Civil Liberties 1971 General Resolution

WHEREAS, the Unitarian Universalist Association opposes any kind of surveillance of private citizens or government employees; and

WHEREAS, we feel that such surveillance leads to a potential for control and intimidation that is alien to our form of government and foreign to a society of free men and women; and

WHEREAS, our society has progressively become more information-oriented, creating a potentiality for abuse and misuse of validly gathered information; and

WHEREAS, the US Army Intelligence and others have had at least a few of our Unitarian Universalist churches under surveillance;

BE IT RESOLVED: The Unitarian Universalist Association go on record as opposing any governmental abuse of surveillance whether by means of professional data gathering systems, census forms, federal questionnaires, interviews, Army investigations, wire tapping, or data banks; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: The General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association urges:

  1. The President to exercise the moral leadership of his office as recommended by the Scranton Report on campus unrest;
  2. Support of Congressional hearings to consider the total impact of data collection programs on the preservation of individual rights;
  3. Congress to uphold the constitutional protection of individual rights to privacy and the right of an individual to remain silent about himself and herself;
  4. That the federal government inform the recipients of these questionnaires of their rights with regard to these forms, including the fact that the forms are voluntary, and the reason for the collection of the information;
  5. Citizens should have the right to examine any governmental files concerning themselves. The President and the Congress are urged to issue appropriate executive orders and to pass legislation to effectuate this objective;
  6. Urge our members to join and support the American Civil Liberties Union.