Pubdate: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 Author: John Rampe SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS I write regarding the Tattered Cover's recent court victory, dealing with their right to withhold information concerning who buys books about methamphetamine labs. Predictably, there's been jubilation in the media over this triumph for the First Amendment. Something about the bright light of freedom forestalling jackboots in our bedrooms. Sadly, I haven't seen much examination of whether the Tattered Cover (and owner Joyce Meskis) was right, in the sense of being socially responsible, in selling these books. Beyond constitutionality, was it ethical to sell books that encouraged and enabled a dangerous crime? What responsibility should Meskis bear, in terms of justifying to the communitym her choice in this matter? And where, using the light of the First Amendment, would she discern the line between what should and should not be sold? Had Tim McVeigh given us a how-to manual on blowing up innocent people, should we have expected that to show up in the Tattered Cover? Our Constitution is a blessed blueprint for respecting the rights of our fellow citizens in a free society. The rights it bestows come with responsibilities that are magnified by the lens of freedom. How to make moral, responsible choices is up to us. Meskis may have the right to sell these books, but that doesn't make it right to sell these books. She should now do the responsible thing and take them off the shelves. John Rampe Lakewood - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom