes its officials are above the law, from ignoring FISA laws when eavesdropping on US citizens, to the abuse of classified material, to ignoring the Geneva Conventions and international law with secret prisons and torturing prisoners. There is a reason we have laws and why we expect our Presidents to obey them. Institutions have a collective wisdom greater than that of any one individual."

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Bill Richardson strongly supports extending the right of habeas corpus to Guantanamo detainees

"The Framers, in their declaration that habeas may be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion, made clear that the Constitution presumes the existence of the common law right to habeas corpus. Any other interpretation is sophistry."

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"We must stop Bush administration abuses of human rights, violations of international law, and infringements on civil liberties. To restore our moral leadership in the world, and to show the Islamic world that we respect Muslims, we must close the prison at Guantanamo and we must respect the Geneva conventions."

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Bill Richardson strongly opposes the use of interrogation methods that cause physical or emotional suffering

He has called for an end to the Guantanamo detentions, and a thorough review of U.S. interrogation practices. He also believes current US homeland security schematics are flawed saying "We must stop Bush administration abuses of human rights, violations of international law, and infringements on civil liberties. To restore our moral leadership in the world, and to show the Islamic world that we respect Muslims, we must close the prison at Guantanamo and we must respect the Geneva conventions.

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"Now, I do believe we've got to protect against terrorism, we've got to protect against threats to the homeland. But there has got to be a real balance. And my concern is, with these issues relating to detention centers and torture and NSA [National Security Agency] spying, that the administration seems to be curtailing those basic constitutional rights that every American has, and that is precious. And I'm very troubled by it."

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