Bookseller's Resolution to Review Section 215 Petition to Repeal Section 215 Talking Points on HR 1157 and the Petition to Cosponsor HR1157 from the Bill
of Rights Defense
Committee |
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March 21, 2003 Dear PNBA Bookstore members, At their March 13 meeting, the PNBA board approved a resolution drafted by Will Peters from Annie Bloom's Books in Portland, OR, stating that sections of the USA P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act are "a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of bookstore customers and booksellers," and asking the Congress of the United States to repeal those sections. [A copy of the full resolution is printed on the back of this letter.] The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is supporting an effort to pass HR1157 in the U.S. Congress. This "Freedom to Read Protection Act," was designed by ABFFE specifically to erase those parts of the USA P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act that directly affect retail booksellers. We will let you know how you can help in that effort as soon as we have directions from ABFFE. The Board also instructed staff to distribute the enclosed letter to all of our retail bookstore members, soliciting your support in this campaign to convince our regional leaders to work for revisions in the USA P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. We are asking each of you to sign the letter with your store name, your name, and the names of as many employees of the store as you can muster by the deadline, and to return the signed, dated letter to the PNBA in the enclosed envelope by Monday, March 31. PNBA staff will then compile all of the letters, copy the packet, and mail copies to our congressional representatives in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. At this time, PNBA has more than 215 bookstore members. We hope to have signed letters from at least 200 of our stores, in order to provide the strongest statement as possible to our representatives. We hope you will be able to lend your support. For maximum impact, please return your signed letters to the PNBA office in the enclosed stamped, self-addressed envelope by Monday, March 31.
Sincerely, Thom Chambliss PNBA Executive Director |
