There has been a lot of talk lately about how our basic constitutional rights are slowly being chipped away. The concern extends from everything from the right of habeas corpus to the right to bear arms. Now there is another challenge to our way of life, and that is the right to a free press.

Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Senate failed to muster enough votes to continue debate on Senate Bill 2035, the Free Flow of Information Act. At this point, the bill is dead until the next session of Congress.

The bill would protect journalists from going to jail if they refuse to divulge the names of their confidential sources. For over 100 years, journalists have gone to jail for not divulging the source of their information in courtrooms. The most famous of these is the recent case involving the exposure of a CIA agent. A New York Times reporter spent several days in jail because she would not tell the court how she found out the current administration had something to do with the outing of the agent. Forcing journalists to divulge their sources is putting the American press in handcuffs. One of the nicknames for the American press is The Fourth Estate because, even though we are not a part of the government, we are needed to keep track of the actions of the three branches of government. The Legislative Branch keeps an eye on the Executive Branch, while the Judicial Branch reins in the Legislative and Executive branches. The press keeps an eye on all three. It’s all part of the checks and balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Without protection, journalists cannot really dig into stories and reveal government waste and corruption. If they are forced to reveal their sources in a public courtroom, other sources will stop passing much needed information to the press so that the people can see how their government is operating.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, who voted for the Free Flow of Information Act, expressed her chagrin at her fellow senators who voted against the bill. She said without the freedom of the press, Louisiana would never have found out about the government’s failed response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We would have never known about the U.S. Corps of Engineers cover up of a flawed levee system. All this was found out by confidential sources who talked to journalists.

We thank you, Sen. Landrieu for fighting for our rights, not just for journalists,but for everyone.

We are also a little puzzled as to why our other U.S. senator, David Vitter, voted against the bill. We hope he has a good explanation for voting against this important matter.