Senate committee takes up anti-terrorism measure

Erin Neff

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2003 | 8:47 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A Senate committee dabbled with its first anti-terrorism bill Wednesday amid concerns that the measure treads too hard on First Amendment rights.

Senate Bill 38, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, increases penalties for felonies committed with the intent of terrorism and classifies as murder in the first degree those murders associated with terrorism.

SB38, co-sponsored by 18 other senators, also would add terrorism as an aggravating circumstance that could be considered for the death penalty and would require property used in a terror act to be subject to forfeiture.

The bill also prohibits the stockpiling of materials that could be used in terrorism acts and requires those under 18 who commit an act of terrorism to be tried as adults.

Raggio said he thought the measure was needed to "plug certain holes" in federal legislation and to protect Nevada's tourist economy.

"Experts believe that Las Vegas is more susceptible to terrorists than other cities of comparable size," Raggio said.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus and Sen. Valerie Wiener, both Las Vegas Democrats, originally signed on as co-sponsors but expressed concerns after a hearing on the bill Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Titus said she worried that the definition of terrorism contained in the bill is too broad and that someone lobbying on a gun bill who hands her a bumper sticker that says "If you outlaw guns, who will shoot the liberals?" could be subject to the measure.

She said she was also concerned about how the proposed law would define a child for adult prosecution.

"This is modeled after the (Attorney General John) Ashcroft approach," Titus said. "You don't want to kill democracy to save democracy."

Metro Police expressed support for the measure.

At least 33 other states have passed anti-terrorism legislation using terminology similar to the USA Patriot Act since Sept. 11, 2001.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, has requested a similar omnibus anti-terrorism bill.