On November 17, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the author of the Freedom to Read Protection Act, made another effort to deny the Justice Department funds to conduct bookstore and library searches under the USA Patriot Act. He sent a letter to members of the House Appropriations Committee, which is currently negotiating with the Senate, urging them to insist that the Senate adopt legislative language he added to an appropriations bill that would prevent the use of federal funds to search bookstores and libraries under Section 215 of the act. Seventy House members also signed the letter.

However, the prospects for winning Senate acceptance do not appear good. The Senate will probably not vote on the Justice Department's budget separately but as part of a bill that includes the funding for many other departments. If this omnibus spending bill is introduced, managers are unlikely to allow any amendments.

Increasingly, it appears that the fight against Section 215 will be carried into the next session of Congress, which begins in January.

On November 3, ABFFE filed a brief strongly supporting an ACLU challenge to Section 215 of the Patriot Act. ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in Detroit in July on behalf of six non-profit organizations that provide a wide range of religious, medical, social, and educational services to various communities around the country. The plaintiffs allege that Patriot Act's unprecedented expansion of government surveillance power, including the ability to seize their records without "probable cause," is having a chilling effect on their First Amendment rights. One plaintiff, the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, says that attendance at prayer services and association events as well as donations have dropped dramatically as a result of fear that the government might try to obtain its records.

The government has filed a motion seeking to dismiss the case. The ABFFE brief opposes dismissal. A hearing is set for December 3.
   
The amicus brief was also signed by the Association of American Publishers, the Association of American University Presses, the Center for First Amendment Rights, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Feminists for Free Expression, the First Amendment Project, the Freedom to Read Foundation and PEN American Center. To read the brief, click here.

"Reading Your Rights," the documentary about the Tattered Cover Book Store's fight for customer privacy, is now available for purchase. The 26-minute video received rave reviews from booksellers when it was shown at several regional bookseller shows this fall.
   
If you would like to buy a copy of "Reading Your Rights," please send a $35 check to Henry Ansbacher, The Just Media Fund, 2195 Arapahoe St., Denver CO. 80205. The check should be payable to The Just Media Fund.