Arizona First US State To Attempt Legal Resistance To NSA Surveillance
” Arizona’s state senate panel approved a bill withdrawing state support for intelligence agencies’ collection of metadata and banning the use of warrantless data in courts. The panel becomes the first legislative body in US to try and thwart NSA spying.
The bill will now have to be approved by majority of the Senate Rules committee before it can move on to the full senate. It prohibits Arizona public employees and departments from helping intelligence agencies collect records of phone-calls and emails, as well as metadata (information on where and when the phone calls were made).
The bill is entitled the 4th Amendment Protection Act and was introduced by Republican Senator Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City. It was passed on Monday by the Senate’s Government and Environment committee with a 4-2 vote.
“The 10th Amendment allows states to stand up against unconstitutional federal law,” Ward said, as cited by AP. “It’s a state issue because many times the NSA is turning that information over to our local and state law enforcement and using that in cases that are basic criminal prosecutions, not anything to do with terrorism.” “
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