Outing the Gun Owners

[Wild Eyed Southern Boy]

Remember the newspaper that published all the gun permit holders?

"Inmates at the Rockland County jail are taunting corrections officers by saying they know the guards' home addresses -- information they got from the list published by Westchester-based newspaper, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said."

"Since about 9:30 this morning, I've been in a meeting with my corrections officers and their unions. They have inmates coming up to them and telling them exactly where they live. That's not acceptable to me," Falco said at a news conference Friday morning in New City, where local leaders condemned the list.

Robert Riley, a White Plains police officer who is president of the department's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, agreed that the database is putting officers' lives at risk.
"My members are outraged," Riley said, noting that the potential dangers to law enforcement extend beyond Westchester and Rockland counties.
"You have guys who work in New York City who live up here," Riley said. "Now their names and addresses are out there, too."

http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nati...-say-1.4407323

[soultrain]

Priceless irony....functionaries of the police state screwed by the very regulations they foist upon the mundanes.

[soulflower]

The newspaper wouldnt have been able to publish the addresses if it weren't already public information.

I'm not saying I agree with what the paper did but they didn't break any laws

[OldBay]

The newspaper wouldnt have been able to publish the addresses if it weren't already public information.

I'm not saying I agree with what the paper did but they didn't break any laws

You have to admit that is a very low standard for behavior. Most of us do not do everything that we can legally "get away with". And it is also a good reason to change the FOIA now that such information is revealed on the internet complete with interactive maps for no discernable public good.

[TheResearcher]

Hussein wants to make gun owners criminals while granting amnesty to criminal aliens.

[Sprightly]

The newspaper wouldnt have been able to publish the addresses if it weren't already public information.

I'm not saying I agree with what the paper did but they didn't break any laws

Is the publisher responsible for the consequences?

[soulflower]

Is the publisher responsible for the consequences?

No. The information was already public prior to their publication.

[Sprightly]

I see. Thanks.

[The Shadow]

Ex-Burglars Say Gun Owner Maps Make Break-ins Easier, Safer For Criminals

Reformed crooks say the New York newspaper that published a map of names and addresses of gun owners did a great service – to their old cronies in the burglary trade. The information published online by the Journal-News, a daily paper serving the New York suburbs of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, could be highly useful to thieves in two ways, former burglars told FoxNews.com. Crooks looking to avoid getting shot now know which targets are soft and those who need weapons know where they can steal them.

“That was the most asinine article I’ve ever seen,” said Walter T. Shaw, 65, a former burglar and jewel thief who the FBI blames for more than 3,000 break-ins that netted some $70 million in the 1960s and 1970s. “Having a list of who has a gun is like gold - why rob that house when you can hit the one next door, where there are no guns? "What they did was insanity," added Shaw, author of "License to Steal," a book about his criminal career.

Connecticut Democrat Lawmaker Wants Names Of Gun Owners To Be Made Public

Washington – Lawmakers in Connecticut – still stunned from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting – are moving forward with legislation that could make public the names and addresses of 170,000 handgun permit holders in the state.

The measure, introduced by state Rep. Stephen Dargan, is the latest effort to clamp down on guns in Connecticut. If passed, the bill would reverse a 20-year decision by state lawmakers to keep the personal information confidential. The legislation would make the information fair game under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

[soulflower]

I see. Thanks.

Potential burglars already had access to the information prior to the newspaper publishing it. It's not as if they outed classified stuff...

[flyboy56]

Potential burglars already had access to the information prior to the newspaper publishing it. It's not as if they outed classified stuff...

Sure. But why make it more convenient for the criminals to get the information?

[Sprightly]

Potential burglars already had access to the information prior to the newspaper publishing it. It's not as if they outed classified stuff...

Okay, soulflower.

[Mom49of4]

Why not list the names and addresses of those who do not own guns?

[flyboy56]

Why not list the names and addresses of those who do not own guns?

I suspect that would be the list most criminals would want.

[Mom49of4]

I suspect that would be the list most criminals would want.

Seems only fair in my opinion.

[flyboy56]

If most democrats were opposed to not owning guns that list would be out.

[bmorepunk]

Why not list the names and addresses of those who do not own guns?

Just to clarify, the information posted was of pistol permit owners. It does not indicate if a person owns a firearm; they could have a permit and no firearm or they could have shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders, etc. and no pistol permit.

If we're looking at the consequences of posting the information there have been two major concerns. One is that someone will "know" that there are no firearms in the house for a robbery or some other crime in the house. The other is that someone knows there are firearms in the house to steal. Neither of these events are certain, although I'd assume the second one is far more likely to be true because few people will get a permit and not have the pistol.

The name and location correctional officers is actually a more tangible concern, but I'm assuming if the inmates were smart enough they probably could get this information easily through simple public records searches.

Since the state law explicitly states that anything that is not intentionally protected information is assumed to be accessible by freedom of information requests, you can see where this happens. The issue is if you start to lock down information you get push back from others who say that the government is being too secretive.

In any case the publishers of the information are jerks.

[Mom49of4]

Just to clarify, the information posted was of pistol permit owners. It does not indicate if a person owns a firearm; they could have a permit and no firearm or they could have shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders, etc. and no pistol permit.

If we're looking at the consequences of posting the information there have been two major concerns. One is that someone will "know" that there are no firearms in the house for a robbery or some other crime in the house. The other is that someone knows there are firearms in the house to steal. Neither of these events are certain, although I'd assume the second one is far more likely to be true because few people will get a permit and not have the pistol.

The name and location correctional officers is actually a more tangible concern, but I'm assuming if the inmates were smart enough they probably could get this information easily through simple public records searches.

Since the state law explicitly states that anything that is not intentionally protected information is assumed to be accessible by freedom of information requests, you can see where this happens. The issue is if you start to lock down information you get push back from others who say that the government is being too secretive.

In any case the publishers of the information are jerks.

I agree - nothing is served with this kind of information published.

[Mom49of4]

Outing gun owners does not seem like a good idea after all.

A White Plains residence pinpointed on a controversial handgun permit database was burglarized Saturday, and the burglars' target was the homeowner's gun safe.

At least two burglars broke into a home on Davis Avenue at 9:30 p.m. Saturday but were unsuccessful in an attempt to open the safe, which contained legally owned weapons, according to a law enforcement source. One suspect was taken into custody, the source said.

The gun owner was not home when the burglary occurred, the source said. The victim, who is in his 70s, told Newsday on Sunday that he did not want to comment while the police investigation continues.

This could be grounds for a lawsuit or more against the newspaper.

[skeemer]

Good thing nobody overreacted to the Newtown shooting.