Vermont congressman Bernie Sanders announced at a December 20 press conference that he will introduce legislation this month that will "eliminate provisions in the USA Patriot Act that undermine Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to read and access information without governmental intrusion or monitoring." Members of the publishing industry have been fighting the section in the Patriot Act that gives the government the power to seize bookstore and library records to check customers' and patrons' reading lists.
An "open letter" signed by two-thirds of Vermont's independent booksellers and many librarians protesting anti—civil liberties provisions of the Patriot Act helped to persuade Sanders to file corrective legislation. At the press conference, Sanders called certain provisions of the act "a crashing and crushing attack on basic rights in this country."
Also attending the press conference were New England Booksellers Association president Linda Ramsdell, owner of the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vt., and Karen Lane, president of the Vermont Library Association. At the conference Ramsdell said, "We believe it is our right to sell any book to our customers, who have the right to read any book, and we will zealously guard the privacy of this transaction."
