Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 19:25:16 -0600 From: ACTION ALERT Moderator Subject: ACTION ALERT: (HRC) McVeigh Discharge [ from the HRC mailing list. Moderator Note: Send an electronic message! It's easy! ] YOUR HELP IS NEEDED - PLEASE FORWARD AND POST THIS MESSAGE! Day of Online Action - Tuesday, January 20, 1997 Urge the White House and the Department of Defense to Revoke Discharge Procedures Against Senior Chief Timothy R. McVeigh Go now to http://www.hrc.org/mcveigh and send a fast message using HRC's easy-to-use action page! BACKGROUND: Secretary of the Navy, John Dalton, has indicated that the Navy will discharge Senior Chief Timothy R. McVeigh despite evidence that the Navy potentially violated both the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue." The discharge will occur on Wednesday, January 21, 1997, unless a federal court orders the Navy to freeze the discharge pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by McVeigh on Thursday, January 15, 1997. The Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, and the Commander-in-Chief, President William J. Clinton, retain discretion to stop the discharge and avoid potentially embarrassing litigation. They, however, need to hear from you that you are concerned about the government's actions in this case. The first concern is that the Department of Navy and Department of Defense violated ECPA by obtaining McVeigh's subscriber information from AOL without a warrant, subpoena or McVeigh's consent. That is a violation of U.S. law. The second concern is that McVeigh's command initiated an inquiry against McVeigh based only on a suspicion that the AOL profile was his, thus compelling the Navy to confirm McVeigh's identity through AOL. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" specifically states that suspicions are not credible information to start an inquiry. President Clinton stated in announcing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" that the policy would provide "a decent regard to the legitimate privacy and associational rights of all servicemembers." Former Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin, said that servicemembers would have to work hard to get on the radar screen under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue." Those promises have failed in this case. The Human Rights Campaign, The Service Members Legal Defense Network, Planet Out, Wired Strategies, and The Electronic Privacy Information Center urge you to send an important message to President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Secretary of the Navy John Dalton. HRC's Online Action Center will send a fax and/or an email to each of their offices. Go to: http://www.hrc.org/mcveigh -- _____________________________________________________________________________ * ACTION-ALERT is a moderated mailing list. * * To subscribe to ACTION-ALERT, send mail to: majordomo@vector.casti.com * * In the mail message, enter ONLY the words: subscribe action-alert * * To unsubscribe to ACTION-ALERT, send mail to: majordomo@vector.casti.com * * In the mail message, enter ONLY the words: unsubscribe action-alert * * Words in the Subject: line are NOT processed! * * List Information: http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/email/action-alert * _____________________________________________________________________________