Cold air and overcast skies couldn't keep about 200 people from gathering in front of the Capitol on Friday to protest the impending war in Iraq and what they called an assault on civil liberties in the United States.

"This path of freedom and liberty is under attack, not from terrorists but by our own government," said organizer Valerie Gremillon.

Mentioning secret arrest warrants and secret arrests authorized under the Patriot Act, Gremillon said, "These actions by any other governments would be seen as the onslaught of a police state."

The rally was held on the day the state House Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on legislation that would put New Mexico on record against many provisions of the controversial U.S. Patriot Act.

However, following a grueling House floor session, the committee delayed the hearing on House Joint Memorial 40, sponsored by Rep. Max Coll of Santa Fe, until Monday.

The memorial would direct state police to not assist federal authorities in violating the civil liberties of New Mexicans.

Among the signs carried by participants at the rally were those reading "Patriot Act = the Madness of King George," "One Nation Under Surveillance" and "Patriots for Peace."

One protester carried a state flag and a sign reading, "U.S. Out of New Mexico."

Coll, speaking at the rally, compared the current political climate under "the so-called Patriot Act" to Germany in the 1930s and the McCarthy era in the United States.

He was applauded when he predicted the Patriot Act and other policies contemplated by the Bush administration would lead to major civil disobedience. "It's really important to stand up and be counted," Coll said.

Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, has a memorial identical to Coll's in the Senate.

At the rally, he called the Patriot Act "treacherous and traitorous to our Constitution" and compared it to the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798.

Last week, McSorley's memorial was tabled by the Senate Rules Committee, which was dominated that day by Republicans who argued the Patriot Act was a reasonable response to the terrorist threat.

At that hearing, Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, argued the legislation would make New Mexico a safe haven for terrorists, a statement disputed Friday by several speakers.

Speaking about HJM40 at the rally, Peter Simonson, executive director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, "We are not telling our state police or government not to participate in investigations of terrorism cases. We only want them to conduct those investigations while observing our rights."

David Bacon, the Green Party's candidate for governor last year, said of the Bush administration and its supporters: "They don't understand the language of the original Constitution. We've got to be firm with them. They're living in a delusional world."

Joan Duffy, a retired officer in the Air Force Nurse Corps who served in Vietnam, said in the military she "was sworn to uphold the Constitution against enemies, both foreign and domestic. So that's what I'm doing here."

The youngest speaker was Jesse Cirolia, 16, a student at Nizhoni School for Global Consciousness in Galisteo.

She responded to a statement last week by State Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales that he supports the Patriot Act because it keeps his daughters safer.

"I'm a daughter, a high-school student and an American citizen," she said. "Are my constitutional rights being jeopardized by the very people whose job it is to uphold those rights?"

Congress, by a huge margin, passed the Patriot Act shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It greatly expanded surveillance powers of the federal government and greatly reduced court oversight.

Copyright 2003 Santa Fe New Mexican

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