No retreat on open meetings

THUMBS UP TO:

Letting the sun shine in Tennessee

tate Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, earns a round of applause this week for standing up to those who would weaken Tennessee’s open meetings laws. Burchett said he will introduce legislation recommended by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

The bill would clarify the definition of a meeting this way: Any time two or more members of a governing body gather to make a decision or deliberate toward a decision on any pending matter it’s a meeting. The revision would clarify that simultaneous electronic communications by two or more officials also must comply with the Sunshine Law. The bill also would strengthen the penalties for violators.

Burchett’s proposal as a legislative panel moves to weaken the law. The panel was pondering a plan to allow up to a quorum of a board to meet in secret. A scaled-back proposal would allow up to four officials to meet in secret, so long as they aren’t a majority of the board.

There should be no compromise on this matter. The public’s business shouldn’t be done in secret.

Taking a stand on gun show loophole

Former Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Gerald Massengill went on the record this week in support of gun show background checks. The comments came in the context of a hearing on the Virginia Tech massacre.

Massengill was walking something of an ideological tightrope. He supports the right to own a gun, but is concerned by the "proliferation" of guns. He says background checks at gun shows will reduce the number of guns available for illicit purposes.

The gun-show loophole exempts private sales or trades of guns at gun shows from background checks, which look for criminal records and histories of mandatory treatment for mental illness. The panel investigating the Virginia Tech shooting, which involved a mentally disturbed student who slipped through another crack in the law, wants the gun-show loophole closed.

Although unpopular, Massengill’s stance is sensible. Those convicted of felonies and some misdemeanors, like domestic abuse, shouldn’t be able to walk into a gun show and buy a weapon, no questions asked. The same reasoning applies to those who have been involuntary committed to a mental hospital or to outpatient mental health treatment, as was the Virginia Tech shooter. Gun shows should follow the same rules as the local sporting goods store. Check the background; then make the sale.

THUMBS DOWN TO:

Foot-dragging on a fire site cleanup

One can’t help feeling sympathy for Bristol Tennessee residents who live near the former Aurora Casket Co. factory site. It’s been almost a year since fire destroyed the factory and much of the rubble remains. This cleanup is moving at a snail’s pace. At first, Aurora promised to have the place spic-and-span by August. That later shifted to October. So much for deadlines.

Worse, neighbors who suffered property damage have yet to be made whole by the company or its insurance carrier. If the company won’t pay willingly, then the courts should right this wrong.

A candidate’s blunder

Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential frontrunner, got caught planting questions in the audience at a campaign appearance. The senator’s staff asked a college student to pitch Clinton a softball question about the environment. The college student did so, but she later admitted what she had done to the press.

The move brings Clinton’s integrity into question. Besides, someone who wants to lead the free world shouldn’t be afraid to answer legitimate, tough questions from voters or reporters on the campaign trail. The questions won’t get any easier when the election is over.