Editorial Review: Secrets don't make friends
Our View - Mississippi lawmakers should honor open record requests
Nor do they make good citizens. In a nation that has become more and more secretive in its governmental practices since the events of Sept. 11 more than six years ago, Mississippi remains one of the most secretive states. Its public records and open meetings laws are among the worst on the books.
A Mississippian who places a request for a public record and is refused can hire a lawyer and take the governmental agency that refused him or her to court - and fine them for a maximum of $100.
Really? The cost of hiring a lawyer alone would be more than the $100 the government would be forced to pay. If a record is considered a matter of public opinion, then it ought to be treated as such - taxpaying Mississippians should have access to it if they so desire.
In case we all forgot our third grade civics lessons, government officials in the United States, for the most part, are elected by the citizens. Mississippi is no different. It is a government for the people, by the people, etc. Remember?
Maybe you do, but some of the Mississippi lawmakers you elected don't seem to. It is not only their duty under the democratic system to let citizens know what they are up to, but it's actually their job. They not only make the laws, but they're supposed to follow them as well. If the law states that certain aspects of government processes are a matter of public record, then they are a matter of public record. It's not really a difficult concept.
Part of the problem, however, is that the laws on the books in Mississippi are faulty. In order for the radical change that is necessary to reform the Mississippi open records laws, some of the laws need to be completely rewritten.
For instance, under the current law, criminal incident reports are not considered a matter of open record in the state of Mississippi. In most states these incident reports are (rightly) considered public record. Why does Mississippi have to be the black sheep?
The irony in all of this is that Mississippi is probably one of the states that needs to be the most open with their records. With Mississippi's history of secrecy, it's time to create a future of openness.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Steven D.
posted 2/13/08 @ 1:08 PM CST
Glad to see another college newspaper is joining the secrecy in Mississippi series, Northeast Mississippi Community College posted an article on Secrecy in Mississippi written by one of its students. (Continued…)
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