In today’s New York Sun:
Recently, only one Democratic member of the New York City congressional delegation voted in favor of a measure approved in the House to protect people who report suspicious behavior relating to transportation security from the threat of lawsuits.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, who represents Brooklyn and Queens and is already running for mayor, backed the “John Doe” amendment, a reference to the unnamed defendants who told officials on a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last November that a group of imams was acting suspiciously. The imams sued the airline, airport officials, and the passengers who made the report.
An advertisement urging the [United States] Senate to pass the measure is appearing in the latest issue of City Hall, a free monthly publication. Another ad is expected to appear in the New York Post today or later this week, mayoral hopeful John Catsimatidis, who is paying for the ads, said. He is chairman and CEO of Red Apple Group and Gristedes.
[New York City] Council Member Hiram Monserrate of Queens plans to introduce a resolution that would have the council press the Senate to approve the amendment, introduced by Rep. Peter King of Long Island. “We congratulate Congressman Peter King for working hard to protect New Yorkers,” Mr. Catsimatidis, a Republican turned Democrat turned Republican, said. “If people get scared of turning in people, then I think it’s going to compromise New York security. And what I’m concerned about is New Yorkers.”Mr. Catsimatidis said he took out the ads because he wants to put the issue “on the table” and hold elected officials accountable for their vote. He said Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, Democrats of New York who voted against the amendment, are good friends of his and that he thinks the ad will let them know “maybe they should have looked at it twice.”
…
City Hall already has ties to the case that prompted the amendment. An attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Omar Mohammedi, serves as a Bloomberg administration appointee on the city’s Commission on Human Rights and is representing the six imams. In the House, 105 Democrats voted in favor of the John Doe amendment and 121 voted against it. It passed March 27 on a vote of 304 to 121.The amendment was added to the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act in the House. Mr. King said he or someone else would introduce the amendment to the Senate’s bill if the two sides of Congress as expected hold a conference on the legislation.
…
Mr. Monserrate said it is important for the council to take a position on the amendment.“The city of New York, more than any place on this planet, was affected by terrorism the most on September 11,” he said. “It is an issue that is going to be debated, and rightfully so.”