Open Government

All levels of government must be open to the public and media so that the process is transparent and the actions of all representatives are available for public review. Citizens should be involved in the decision making process at all levels. Civil Rights must be aggressively defended, especially in the face of federal encroachments made under the cover of the "war on terror." Harassment of immigrants must not be tolerated.
The Maryland Green Party believes that:


· Sunshine laws, which require legislative actions be open to public review, should be defended and expanded. We condemn efforts by the Ehrlich administration to limit sunshine laws and to institute gag orders prohibiting communication with the press.


· We call for citizen control of redistricting, moving the apportionment process into the public light. Minority representation must be preserved in order to protect minority rights. A greater effort should be made to promote gender equality in government.


· We demand re-enforcement of our civil liberties of speech, assembly, association, and petition. Profiling of ethic groups for unequal treatment violates their civil rights and must be ended.


· We support decentralizing government and political structures so that as much control as is reasonable is passed down to the community level. While we support global, national, and regional government structures, decisions and policies affecting citizens should be made at the most local level possible with as much citizen input as possible.