WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Several conservative groups, led by former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., have joined forces to fight renewal of the USA Patriot Act.
The act was passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and civil libertarian groups immediately decried some of its aspects, particularly those that give the federal government additional powers involving searches and detentions.
Barr has also argued against parts of the Patriot Act and formed Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances.
"They support this effort because the true conservatives understand the Constitution and understand when it is threatened," Barr told The Washington Times. "They are not your neo-cons and typical Washington insiders. This is a broad array of conservative groups."
The Times said the Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances includes leaders of the Americans for Tax reform, the American Conservative Union and the Eagle Forum.
Not all conservatives are calling for the gutting of the Patriot Act. Paul Rosenzweig, a senior legal research fellow at the Heritage Foundation told the Times he knows conservative icon Ronald Reagan would be for the act because Reagan's attorney general, Ed Meese, is for it.
