Newspaper Publishes Gun Owners’ Names and Addresses

Good! A newspaper in New York has received a wave of criticism from its readers after publishing the names and addresses of all of the individuals with handgun or pistol permits in its coverage area. Hundreds of residents in New York’s Westchester and Rockland counties were surprised to find their names and addresses listed on a map posted by The Journal News on Sunday. Users can click any dot on the map to see which of their neighbors has a permit for a gun. The map sparked more than 500 comments from readers within a day of its appearance on the website, many of them voicing outrage at the paper’s decision to make the information public. “This is CRAZY!! why in the world would you post every licensed gun owner information?? What do you hope to accomplish by doing this. This is the type of thing you do for sex offenders not law abiding gun owners. What next? should i hang a flag outside my house that says I own a gun? I am canceling my subscription with your paper today!!!” said commenter Curtis Maenza. “How about a map of the editorial staff and publishers of Gannett and Journal News with names and addresses of their families…,” wrote commenter George Thompson. All of the names and addresses were compiled through public records. The paper also requested the information from Putnam County, which is still compiling the records for publication, according to The Journal News’ website. In a statement to ABC News, The Journal News said its readers “are understandably interested to know about guns in their neighborhoods,” because of the conversation about gun control on its website after the shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week. “We obtained the names and addresses of Westchester and Rockland residents who are licensed to own handguns through routine Freedom of Information law requests. We also requested information on the number and types of guns owned by permit holders, but officials in the county clerks offices in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties maintained that those specifics were not public record,” the statement read. New York’s top public-records expert, Robert Freeman, disagrees,” it added. The paper declined to answer further questions about the map.

http%3A//abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/12/newspaper-publishes-gun-owners-names-and-addresses/



• Delicious. Some waxy breasts must have turned especially crimson when the paper was opened this morning.

• Thanks for the heads-up!

  Westchester%20burglar

• Great. Now burglars will know which homeowners are defenseless or which homes to steal guns from. Gang bangers don't tend to register their guns.

• I wonder if they intended to publish the other information they sought but were denied by the county -- number and types of guns. That would have been entirely irresponsible. Doesn't matter if your arsenal is in a safe; it probably makes it easier for the burglars to carry it off.

• I wish the L.A. times would publish a list with a map for all of L.A. County. I'd like to know where the gun nuts in my neighborhood reside so that I can steer clear of them.

• If they want to illuminate something, make a map showing all the licensed gun dealers, and expose the dirty little secret that most "dealers" are just guys in their basement. They're the ones who cause the gunshow problems, turn a blind eye to paperwork, and often have (to be polite) "interesting" political views. If you drive these losers out of business (maybe by requiring a huge insurance policy) you would go a long way towards making the other problems more manageable.

• "This is the type of thing you do for sex offenders" Exactly.

• "This is the type of thing you do for sex offenders." Done ages ago when the Yellow Pages listed Catholic Churches.

• What if one of individuals had already gotten rid of their guns due to the tragedy? I fail to see what point they were making other than one dimensional outrage. I'm all for gun control, but let's not get completely stupid over it.

• This is unsettling, but maybe aspiring felons will know to stay away from my house.

• R10 more than likely they'll know you are a push over with no protection.

• Gun lovers are proud of their guns, so why not list their names?

• God, some of you really do live in fear, don't you? The other thing you live in is delusion--that you'll turn into Quickdraw McGraw if faced with an armed intruder. You're more likely to be turned into mincemeat.

• Gun owners who have registered their guns are following the letter of the law. Most of these people are not assholes who hurt others. Most crimes are committed with stolen guns.

• It's called freedom of speech...fight fire with fire with these gun yahoos, many of whom don't want any regualtions.

• How does owning a gun make someone a pushover? Can anyone explain would being unarmed make a physical encounter with an intruder better for you, without citing baloney statistics? I am as liberal as they come, but that flies in the face of all logic.

• Umm, you don't get shot by his gun or yours, R16?

• I don't know about pushover, R16, but if I knew I had a gun nut next door, if his house was on fire, chances are I'd let him take care of himself other than calling 911 and letting them know he had a fire but was on the gun list. For all I know, his wackadoodle son has just shot him and is aiming for anyone else who shows up.

• R10, there are other kinds of protection and they would know better than to try breaking into my house for weapons.

  big%20proponent%20of%20the%20first%20amendment

• I don't know the exact statistic, but a very large percentage of people who own guns wind up having the guns used against them, in cases where there is an intruder. They provide a false sense of security. Most robbers only want to steal; they don't want to commit murder. Also, most intruders try not to enter a house when it is occupied.

• Who knew nut jobs from the NRA posted here. Hi R14, your pussy stinks.

  Zak%2C%20pointing%20his%20%22gun%22%20in%20that%20freaks%20direction

• Do you distinguish between gun owners and gun nuts? The difference is as sharp as that between a crazy cat lady and a cat owner, in my opinion.

• Not really. Anyone who owns a gun is a gun nut to me.

• R20 so clueless. You're right, you don't know the statistic. I was a cop for 14 years. If someone breaks in your house, especially at night you can bet they armed and going to kill you. I taught gun safety as a law enforcement officer and trained a lot of people that you must use trigger locks and there are ways to keep them safe. I have no problem with banning assault weapons or a waiting period to purchase guns.

• Maybe most DLs can offer the burglar a blow job, or his hole to keep from being shot.

• They're going to *try* to kill you if they see you flashing a gun, R24. Being a cop, I understand that you might have a slightly warped view of the world. But why on earth would someone want to break into your house and kill you?

  Not%20R20

• R20 have you never heard of someone being killed during a burglary or a home invasion? My partners sister would have been raped by a burglar outside of DC if she had not had a gun to scare him off. I am not saying everyone should be armed, but it is legal to own a gun in the US. As a former cop, I still say you have to be crazy to kill someone who is not threatening you. Maybe we need to look at that too.

• I've heard of it, R27. And I know it's rare. You have a far greater chance of getting in a car crash. I bet you still drive. And you partner's sister was very lucky she wasn't killed by her own gun. But I do agree with you on the current law, and the fact that a pistol is not an assault rifle. But what about you, have you been personally threatened since you left the force?

• [quote]I don't know about pushover, [R16], but if I knew I had a gun nut next door, if his house was on fire ... I would get the hell away from there before the ammo starts to go off

• This is one of the first steps. Someday gun ownership will be in the same category as smoking and exposure to second hand smoke.

• This is wonderful! We are writing in to that newspaper to commend them on a job well done. We'll even write to our local ones to ask them to report the news as well. Surely, most respondents are people who are being confronted with the truth of their choices being made public. I am so, so thrilled. Want your guns and to live in paranoid fear? Fine, no prob. But everyone will know about it. Perhaps your paranoia would be better assuaged by getting rid of your guns, now that any loon could now target you for your stash. Merry Christmas to me. What a nice present.

• The article says the license is for life and is not renewed, and the list does not indicate whether the person currently owns any guns. So I guess it includes people who have changed their minds about owning or carrying guns.

• R32, the inherent point is that being involved with guns could have irrevocable consequences to others (how about those two black Florida teens this year?). So now, being branded forever, gives gun owners a small taste of the permanence such a choice makes. But even branded with the Scarlet G (or V, if you want to be more honest), they still get to live - something that people fatally shot by law-abiding gun toters no longer get.

• I love how the die-hard supporters of the second amendment are going apeshit over an expression of the first amendment.

• R21 is retarded moron!

• At least maybe this way people who know the licensees could report them if they know they have a record or if they've developed a mental illness or whatnot. Good move, newspaper!

• I'd be completely happy that it was published that I had a gun. Tell me whose house a criminal is now more likely to break into? I think it's pretty funny. What's funnier is a lot of websites went digging on the editor. Posted her phone number. Her address. Her picture. Her email. Inside photos of her home. Oh, and the fact that she's armed too.

• Wow, what an insane amount of guns on that map. The US would be vastly improved if it could deal with the gun issue and get universal healthcare.

  Non-American

• [quote]Being a cop, I understand that you might have a slightly warped view of the world. Warped? He probably has a more realistic view of the world than you.

• The whole thing feels like "Bring out your Jews" to me.

• Pssst Want to hear something really funny? The writer of the article has a conceal and carry permit and pulled his address of the map. LOL

• Now that a little time has passed, the LA Times is first to admit that the mass shooting of recent history mostly occurred via illegal weapons. While it is true that legal gun owners can have their guns taken and misused, giving the criminal element exact addresses as to where they can go to get these guns seems misguided at best. Also, many legal gun owners are paranoid to begin with, so seeing their address in the newspaper will make this paranoia bloom to an even bigger degree. I predict many Avon salesladies, Jehovah Witnesses, and meter readers will be gunned down in the coming weeks as they make their way to the doors of these very scared -- outed -- people.

• [quote]Also, most intruders try not to enter a house when it is occupied. Not in the UK, where they've seen a large increase in home invasions while the homes are occupied. Why? ONLY THE CRIMINALS HAVE GUNS.

• [quote][R20] have you never heard of someone being killed during a burglary or a home invasion? My partners sister would have been raped by a burglar outside of DC if she had not had a gun to scare him off. I am not saying everyone should be armed, but it is legal to own a gun in the US. As a former cop, I still say you have to be crazy to kill someone who is not threatening you. Maybe we need to look at that too. The rest of the Western world is living safely without guns, hon.

• They should be happy, don't they think their guns keep thieves away?

• There a lot of missing links in this thread, to confirm all their statements about the positive consequences of gun ownership.

• As long as we're going to invade the privacy rights of those merely exercising their constitutional rights, why stop at gun owners?!? Let's also publish the names of all those in the community who've had abortions.

• R47- From your mouth to God's ear.

  Texas

• R47, let's not forget publishing the names of every anonymous posting on this board.

• I loved how the map stops at Manhattan.

• Whatever happens to gun owners, I'm fine with it.

• I hope R47 and R48 shoot themselves with their own guns...or maybe their kids could do it for them?

• [quote]Most crimes are committed with stolen guns. Stolen from all of the "responsible" gun owners who apparently don't know how/don't care to secure their guns.

• This is a great example of why people hate media outlets these days. All this does is benefit the paper by causing controversy and page hits. All of the specific points of contention related to Newtown were not in the public records: assault weapon ownership, number of guns, extended clips/drums, amount and type of ammo, safe locks/storage, mental health of owners, etc. The greater question here is whether or not the country has been so corrupted by business & government that it justifies using ethically questionable tactics. As much as it bugs me to defend the often racist, homophobic, agros who own guns, this was totally uncalled for.

• [quote]Let's also publish the names of all those in the community who've had abortions. If the abortions are being kept in the house, I agree.

  Barbara%20Bush

• What great service to the criminals of that area!

• [quote] I hope [R47] and [R48] shoot themselves with their own guns...or maybe their kids could do it for them? As one who's never even fired a gun, let alone owned one, I don't even have a gun in this fight. But I do have some principles, and chief among them is a belief in the Bill of Rights.

  R47

• I'd rather know the names of gang-baners...all which own illegal guns then I would legal gun owners.

• Why don't we make gun owners wear yellow rectangles on their clothes?

• 1) This is not cool. A lot of women who hide from abusive exes own guns and don't want their information published. Whomever approve this is creating fodder for the PRO-gun anti-regulation argument. 2) This is yet another distraction from the REAL and logical argument for gun control: [bold]Does ANYONE need a 30clip magazine to defend themselves?[/bold] Answer [bold]NO.[/bold] Some limits on guns are necessary and logical. 3) Can we STOP with exaggerated argument/ worse case scenario/home owner/ bullshit gun threads. Thread fucking over.

• R47 is retarded. Medical procedures are private matters, not public, and protected by laws. Someone having an abortion poses no threat or harm to you the way someone with a gun does. You sound like one of those old coots who is absolutely unhinged that there are people living a life you never had a chance to live. Fortunately people like you are dying off.

• In our reflexive hatred of gun owners, let's not lose sight of the likely fact that Lanza would've killed many more if he wasn't confronted by someone else with a gun - in the possession of the police. But since the cops cannot be everywhere, at all times, would that there would be vetted & trained citizens with guns who could act in their stead. Gun-free zones my ass. They're more like defense-free zones.

• I was being sarcastic.....are none of you familiar with that concept? How sad this place has become.

  R48

• I say we publish the names of the single, never-married mothers. If truth be told, they, as a collective group, are more responsible for the culture of gun violence than anyone else.

• That's ridiculous and only serves to prove gun owners points. Guns are legit targets for theft. That would be like a bank publishing the addresses of all people who have more than $10,000 in bank accounts. This is great as now I have to support the gun owners on this. Just when we had them over CT, now they have a good point.

• [quote]That would be like a bank publishing the addresses of all people who have more than $10,000 in bank accounts. 1 - Having $10,000 in the bank does not pose the sort of harm someone with a gun does. 2 - How much money one has in a bank account is not public records. Registering a gun is. 3 - So if you know the address of someone who has $10,000 in the bank, what does that tell you? Here's a hint: Knowing the address is meaningless because the money isn't there. It's in the bank.