COLUMN: Records access law not just for journalists

As a journalist, the First Amendment is a sacred thing for me. In lots of ways, it is the core of everything I do. Every time I write an article, voice an opinion or find the courage to ask the tough questions, the First Amendment is there to back me up and make sure my freedom is protected.

It’s true. Journalism would be a waste without this great piece of legislation, but many other aspects of everyday life would go down the tubes as well. Without it, the people would lose their freedom of speech, freedom of religion and, not to mention, their freedom of the press.

Perhaps that’s why I’m a little concerned that the people are allowing the First Amendment to be slowly hacked away.

You don’t believe me? Well … it’s happening. Everywhere, God is being thrown out of courts, out of schools, out of our lives. Does that sound like freedom of religion to you? What good is the right to believe in God if you’re only allowed to practice it in the privacy of your own closet?

Sadly, this crackdown on religion is not the only example of First Amendment amputations. Right now, sitting in Salt Lake City amongst other bits of pending legislation, are three bills designed to take their own chunk out of our freedom. These bills are trying to reduce the privileges granted to the public by the Government Records Access Management Act, which determines how our state government can classify records and who can have access.

This is problem. Not only does GRAMA affect journalists’ ability to gather information and, therefore, their ability to report it, but it requires that government practice out in the open and allows the public to be informed about what their government is really doing.

I could be wrong, but, as I understand it, this is still a government “by the people.” So it should make sense that “the people” be able to get involved as much as possible. Unlike the current religious trends, the construction of public policy is not something we are at all willing to take into closet. This is our America and we want to keep it that way.

Of course, not everyone uses GRAMA, at least not in the literal, fill-out-the-form and get-the-stacks-of-info-for-themselves kind of way. In fact, many people have probably never even heard of it. This truth has been the ammunition for several Utah politicians who support the bills, saying GRAMA was not created “so journalist could sell newspapers.”

Touché! They’re absolutely right. GRAMA was not created to sell newspapers. It was, however, created to keep the public informed and politicians honest – a job which often falls to journalists to keep in force. The fact that they sometimes find information about government that sells papers, such as fraud, theft and so on, is simply a byproduct of performing this important job.

In truth, it really shouldn’t matter who is using GRAMA as long as it is still serving in the best interests of the people – which it is.

Legislation like GRAMA and the First Amendment are not playing offense in the Legislature. They are the defense, there to protect us if we get into sticky situations; there to discourage government officials from crossing the line and there to encourage the people to take a more active role in governing themselves. The fact that they’re not being utilized by everyone does not give politicians the right to start chopping. Not everyone has dialed 911. But it’s important it’s there, just in case you ever have to.

Mikaylie Kartchner is a junior majoring in print journalism. Questions or comments can be sent to mikayliek@cc.usu.edu.