The rumblings between state legislators and governors to crack down on the availability of public records to hinder terrorist actions is not the correct solution.
Governors and state legislators are worried terrorists could use information from public documents and meetings to attack the United States.
Michigan is one of eight states seriously considering restricting access to government documents and meetings.
Some issues being considered for restrictive measures include water supplies and sewer systems, ongoing criminal investigations, evacuation plans and bioterrorism response assessments.
The Michigan Senate introduced a bill in December that would restrict public records and security plans from Freedom of Information Act requests.
Lawmakers across the country are in favor of local governments meeting secretly to discuss terrorist prevention plans for water, sewer and electric utilities.
And others would like to see judges decide whether to close public records if state agencies think the information would endanger the public.
These are all reasonable concerns. But this seems to be another panic-motivated attempt to change the way our government works after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In Michigan, public accessibility already has been contracted by exempting public universities from the Open Meetings Act.
The Open Meetings Act needs to be expanded and other access laws need to be updated to fit the state of our society if there are any changes to be made.
It is not acceptable to revoke citizens’ rights just because people are afraid a terrorist can look up a public document.
Once small steps to limit access to meetings and documents are taken, the potential for larger freedoms to be taken away is created.
A case always can be made to close the doors on government meetings or limit access to government records, but that doesn’t make it right.
The terrorist attacks should not be used to change aspects of society that have been existent for years.
Americans have been encouraged to live their lives normally, and proposals like this blatantly contradict that idea.
