This week Congress has tackled two important issues that may not seem related at first: reauthorizing an expiring portion of the USA PATRIOT Act and legislating for those affected by COVID-19. But there is one common thread between them - each will have had their passage through the legislature amply lubricated by a potent dose of fear. Decisions made hastily under such pressure are often nigh impossible to reverse after the fact.

The Supreme Court issued a decision Friday in the Carpenter v. U.S. case. The Court’s decision means that a warrant must now be obtained before being able to access cell site location information which is very similar, if not more accurate, than the Global Positioning System (GPS). This is a big victory for the American people and for privacy rights.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has created a secret watch list of individuals who they claim pose potential threats to airport security. This ridiculous “safety precaution” allows the TSA, an unaccountable government agency, to get away with unnecessary and invasive searches and violates travelers’ privacy rights.

Kelsey Smith was just an 18 year old girl who had just graduated high school a few days before she was kidnapped and murdered in Overland Park, Kansas. Her 2007 death inspired her parents to push for action. Their frustration stemmed from Verizon’s unwillingness to locate Kelsey’s cell phone.. As tragic as Kelsey’s death was, forcing cell providers to locate devices without warrants is a dangerous precedent.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and representative and ask them to support the Protecting Data at the Border Act, S. 823 and H.R. 1899, introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Reps. Jared Polis (R-Colo.) and Blake Farenthold (R-Texas). The bills would safeguard the Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens at the border.

President Donald J. Trump has selected Neil Gorsuch, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, as his nominee for the United States Supreme Court. Support for his choice seems to be unanimous among Republicans which is unsurprising. What is interesting, however, is that Democrats seem to be more divided about the issue.