As some readers probably did, I signed one of those e-petitions that automatically send one message to the Senators and Representative for each signer's district...without checking any of those three individuals' stated position on the subject of the petition. In this case, I was automatically urging my Congressman to support a bill he co-sponsored. I take full responsibility for failing to check this and add a note of appreciation to the petition, since clicking on it was the last thing I did before leaving the computer center. Here is Congressman Morgan Griffith's reply:
Introduced by Representative Kevin Yoder, the Email Privacy Act extends to electronic communication the same protections granted to paper documents by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The bill prevents law enforcement officials from accessing private email accounts and information stored in "the cloud" without a warrant. Our email privacy laws, which have not been changed since 1986, are long overdue for an update.
I firmly believe that what makes America great are our freedoms and liberties. To borrow from Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." I believe we can protect Americans by collecting information on terrorists and other bad actors without sacrificing our fundamental freedoms.
The fight to protect Americans' rights and defend the Constitution and its Bill of Rights is a fight that must and will continue. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind should I have the opportunity to vote on legislation in the House of Representatives that ensures proper constitutional protections for electronic communication.
For more information on what is happening in Congress, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. If I may be of further assistance to you on this, or any other issue, please feel free to contact me in my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-3861."
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