Last week, the Bangor Daily News’ decision to ask for the list of all registered gun owners in the state, and the resulting firestorm it kicked off spawned a lengthy and heated discussion here in our newsroom of the intricate issues involved.
Since then, the Legislature has drafted and Gov. LePage has signed emergency legislation sealing off all those records, at least until April 30. Now our issue is the state’s moratorium rather than the request for information.
We are in the First Amendment business. We are in the public information business and our default position is that more information, and more access, is better than less. People focused on the fact a newspaper asked the question, but really, public information belongs to you, us, them: the public.
It is our government, propped up with our tax dollars.
If the decision to seal the records is a temporary move that allows everyone the opportunity to take a breath, step back and figure out the best way to proceed, we think it’s good idea.
Much like same sex marriage, the gun debate is an emotional, divisive issue, and legislation and emotion rarely go together well.
If this is just the first knee jerk reaction that is going to lead to permanently sealing public records, it’s an extremely dangerous precedent because essentially what’s happening is we are deciding what should be private and public information based essentially on how we feel about the specific question.
If the people in power get to decide what laws they want to pass on the basis of their personal preference, this republic is in serious trouble.
