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Mr. Kilmer,

Thanks for your response and pardon my delay in getting back to you as
I collected my thoughts.

I appreciate you wanting to take thoughtful time for debate and
consideration on this very serious topic, but I can't help but be a
little underwhelmed at your commitment to improving the situation.

You voted 'no' on the Amash amendment. OK, the author of the PATRIOT
Act who created those loopholes is now quite gracefully eating the
crow and recognizing the word of the law he wrote went a little too
far. But that wasn't good enough and I can sympathize a little with
wanting more time to suss it out (even if the author, who is arguably
the most familiar with the letter and the implications of the law,
thought better of it).

Your next action was to write to the President. Well, his opinion on
the matter has become very easy to read:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/19/obama-
administration-asks-supreme-court-to-allow-warrantless-cellphone-
searches/ I don't think he stands on the side of the privacy
advocates, Mr. Kilmer. Deferring to the President for insight on this
topic will only yield spin and political lines to tow, and asking him
to take action on this issue seems, to me, anyway, like a safe bet for
ensuring no meaningful action ever gets taken.

I guess I could personally use a more clear indication from my elected
representative: which side of this debate will you be on? What action
will you be taking? Which bills will you personally be co-sponsoring
to usher in this much needed change? How will you be helping?

We're tired of feeling scared of (and even worse, desensitized to) the
mass unwarranted and unconstitutional surveillance taking place. It's
disgusting and shameful and bothersome that we're slowly watching this
happen.

Seattle and its surrounding areas is one of the top tech hubs in the
U.S.. Technology is what makes this region a large economic force. I
work in tech, and my colleagues and myself are all disgusted at
technology being used to unravel our rights as citizens (and, for
better or worse, it becomes our job to care about this stuff more than
our friends who might not understand it). So, I probably care more
about this than your average Joe on the Olympic peninsula, but please
get tough on this. I don't have a seat at Congress, so you're my
voice. Despite only having those 15 minutes of debate, the Amash vote
was incredibly close; had just 7 votes flipped from 'No' to 'Yes', and
it would have passed. I can't let your vote slip, we all can't.

I'm optimistic the right bill will pass. And I'm hopeful you'll stand
in support of it and get more aggressive in defending the 4th
amendment. As more facts slowly come to light it's becoming clear we
need serious reform here. For me, for your constituents, and for your
own legacy as a representative of the ever-progressive state of
Washington, please don't find yourself on the wrong side of history.

I appreciate your time and consideration, Mr. Kilmer. Thank you,

Jon