The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Taking sunshine to the courts

ISSUE: Florida needs help in maintaining’ open records and public meetings laws.’

The 2007 Sunshine Week campaign again offers news organizations across the state the chance to lambaste efforts by public officials to again erode Florida’s open meetings and public records laws.

And while we support the campaign, especially given this year’s bevy of proposed public record exemptions already filed by state lawmakers — HB 1213, for example, is a real doozy that would bar the public from viewing any name or number used to identify an individual contained in a government document — Florida’s news organizations should consider taking their collective and justifiable outrage a big step farther.

It is time to take the ire into a court of law. First Amendment advocates, along with editors, publishers, producers and reporters whose responsibility it is to help keep an informed society, should take legal action to make a bold statement in support of open government and boost public safety in Florida.

Earlier this year, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel published a disturbing series of articles, which outlined a several major problems with the state’s concealed weapons law and the way the state doles out licenses to individuals involved in serious crimes.

The series uncovered a lax processing system that should make even the staunchest gun-rights advocate blanche. Individuals who repeatedly plead not guilty or no contest to resolve felony or misdemeanor charges can get or retain a concealed weapons permit with state sanction.

At least 1,400 Floridians possess weapons permits even though they have been charged with serious felonies, including assault, sexual battery, even homicide. “At least” are the operative words here. The numbers could be higher, but the public will never know. The Florida Legislature took care of that.

Last spring, state lawmakers, and former Gov. Jeb Bush, exempted the records of concealed weapons license holders from the state’s open records and public meetings laws. It now takes a court order to obtain pertinent information on what is now a state secret.

Repealing the public records exemption through the Legislature is wishful thinking at best. This is the same political process that made it a felony for law enforcement to maintain a database of gun owners or for state environmental agencies to sue owners of gun ranges to clean up spent bullets leeching into groundwater. The National Rifle Association remains a powerful lobby in Tallahassee, and its allies grace both the Florida Cabinet and the Legislature.

Repealing the exemption through a court challenge makes sense. A concerted legal action takes dead aim at removing a blemish from an important state law and reiterates that the principle of an open government means just that — “open.”

BOTTOM LINE: Consider legal action to keep’ open government open.’

Reproduced courtesy of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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