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People's Right to Privacy is Paramount
Augusta, Maine — Gubernatorial candidate Pat LaMarche urged the state Public Utility Commission to continue its investigation into whether Verizon violated the privacy rights of Mainers by turning over customer information to the National Security Agency. LaMarche said the PUC should continue the investigation regardless of threats by the federal government to sue if the PUC pursues the matter.
We must remember that the founders of this country adopted the Bill of Rights specifically to guard against abuses by the federal government. — Pat LaMarche |
"The PUC is representing the constitutional rights of Maine people in an investigation intended to protect our privacy and our freedom. We must remember that the founders of this country adopted the Bill of Rights specifically to guard against abuses by the federal government. By threatening to sue the PUC to stop this investigation, the federal government is abusing its power and unnecessarily meddling in the business of the people of this state," said LaMarche.
"Maine people not only have a right, but a duty, to investigate threats to our freedom and liberty. James Madison said 'It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens,'" said LaMarche, quoting the principal author of the U.S. Constitution.
"Madison also knew that our freedom would be endangered more by actions such as these by the federal government threatening the sovereignty of Mainers, rather than by more dramatic events. He cautioned that 'there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations,'" said LaMarche.
LaMarche believes if the feds decide to sue Maine for protecting the rights of its citizens, a recent case heard in a federal court in California will help predict the outcome of the litigation. In the California case, a judge refused a government request to dismiss a lawsuit by citizens challenging government eavesdropping. "The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one," said the judge, Vaughn R. Walker, "but dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security."
