In this, another annual observance of Sunshine Week, we’re reminded of the wise words of Virginian James Madison, who declared: “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” 

More recently, commentator Bill Moyers deemed secrecy “the freedom tyrants dream of.”

That dream, sadly, is achieved daily in dictatorships around the world where journalists and, for that matter, anyone who questions the dictator’s authority are routinely snuffed out. Here at home, in a country where citizens’ right to know the affairs of their governments has been codified, secrecy is protected not by violence but by consistent, mostly subtle efforts to weaken open records and open meetings laws, or by simple disregard for the laws as written, knowing the consequences are minimal.  

Sunshine Week is a national initiative begun in 2005 by the former American Society of News Editors, intentionally during the birth week of Madison, the philosophical founding father of sunshine laws that would honor his profound wisdom. 

It’s important to note that sunshine laws are not merely a tool for journalists. They are available to any citizen who wishes to know more about local, state and federal governments. Indeed, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act has been used extensively by citizens in Isle of Wight and Surry counties to enhance their knowledge on important community debates such as planning and zoning. Regardless of which side one takes in a controversy, no one should begrudge citizens’ use of transparency laws to learn more on an issue they are passionate about.

At their core, sunshine laws exist for the public’s benefit. The right of the citizenry to be informed transcends any public agency’s embarrassment, inconvenience or loss of “efficiency,” as some critics inside government complain when their workload increases due to information requests from citizens.

As one state legislature put it, “The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for them to know; the people insist on remaining informed so they may retain control over the instruments they have created.” 

Sunshine laws secure the public trust and therefore must remain robust. When the public trust is broken, these laws are the best hope for holding public servants accountable.