A few years ago, states were in a hurry to shut off all motor vehicle records because of fears that stalkers could use them to obtain addresses. But that also made it virtually impossible for investigators, including journalists, to examine records and learn, for instance, which school bus drivers had horrible driving records.

Ironically, it also made it impossible for stalking victims to use motor vehicle records to learn who their stalkers are.

I wish SB260 was the only bill of its kind during this session. It's not. Rep. Mel Brown, R-Coalville, has a bill that would allow governments to keep the minutes of an open meeting sealed for 14 days, or until the next meeting of the public body in question. This is because public officials often try to amend those minutes to keep themselves from looking bad.

To be fair, the Legislature, as a body, tends to keep these kinds of bills from becoming law. In past years, lawmakers have introduced all sorts of nutty ideas, including one that would have kept restaurant inspections secret. That one, too, was inspired by a concern that reporters might somehow misreport how many roaches were found in a pot.

But I hate to rely on common sense each year to reject these ideas. The disturbing thing is that some folks we elect to represent us keep pushing them.

Sure, bad people will take advantage of freedoms and privileges in order to hurt people. It's a necessary trade-off. A lot of Utahns understand this when the subject is the right to own a gun. It's the same with virtually every freedom that ought to define a nation dedicated to liberty.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com