Quotes about why sunshine and open records matter.


“Information is the currency of democracy.” -- Thomas Jefferson

"Far too often when citizens seek records from our government, they are met with long delays, denials and difficulty. Federal agencies can routinely and repeatedly deny requests for information with near impunity. Making the situation worse, requesters have few alternatives to lawsuits to appeal an agency's decision." -- Sen. John Cornyn

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." --James Madison

“ A fundamental premise of American democratic theory is that government exists to serve the people. … Public records are one portal through which the people observe their government, ensuring its accountability, integrity, and equity while minimizing sovereign mischief and malfeasance” -- Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner

"This law wasn’t designed to make your job easy. It was designed to keep your actions legal.” -- District Attorney Ray Don Jackson

"The same prudence, which, in private life, would forbid our paying our money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the disposition of public moneys." -- Thomas Jefferson

"When the state constitution grants each citizen an “inalienable right” to “privacy,” it’s talking about individuals seeking safety from an overreaching government, not an elected official trying to evade the oversight of constituents. It’s the difference between seeking protection from tyranny and seeking protection from democracy." --Jon Mendelson, Tracy Press

"Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day." -- Texas Governor Rick Perry

“Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.” —Lord Acton

"In the four decades since the Freedom of Information Act was passed, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, it has become one of our greatest democratic reforms, allowing citizens to hold the government accountable by scrutinizing public documents and records. It's our national sunshine law." --Corpus Christi Caller-Times Editorial

"We do not elect a ’just trust me’ government.”-Troy Turner, editor of the Farmington Daily News, New Mexico, on the occasion of a court win in May 2007.

“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” -- Patrick Henry

"Examining public records should never require extraordinary legal or bureaucratic efforts. When it does, it's usually a red flag.”--New Jersey civic activist Don Baldwin.


"In America, the government belongs to the people. Inherent in our system of self-government is the idea that the People have the right to know what our government and government officials are doing and to hold them accountable for their actions. State and federal freedom of information (or "sunshine") laws, which include laws that guarantee access to both public meetings and public records, are one of the primary ways of ensuring such accountability." -- Citizen Access Project

"...assurances mean little without accurate information and accountability. The principle that government information belongs to the people is more than a quaint idea." --Joy Horowitz LA Times Op-Ed

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” –Steve Martin

"A government by secrecy benefits no one. It injures the people it seeks to serve; it damages its own integrity and operation. It breeds distrust, dampens the fervor of its citizens and mocks their loyalty."
-- 110 Congressional Record 17, 087 (1964) (Statement of Senator Long)

“Public records should be organized such that they may be produced within at most a few days of your request. Period.” Peyton Wolcott

"The basic purpose of FOIA is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed." United States Supreme Court in NLRB v. Robbins Tire Co., 437 U.S. 214, 242 (1978).

“There’s something about official life that makes people want to have power. And secrecy is power.”--Journalist Anthony Lewis.

"Freedom of information isn't always pretty, and it's also not without its risks. But in a free society, there will always be risk and imperfection." --Santa Cruz Sentinal

"This is not a matter of red versus blue. Conservatives desire a government that does not exceed its legitimate authority. Liberals desire a government that is accountable and responsive to the needs of the public. But secrecy thwarts both of those desires." --James Neff, investigative-projects editor at The Seattle Times

"The public has a right to know about misconduct by public officials who are paid for with public tax dollars." --Mark Schlosberg of the ACLU of Northern California

"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 knowledge gives."--James Madison

"Transparency is Big Government's worst enemy." --- Mark Tapscott, editorial page editor, The Washington Examiner, and member, National FOI Hall of Fame

Want to add to or edit this page?


Page Information

  • 1 month ago [history]
  • View page source
  • You're not logged in
  • No tags yet learn more

Wiki Information

Recent PBwiki Blog Posts