New York Newspaper Endangers Gun Owner's Personal Safety

It’s The Journal News, and it placed on line for worldwide viewing the entire pistol permit database providing full names and zip codes of every pistol owner in Westchester and Rockland New York.

In America you have a right to keep and carry a gun. Some believe you also have a right to privacy. It’s outrageous that citizens are forced to get a license to exercise their right to possess a gun and then have their privacy invaded and lives placed in danger by both government and some local rag as a result.

The publication of the list of gun owners now provides every contract killer, home invader and burglar with this sensitive information. It was a horrible thing to do under the color of journalistic work product. Publishing the list just because it's there and a public record, does not make this somehow acceptable or reasonable.

Of course I can see additional harm where paranoid local employers abuse the list to avoid hiring or promoting gun owners. One can only guess what other harm can come from this shameful publication.

Of course what this pathetic rag fails to mention is that convicted felons and people otherwise barred from possession such as illegal aliens cannot be prosecuted for failure to obtain permits or resister their firearms. The United States Supreme Court has twice ruled that requirement violates Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

New York, their politicians along with their muck-racking organizations are committed to do anything they can to obstruct, tax or otherwise punish lawful gun owners.

This is just one more reason for Americans to revolt against the deprivation of their firearms rights by refusal to participate in schemes that tax, invade privacy or otherwise infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. Gun owners can simply refuse to convict people of gun law violations when serving on jury duty.

It was not long ago that the personal data from driver’s licenses and motor vehicles where shut down from public viewing by Congress for reasons of public safety.

Of course the home address of every former or retired cop that owns a pistol can be obtained as a public record from the government agencies that issue the permits. Somehow I don’t see that as good public policy.

I’m posting a link here to the Journal’s database so all gun owners can see this outrage with their own eyes and take whatever steps necessary to prevent this from being repeated elsewhere.