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Harrison Addresses Second Annual Constitution Day Assembly
(Press Release 09-18-06)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

State Rep. Terry Harrison from McAlester spoke to more than 500 Eastern Oklahoma State College students and faculty during the second annual Constitution Day Assembly held in Mitchell Hall Auditorium on the Wilburton campus Monday (Sept. 18).

The Constitution sets rules as to what the government can and cannot do Eastern President Dr. Richard Bernard told the audience while introducing Harrison.

“The Constitution protects us, the people, from government,” Harrison said.

“Every word means something.

“We the people—that’s us, that’s you,” he said.

He explained the first ten amendments were called the Bill of Rights. The fourth Amendment Harrison said deals with the people’s rights and government restraint of search and seizure.

Since October 2001 the rights of the fourth amendment have been altered he says as a result of the Patriot Act passed by congress immediately following the New York Twin Towers 9-11 disaster.

“The Patriot Act,” Harrison said, “scares me to death.”

“The act basically removes the freedoms of the fourth Amendment.”

“Let the system work,” he said.

Harrison warned that when Constitutional rights are taken away, “you have a recipe for disaster.”

Harrison said the Constitionality of the Patriot Act will ultimately be challenged but it will take years.

Caption info:
Eastern Oklahoma State College History Instructor Chris Butler, left, visits with Oklahoma State Representative Terry Harrison and Eastern President Dr. Richard Bernard before the second annual Constitution Day Assembly held on the Wilburton campus Monday (Sept. 18).

State Rep. Terry Harrison addresses more than 500 Eastern Oklahoma State College students and faculty during the second annual Constitution Day Assembly held on the Wilburton campus Monday (Sept. 18).