Free Expression

By Reggie Rivers Denver Post Columnist Thursday, December 13, 2001--It would have been far easier for Joyce Meskis, owner of the Tattered Cover Book Store, to give up the fight. It would have been cheaper and simpler to give the police access to the purchasing records of her customers. Everyone would have understood, and no one would have criticized her for giving the cops confirmation that their suspect did purchase two books on how to run a meth lab.

This editorial was originally published December 12, 2001 in the Rocky Mountain News. THE ISSUE: State Supreme Court hears arguments on releasing bookstore records. OUR VIEW: They should remain private If you value your constitutional right to read what you please without worrying about government snooping, you owe a vote of thanks to the Tattered Cover bookstore for its spirited defense of its customers' privacy.

What do you give a bookseller who has everything? Give them a front-row seat in the fight for free speech by making them a member of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE)--the bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship. ABFFE is now offering introductory memberships for $15--a 70 percent discount on the cost of an individual membership.

On Wednesday, December 5, the Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments in the Tattered Cover Book Store's appeal to protect the privacy rights of bookstore customers. Law enforcement authorities have tried to obtain the Denver bookstore's records, asserting that they would assist in a case involving the manufacture of methamphetamines.

On Wednesday, November 28, the question of free expression and First Amendment rights in cyberspace returned to the U.S. Supreme Court, as the justices heard oral arguments in Ashcroft v. ACLU, a case involving the government's second attempt to regulate access to material with sexual content on the Internet.

On December 5 at 8:30 a.m., the Colorado Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Tattered Cover Book Store's appeal to protect the privacy rights of bookstore customers.