A VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH

Call it a victory for the First Amendment. Call it a victory for bookstores
and libraries.

But most importantly, call it a victory for the people and the assurance of
their freedom to read what they want without concern that Big Brother or
Big Government is watching over their shoulders.

The victory came in the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling Monday that the
Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver does not have to turn over sales
records to a police agency to aid in a drug investigation.

The thrust of the ruling is that the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions
protect an individual's fundamental right to purchase books anonymously.

As stated in the 6-0 high court ruling, Justice Michael Bender wrote,
"Bookstores are places where a citizen can explore ideas, receive
information and discover the myriad perspectives on every topic imaginable.
When a person buys a book at a book store, he engages in activity protected
by the First Amendment because he is exercising his right to read and
receive ideas and information."

This was a fundamental ruling that is certain to be used in future cases
throughout the nation where incursions into one of the people's most dear
freedoms, that of freedom of speech, are attempted. It will be cited and
certainly used as a guideline as attempts are made to find out who reads or
orders certain books as a result of the Patriot Act which has a provision
that will likely raise such issues.

Joyce Meskis, owner of the Tattered Cover, was quoted in The Denver Post as
saying the decision is a victory for both readers and book purchasers in
Colorado and also will serve as "an important precedent for readers,
bookstores and library patrons throughout the country." They can now look
to Colorado law for "guidance when the First Amendment rights of readers
collide with the desires of enforcement."

Bender pointed out in the opinion that the First Amendment goes beyond
protecting just the right to speak freely. It also protects a wide spectrum
of activities, including the right to distribute and sell expressive
materials and the right to receive information, he added.

He continued that without the right to receive information and ideas, the
protection of free speech would be meaningless.

It is indeed a landmark decision and one that will help shore up what has
become, at various times, a shaky freedom assaulted from various arenas. In
Colorado, the foundation of this very fundamental freedom has been
bolstered with the Supreme Court's ruling, and the decision will prove to
add to the bulwark of protection of free speech when attempts -- conscious
attempts or subconscious ones -- are made to diminish it in the future.

It was a wise decision and one made stronger by the fact there was no
dissent among the high court justices.