When a newspaper in Westchester County, N.Y., published a map online last month showing the names and addresses of local pistol permit holders, a flood of nationwide criticism (and a counter-flood of support) ensued. Many gun owners objected to the information being published, though it is publicly available, and now, officials in Putnam County, N.Y., are refusing to release pistol-permit records to the paper, The Journal News.
A post here on City Room about the controversy drew its own outpouring of more than 1,000 comments, with our readers close to evenly split between the pro and con camps. (We did not do a full tally, but we looked at the first 100 and the most recent 100 comments that were easily classifiable and found that 52 percent supported The Journal News's publication of the map and 48 percent opposed it.)
Here's a small sample of the discourse. Some comments have been excerpted, but the full text can be read by clicking on the name of the commenter.
We who choose not to own guns have the right to know when we are sending our children into a house where guns are present or when we're speaking with someone who has deadly force easily within reach. Thanks to the Journal News for bringing this into sharper focus. If gun-owners feel somehow stigmatized by this, they need to grow a slightly tougher skin to match the heat they're packing.Robert Croog, Chevy Chase, Md
Incredible stupidity on the part of the journalists! Yes, the records are public but most criminals are not going to be online looking to see if a particular address has an owner with a gun. It is nobody's damn business if I own a gun! The whole point of being a registered owner is: #1-to own the gun legally and be trained in its use, #2-to protect myself and my property from criminals. I do not want them to know I have that gun; I want it to come as a complete surprise to them when they break into my home and I blow them away.Osakarose, San Antonio
I am a retired police officer, firearms instructor and resident of Westchester County. The Journal Tabloid News has crossed the bounds of common sense and ethics.
TJTN will be responsible for any harm that comes to the crime victims; victims of domestic abuse, crime witnesses; public servants; and licensed pistol permit holders and their families. Innocent, law-abiding individuals, including children.
Hit them where they hurt. Cancel subscription and urge others to do the same.PSNSNY, NS, N.Y.
Newspapers don't burglarize homes. People do.
Flint, St. Pete, FLIf you own a gun why are you ashamed that others know? If it is a guaranteed right why are you ashamed that others know? Maybe there is some courage lacking in your conviction?
Mary Bullock, Staten Island, N.Y.My w ife and I have carry permits. We have a large sign that says “beware of gun owners.†Forget the dog.Name Withheld for Obvious Reasons, USA
Second Amendment, meet First Amendment.Ted, Brooklyn
Bravo to the journalist for collating the map and the editor for approving and defending its publication. Power to the media, for taking up a cause that legislators are placing low on their priority list.SP, Melbourne, Australia
I own a handgun. I have held a permit to carry a concealed handgun for the past 25 years. I vote. I am f emale. There are five parcels of land that adjoin mine in the city of Hoover, Alabama. I know for a fact that four of those homes have handguns in them - because I know my neighbors, not because of some map of those who hold permits.
If you know your neighbors and the parents of your child's friends and you are not a person who believes that the average American should have a handgun or rifle in their home (which is a legal right), then don't allow your child to go there. Invite their children over to your house instead.Frannie Butler, Alabama
Why not make a map of people convicted of firearm-related felonies? Registered gun owners are, by definition, in compliance with the law. Dan, Conn.
No need for names and addresses. The little dots all over the map make the point well enough.Celia, Oswego, N.Y.
Criminals know which homes to skip, well done. Or they know which homes to break into if nobody is home.Momus, Out West
Seems like the gun owners would welcome this. Isn't one of their main arguments that criminals would not go somewhere that they know is “protected†by a citizen with a gun.LSB, New Mexico
I think it is fascinating. To have a visual reference for gun-distribution really pu ts things in perspective. There are a LOT of guns. I just wish I knew why.Marie, Brooklyn
I'll bet that at least 90% of these gun toters thought it was a wonderful idea to post the names of physicians who perform abortions and call them baby killers, which fomented violent and fatal assaults. Now that it's their ox being gored, the whining of gun toters can be heard all the way to NRA headquarters.Michaelira, New Jersey
What has happened to the left that I used to be a proud member? This has nothing to do with protecting your children or helping public safety. This is pure revenge on a group the left despises … the NRA. The comments are beyond the pale in their stereotypin g and demonizing these people. Just because someone might have a permit, doesn't mean they have a gun or even belong to or support the NRA. Maybe the person is in law enforcement, maybe the person is an abused wife, wanting protection.Michael, N.Y.C.
I'm clearly in the anti-gun camp but the publication of the names and addresses in this format is unnecessarily antagonistic and will lead to the ostracization of some gun owners in this part of the country (a badge of honor in another part), 99 of 100 of them responsible license holders.Roberts, Boston
Hopefully this is just a beginning of a national map.Phil Morse, Cambridge, Mass.
We, on the left, objected loudly when the names and addresses of doctors who perform abortions were made public. Are our ethics so situational that we now embrace the tactics of our opponents? How sad for us.
Fred G., Iowa CityWhen the sacred Second Amendment is in question, with its implied right to own an assault rifle, the gun owners get all up in arms (no pun intended), but when a newspaper exercises its First Amendment rights by publishing public record, they want these rights restricted. RN, NYC
Not all people who have pistol permits are conservative NRA me mbers. My husband is a retired detective who chose to continue to carry a gun after he retired because he felt that if he was in a situation where he could prevent someone from harming another person and didn't have a weapon, he could not forgive himself. He opposes the NRA and their frankly anti-police stances since the proliferation of police shootings have much to do with the lack of gun and ammunition control. We are both liberals, and I have never voted for a Republican or conservative in my life. However, I am appalled that the Journal News thought it was proper to publish this interactive website so that anyone my husband has ever arrested can see where we live and that anyone looking to steal a gun to commit a crime has an easy road map as to where to do it. The fact that it is public information is not quite the same as publishing it in a manner that makes it easily accessible to all.CPF, Westchester, NY
Rather than feel safe, it frightened me to know that my next-door neighbor has a gun.Guido, NY
I'm a parent. I'd like to know if I'm sending my kid to play at a house with a gun. Along the lines of creating a map of gun owners for me to use as a resource, I'd appreciate it if the Journal News could also publish interactive maps (names and addresses) of the following:
-Homes with a history of infectious diseases (and what they were)
-Homes with unregistered guns
-Homes with people who have been arrested
-Homes with alcohol
-Homes with legal prescription narcotics
-Homes with family history of mental disorder.This would make me much safer and do more good protecting my kid than the existing lega l gun map.Joey Chittwood, NY, NY
