To the editor:

Should federal officials be able to obtain a court order without probable cause from a secret court for the production of “any tangible things,” which includes books, records, documents and other items, for an authorized investigation to protect against terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities? According to the USA Patriot Act, the answer is yes. Here “any tangible thing” can even include records of the books you check out in the Lawrence Public Library.

However, we learned from the Journal-World that to protect our privacy rights, Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt and the Republican Congress have made sure the government will destroy records on gun buyers after one day. Compared to a reading list, it is just common sense that records concerning gun purchases are more important for the protection of the homeland and prevention of acts of terrorism. This clearly shows that the Republican Congress is more interested in protecting their special interest groups, in this case the gun lobby, than protecting us.

Linda Frost,

Lawrence