Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Reuters
Under the guise of “security concerns,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders made a brash attempt this week to gut her state’s public records law. And then an unexpectedly beautiful thing happened.
Members of the public on the political left and right, in the media and in labor and from all walks of life, united to assert their right to know. For hours, Arkansans spoke up against politicians’ nasty attempts to kneecap the ability to hold the government accountable. They pushed their legislators to revise their proposals to limit the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
By Wednesday, legislators were forced to file two new versions, each one slightly less offensive than the one before. The latest iteration of the legislation was signed into law on Thursday morning.