I could hardly believe what I heard just now listening to Rand Paul speak before Congress about the two amendments he proposed in reauthorizing the Patriot Act bill for another 4 years. Both amendments were defeated. One amendment would have exempted 4473s, the form gun owners fill out when registering weapons, from Patriot Act provisions. The other amendment would have made it the job of the government, not banks, to initiate "suspicious activity reports." (Listen below beginning at 8:40.)
As it stands now, your bank is encouraged to report your activities to the government if your banking transactions exceed $5000.00 or face fines of $100,000 or more! There are now over a million suspicious activity reports a year. Like it or not, your bank accounts are being spied on and reported to the government BY YOUR BANK.
It's sickening to me that my kids are growing up in a world in which they will be treated like suspected terrorists for how they use their bank accounts or what they post on Facebook or Twitter because of the Patriot Act.
Our banks now report us to the government and they have been for nearly a decade without the public knowing. How long before neighbors are spying on neighbors? Nothing changes until we support the rare politician like Rand Paul who is courageous enough to stand up for the very liberties we take for granted. Do you want a government that is unrestrained by law? At the moment, it seems we do.
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