Luna Introduces Bill Repealing PATRIOT Act

Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is introducing legislation to repeal the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act.

Named the American Privacy Restoration Act, Rep. Luna's bill fully repeals the Patriot Act, which passed into law a month after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, citing the massive expansion of Federal surveillance on Americans and numerous instances of Fourth Amendment rights being violated with the Patriot Act used as justification.

"For over two decades, rogue actors within our U.S. intelligence agencies have used the Patriot Act to create the most sophisticated, unaccountable surveillance apparatus in the Western world," said Rep. Luna in her press release, adding, "My legislation will strip the deep state of these tools and protect every American's fourth amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. It's past time to rein in our intelligence agencies and restore the right to privacy. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is using 'security' as an excuse to erode your freedom."

Luna was one of several Florida lawmakers who voted against the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) last April, which permitted warrantless surveillance, citing the weaponization of the Act to spy on the campaign of President Donald Trump.

"The [Obama] Administration used this as a tool to spy on [Trump], and I am sure they are still using it, and we are not going to tolerate it," the Florida Congresswoman said in comments to The Floridian. "And frankly, I think that this Republican body, you guys are seeing a major shift within the conference of people that either will either stand up and fight for the American people, or they are going to go ahead and work for the intelligence community and violate all of your constitutional liberties, and we are not going to tolerate it."

In January, Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) of Arizona introduced a similar bill, the Fourth Amendment Restoration Act, which would repeal FISA and require Federal authorities to obtain a warrant before surveilling American citizens.

Grayson Bakich

Florida born and raised, Grayson Bakich is a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His thesis examined recent trends in political polarization and how this leads into justification of violence.