It is rare that a newspaper would endorse legislation allowing closure of a kind of government meeting, but today that’s what we’re doing.
We’re talking about House Bill 517 by Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena, to close debriefing sessions held among emergency service personnel and stress management personnel in the aftermath of a “critical incident.”
In other words, police, fire and emergency medical people see a lot of really bad stuff in the line of duty — every kind of injury, wound and violent death imaginable.
Not surprisingly, what they witness in the course of doing their jobs can traumatize them — deeply traumatize in some cases, to the point of needing counseling and support.
What HB517 calls for is “to protect the privacy rights of an emergency service provider in receiving critical incident stress management and response services.”
Read more of the editorial in Great Falls Tribune