Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Encyclopedia
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) is a national grassroots organization that educates and mobilizes people from all walks of life to defend the Constitution in their local communities all across the country. Under the Bush administration, BORDC played a vital role in resistance to the USA PATRIOT Act
by coordinating local resolutions opposing its adoption in over 400 towns and cities across America. Today, BORDC continues to defend constitutional rights threatened by the so-called "war on terror
" by promoting (a) democratic transparency as a solution to executive secrecy; (b) executive accountability for torture and other violations of the rule of law; (c) robust protections against profiling according to political speech or religion, race or ethnicity; (d) restoration of constitutional freedoms in response to warrantless—-and increasingly pervasive—-surveillance; and (e) debate and creative action addressing threats to privacy, the presumption of innocence, and other civil liberties.
BORDC was founded by Nancy Talanian in 2001 after the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. In 2009, Shahid Buttar joined the organization as executive director. Chip Pitts
chairs BORDC’s board of directors. BORDC’s advisory board includes David Cole
, Bruce Fein
, David A. Harris
, Benjamin Jealous
, Lawrence Lessig
, Marc Rotenberg
, and Chris Townsend
.
In 2008, BORDC launched the People's Campaign for the Constitution (PCC). The goal of the PCC is to build a broad, national, nonpartisan, grassroots movement to restore constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties and protections by holding congressional representatives and elected officials accountable to their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution.
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
by coordinating local resolutions opposing its adoption in over 400 towns and cities across America. Today, BORDC continues to defend constitutional rights threatened by the so-called "war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
" by promoting (a) democratic transparency as a solution to executive secrecy; (b) executive accountability for torture and other violations of the rule of law; (c) robust protections against profiling according to political speech or religion, race or ethnicity; (d) restoration of constitutional freedoms in response to warrantless—-and increasingly pervasive—-surveillance; and (e) debate and creative action addressing threats to privacy, the presumption of innocence, and other civil liberties.
BORDC was founded by Nancy Talanian in 2001 after the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. In 2009, Shahid Buttar joined the organization as executive director. Chip Pitts
Chip Pitts
Chip Pitts is the Board President of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and former Chairman of Amnesty International USA.-Career:Pitts is an international attorney, human rights activist, and law educator who lectures on human rights and international business at law schools and universities...
chairs BORDC’s board of directors. BORDC’s advisory board includes David Cole
David Cole
David Cole may refer to:* David Cole , music producer* David D. Cole, American law professor* David R. Cole, senior lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney* David Cole * David N. Cole, American music producer...
, Bruce Fein
Bruce Fein
Bruce Fein is a lawyer in the United States who specializes in constitutional and international law. Fein has written numerous articles on constitutional issues for The Washington Times, Slate.com, The New York Times, Legal Times, and is active on the issues of civil liberties...
, David A. Harris
David A. Harris
- References :...
, Benjamin Jealous
Benjamin Jealous
Benjamin Todd Jealous is the current president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . He is the youngest ever national leader of the organization.-Early life and education:...
, Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
, Marc Rotenberg
Marc Rotenberg
Marc Rotenberg is President and Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, DC. He teaches Information Privacy Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and testifies frequently before Congress on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues, such as access to...
, and Chris Townsend
Chris Townsend
Chris Townsend is a passionate hillwalker and author of 15 books.Townsend was the first person to climb all of the Munros and Tops in a continuous walk involving 1700 miles and 575,000 feet of ascent over all 517 of the 3000 ft Scottish summits listed in Munro's Tables...
.
In 2008, BORDC launched the People's Campaign for the Constitution (PCC). The goal of the PCC is to build a broad, national, nonpartisan, grassroots movement to restore constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties and protections by holding congressional representatives and elected officials accountable to their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution.