[+/-] Judge says FBI can't silence discussion of PATRIOT Act

Chalk up a win for the good guys:

In a victory for First Amendment advocates, a federal judge lifted a gag order on a Connecticut library from whom the FBI demanded patrons' records, allowing them to discuss openly their experience and participate in the broader debate about the PATRIOT Act. The judge issued a preliminary injunction against the government, barring it from enforcing gag orders on recipients of certain orders called National Security Letters (NSL), created under the PATRIOT Act.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who is also a plaintiff in the case, represent "John Doe," an unidentified member of the American Library Association. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on August 9 against the U.S. Department of Justice, and the case was originally under seal in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Connecticut.