From the Oklahoma Pirate Party via TPID:

We are living in a nation of constantly increasing surveillance. Every year that passes results in a government that has more means to monitor the activity of every person within our borders. They monitor electronic communications, telephone records, and online browsing histories of citizens without warrants. They are collecting our biometric data without cause, requiring finger prints and facial recognition pictures in order to issue identification documents. License plate recognition cameras will store the time and location that your car has been spotted, even if no crime has been committed.

Our executive spies on American citizens, and when taken to court it simply dismisses accountability by claiming that answering to the court would hurt our national security. They are now seeking a backdoor into all forms of secure digital communication and encryption, to make sure that no communication will ever be outside the reach of our government.

Our legislature ignores the concepts of privacy envisioned by our founding fathers in the Bill of Rights and continually pass legislation that result in less freedoms for Americans. They are now talking about passing a bill that would give the government the power to the internet.

Our judiciary is failing to act as a check on the other branches and has approved the GPS monitoring and the collection of cell phone location data without requiring a warrant. And for the rare occasions that the government is unable to spy on it’s populace, it has no problems encouraging us to spy on each other. We are constantly urged to report suspicious activity, to turn in our neighbor, and to watch everybody for anything.

We believe that it is time for the people to push back against the growing surveillance state. To fight for our right to have privacy in our lives. To have our government accept the reality that we are allowed to have secrets, and that having them does not make us criminals.

We believe that instead of creating an environment of distrust resulting from constant surveillance, all citizens deserve the benefit of being trusted and to feel private in their surroundings. Privacy is a right that should never be violated without due cause and due process.

We fight the argument: “If you have nothing to hide, why do you care?” We simply refuse to believe that our founding fathers wrote the constitution to protect criminals, instead we believe that they realized the dangers resulting from having a government without any restraint.

We invite everyone to join us at the Capitol to stand up against the growing surveillance state. Stand with us and let your government know that people care about their privacy and refuse to stand by as the government seeks more information about every aspect of our lives. Help us send the message that without privacy, we can never enjoy true democracy. Let our government know that we demand freedom, not fear.

South Plaza of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City.

October 30th, 2pm-5pm