WASHINGTON, DC — Adele Welty, who lost her son, Firefighter Timothy Welty, at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, will speak at a press conference marking the introduction of the first comprehensive bill to repeal sections of the USA PATRIOT Act. Welty is a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of 100 family members of 9/11 victims seeking effective, non-violent responses to terrorism. The press conference will take place on Wednesday, September 24 at 2pm on the Cannon Terrace, Cannon Building, Washington, DC.
“I support Congressman Kucinich’s bill, which would roll back certain sections of the Patriot Act that I believe pose a serious threat to the exercise of our Constitutional rights,” Welty said, “particularly our right to due process and our right to petition the government in cases where we believe the government’s actions are contrary to the best interests of the American people. Although it was written before September 11th, Congress passed the Patriot Act after the attacks, during a time of extreme anxiety over our safety and emotional stress over the loss of our family members, and without debate over its consequences. I do not want my son’s death used again for the purpose of concentrating power in the hands of this administration, in ways that will compromise our liberties.”
Welty will be joined by other speakers including Gregory T. Nojeim. Associate Director and Chief Legislative Counsel of the ACLU; Nihad Awad, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations; Mark Pelavin, Associate Director, Religious Action Center of Reformed Judaism; and Hilary Shelton, Washington Bureau Director, NAACP.
Representatives Lynn Woolsey, Bob Filner, Pete Stark, and Mike Honda are also expected to attend.
September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
P.O. Box 1818
Peter Stuyvesant Station
New York, NY 10009
info@peacefultomorrows.org, www.peacefultomorrows.org
