Credibility is the stock in trade of a political opinion columnist. I try to share opinions based soundly on fact. I also hope any bias I might have must be readily apparent.
This week, this column is about housekeeping on a couple of issues.
Last week, I wrote about a poorly drafted bill aimed at removing pornography from libraries. I argued the bill was a waste of time, poorly drafted and had holes in the bill so big you could sail Wyoming’s aircraft carrier through them.
But, I said something last week that was wrong.
I said, “The act does not limit damages to the governmental claims act limit, so the entities, their employees and their governing bodies as individuals have unlimited strict liability for sexually explicit materials being available in the library. Get ready for hundred-million-dollar awards against county libraries, with no cap.”
Actually, the bill does limit the damages to the governmental claims act limit. Damages for each occurrence of a dirty passage being found in a library accessible by 17-year-olds, under the bill, would be capped under the governmental claims act at $250,000 per occurrence, a $50,000 civil penalty and attorney fees.
So, instead of multi-million-dollar sums, the judgments could run as high as $400,000.
The money for these damages would come out of tax dollars paid by the public.
The Joint Judiciary Committee discussed the bill for several hours at its August 12th meeting. To the committee’s credit, they asked very hard questions about the operation of the bill showing deep concern for the language and the operation of the bill.
After closing public testimony, the committee postponed working the bill until another day.
While I still have concerns about the bill being used as a political tool, I was very encouraged by the committee’s earnest examination of the bill.
My Friend Eric
Another house cleaning issue is a little more emotional. My good friend, Eric Barlow, announced his campaign for governor.
I have come to know Eric well and am proud to call him my friend. I am also proud to support him for governor. My wife and I donated to Eric Barlow’s campaign for governor.
My bias is fully exposed.
I do not want to do anything to harm the reputation of Eric Barlow or the Cowboy State Daily. I believe full disclosure is the best policy.
That being said, I have a fine line to walk as a political columnist. To protect the integrity of the Cowboy State Daily, I offered to resign.
After discussion with my editor, we have decided for me to continue writing. However, the column will not be an arm of the Barlow campaign.
I have agreed that while I may comment on the gubernatorial election, but my comments will not be a weekly endorsement of Eric Barlow.
I do understand the irony of mentioning Eric’s campaign in this column, but the purpose of this column is full disclosure, and for you to understand the loyalty I feel both to my friend Eric, and to the people who take time to read this column every week.
So, for purposes of this column, I have taken the liberty of sharing my thoughts with you.
I will trust my editors will not let me cross the line from an opinion columnist into a political hack. I trust the readers to become informed about each of the candidates, and to support the candidate they choose.
Constitutional Rights
Finally, I was scheduled to testify in front of the Joint Corporations Committee regarding public records act requests this week.
I made early arrangements to testify on an issue for which I have 40 years of experience. I thoughtfully prepared comments based on real events and was placed on the agenda.
One of the co-chairmen of the committee, Rep. Chris Knapp, removed me from the agenda because he did not like what I was writing in this column.
Elections have consequences, and Chairman Knapp has the power to restrict who testifies in front of the Corporations Committee. Whether he wields that power wisely and respects the constitutional rights of people who make the effort to prevent bad legislation from getting on the books, is up to him.
Rest assured, efforts to restrict my constitutional rights will not silence this column. If I am not allowed to speak in the legislative forum, I will speak elsewhere.
Thank you for reading.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 - 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
