You want to read MY e-mail?

["Scott Staedeli" <scottst@ionet.net>]

   from the Nando Times-


DENVER (Jan 20, 1996 01:16 a.m. EST) -- A college student's request to look at
the electronic mail of several high-profile state politicians got lawmakers'
attention Friday.

Becky O'Guin, a senior journalism student at Metropolitan State College of
Denver and a reporter for The Capitol Reporter, a student newspaper that covers
legislative action, stirred up the ruckus.

She sent a letter to Sen. Charles Duke, R-Monument, asking for all of his e-mail
messages from Jan. 1 to Jan. 16 and cited the Colorado Open Records Act as her
right to get it.

The letter noted that Colorado law would force him to pay court costs and
attorney fees if a member of the public "has to take official action to enforce
his or her right to view a public record."

That really miffed legislators.

Lawmakers said they'd get a legal opinion on whether they must disclose their
electronic-age messages and may pass legislation to make sure their messages
have some protection of privacy.

Senate Majority Leader Jeff Wells, R-Colorado Springs, said he and Senate
President Tom Norton, R-Greeley, got similar requests, but verbally.

Personally, Wells said, he believes e-mail is privileged information unless it
is specifically identified as public information under existing law.

A bill by Sen. Paul Weissmann, R-Louisville, to make e-mail as privileged as
telephone conversations was killed in a Senate committee.

A somewhat stronger bill still rests in the House.

O'Guin, meanwhile, was standing her ground, although she admitted to being a
little surprised about the uproar.

"The way I read the open records statute, those are open records," O'Guin said.
"I was very serious about the request. What I was looking for was to find out
how much public business is conducted through e-mail.

"If they're using e-mail to send memos back and forth discussing public
business, I see that as public record," she said. "Most of them don't (have
e-mail), but about 30 people have software that allows them to send e-mail back
and forth."

She said only Duke and Gov. Roy Romer have been sent letters so far, but she
intends to send them to other high-profile politicians.

Jim Carpenter, press secretary for Romer, said his office was "looking at all
the issues, all the options."

Duke said he has always complied with requests for public records, but said the
request for e- mail messages goes too far.

"I'm disturbed by it," Duke said.

(John Sanko writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver.)


   OK, if _I_ can't read your e-mail Mr. Legislator, why should you
be able to read _mine_?

-
--scottst@ionet.net---------------------Scott Staedeli--
   >~<^xXx       | "There is no reason for any indiv- 
        xX   #   | idual to have a computer in their
      (XXX) #    | home."
    (XXXXXXX)    |  
DON'T TREAD ON ME| -- Ken Olsen, president of DEC, 1977
========================================================