Newspaper that published gun permit holder data hires armed security guards

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:55:00 +0000

The Journal News, the Lower Hudson Valley newspaper that made headlines for publishing local gun permit holders' data last week, has now hired armed security guards to protect its headquarter office, effective until the end of the day today.

The Rockland County Times reports that "according to police reports on public record, Journal News Rockland Editor Caryn A. McBride was alarmed by the volume of 'negative correspondence'" she received following the publishing of the data, "namely an avalanche of phone calls and emails to the Journal News office."

The police, however, dimissed McBride's concerns, one of which was based on an email that questioned "what McBride would get in her mail now.” Police said that the email “did not constitute an offense" or they did not consider it a threat, prompting McBride to hire a private investigation firm.

h/t Politico

Lawyer outs journalists who released gun permit holder data

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

A New York newspaper, The Journal News, sparked outrage among conservatives earlier this week when it posted an interactive feature showing the addresses and names of individuals who hold gun permits in New York's Westchester and Rockland counties (screenshot above). The paper notes that "the data does not include owners of long guns — rifles or shotguns — which can be purchased without a permit. Being included in this map does not mean the individual at a specific location owns a weapon, just that they are licensed to do so."

The Journal News submitted requests for records "for all permit categories," citing the Freedom of Information Act, as part of a larger feature aimed at reexamining the area's gun ownership in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings.

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Newspaper that published gun permit holder data hires armed security guards

Lawyer outs journalists who released gun permit holder data