Leahy has supported abortion rights, the NAACP and affirmative action, gay rights, and was awarded the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Champion of Freedom Award for efforts in information privacy and open government.
On March 2, 2006, Leahy was one of 10 senators who voted against the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, a bill to extend the USA PATRIOT Act. On September 20, 2010, Leahy introduced the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, Senate Bill S. 3804, which would allow the court to issue a restraining order or injunction against Internet domain names which infringe upon copyright. In May 2011, Leahy introduced the Protect IP Act (PIPA) to the Senate. The bill was drafted to give the US government and copyright holders additional tools to fight copyright piracy and counterfeit goods trafficking by foreign rogue websites. On June 22, 2004, Leahy and Vice President Dick Cheney participated in the US Senate class photo. After the vote, Cheney was only talking to Republicans. When Leahy asked him to come over and talk to the Democrats, Cheney upbraided Leahy for the Senator's recent excoriations of Halliburton's activities in Iraq. At the end of the exchange, Cheney told Leahy, "Go fuck yourself" In March 2004, Leahy and Orrin Hatch introduced the Pirate Act backed by the RIAA. In July 2004, Leahy and Hatch introduced the INDUCE Act. Both were aimed at combating copyright infringement. He has a mixed record on gun control, being one of the few Senate Democrats to vote against the Brady Bill. He voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is in favor of phasing out farm subsidies that are supported by the populist wing of the Democratic Party. He voted against the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Leahy voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. Leahy and Senator John Cornyn with its first ever Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in honor of their cooperation on issues of government oversight and transparency, including their co-sponsorship of the OPEN Government Act of 2005, which prevented burying exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act in legislation. On Nov 20, 12:43 pm, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > ** > Scotty Starnes posted: " The 4th Amendment is officially dead under the > Obama administration. They pushed for the change in the bill. From Cnet: A > Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been > quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more " Respond to this > post by replying above this line > New post on *Scotty Starnes's Blog* > <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> Senate Bill > That Touted E-mail Privacy Changed to Allow Federal Government to Read Your > E-mails WITHOUT a > Warrant<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/senate-bill-that-touted...> > by > Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> > > <http://scottystarnes.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/government_spying1.jpg> > > The 4th Amendment is officially dead under the Obama administration. They > pushed for the change in the bill. > > From > Cnet<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-let...> > : > > A Senate proposal > touted<http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20071670-281/senator-renews-pledge-...> > as > protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving > government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current > law. > > CNET has learned that Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of > the Senate Judiciary committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation > in response to law enforcement concerns. A vote on his bill, which now > authorizes warrantless > access<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20002722-38.html> to > Americans' e-mail, > isscheduled<http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=a4bac863917e3...> > for > next week. > > *Leahy's rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies -- including the > Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications > Commission -- to access Americans' e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall > posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search > warrant<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57521680-38/feds-snoop-on-social-ne...>. > It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some > circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying > either the owner or a judge.* > > It's an abrupt departure from Leahy's earlier > approach<http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-introduces-benchmark-bill-to-...>, > which required police to obtain a search warrant backed by probable cause > before they could read the contents of e-mail or other communications. The > Vermont Democrat > boasted<http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-marks-25th-anniversary-of-ecp...>last > year that his bill "provides enhanced privacy protections for American > consumers by... requiring that the government obtain a search warrant." > > Continue > reading>>><http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552225-38/senate-bill-rewrite-let...> > *Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> > * | November 20, 2012 at 12:12 PM | Tags: 4th > Amendment<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=4th-amendment>, > Department of > Justice<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=department-of-justice>, > e-mail privacy <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=e-mail-privacy>, > government > spying <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=government-spying>, invasion > of privacy <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=invasion-of-privacy>, > Obama > Administration<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=obama-administration>, > Sen. Patrick Leahy<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=sen-patrick-leahy>, > warrantless acess<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?tag=warrantless-acess>| > Categories: Political > Issues <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/?cat=35145> | > URL:http://wp.me/pvnFC-8XJ > > Comment<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/senate-bill-that-touted...> > See all > comments<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/senate-bill-that-touted...> > > Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage > Subscriptions<https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=80d8873ee52adffe4e178d01c25562cf...>. > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your > browser:http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/senate-bill-that-touted... > Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com> -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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