Hawaii no longer has a media shield law to help journalists protect their sources, but some members in the U.S. Senate think it’s a good idea to have one at a national level — including U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono.

The Hill has this report on the Senate Judiciary Committee‘s action Thursday (Sept. 12) passing legislation “to protect journalists from having to cooperate with government investigations but made sure to limit the safeguard to professional news gatherers.”

Excerpt:

The legislation, which passed by a 13-5 vote, draws a line between those whom lawmakers view as “real” journalists and citizen bloggers.

The legislation gained political momentum after it was revealed earlier this year that the Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone records for The Associated Press in an attempt to discover who had provided classified information to the news organization.

Hirono voted with the majority and is a co-sponsor of the legislation. 

Photo: U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee)

—Chad Blair