Paper Becomes Criminal

From Yahoo:

"NY newspaper's handgun permit map draws criticism"

A newspaper's publication of the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in two New York counties has sparked online discussions — and a healthy dose of outrage. The Journal News, a Gannett Co. newspaper covering three counties in the Hudson Valley north of New York City and operating the website lohud.com, posted a story Sunday detailing a public-records request it filed to obtain the information. The 1,800-word story headlined, "The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood," said the information was sought after the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., about 50 miles northeast of the paper's headquarters in White Plains.  The Journal News story includes comments from both sides of the gun-rights debate and presents the data as answering concerns of those who would like to know whether there are guns in their neighborhood. It reports that about 44,000 people in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties are licensed to own a handgun and that rifles and shotguns can be purchased without a permit. It was accompanied online by maps of the results for Westchester and Rockland counties; similar details had not yet been provided by Putnam County. A reader clicking on the maps can see the name and address of each pistol or revolver permit holder. By Wednesday afternoon, the maps had been shared about 30,000 times on Facebook and other social media. Most online comments have criticized the publication of the data, and many suggest it puts the permit holders in danger because criminals have a guide to places they can steal guns. Others maintain it tells criminals who does not have a gun and may be easier to victimize, or where to find law enforcement figures against whom they might hold a grudge. Some responded by publicizing the home addresses and phone numbers of the reporter who wrote the piece, along with other journalists at the paper and even senior executives of Gannett. Many echoed the idea that publicizing gun permit holders' names is tantamount to accusing them of doing something wrong, comparing the move to publishing lists of registered sex offenders.

^ This is just plain wrong. If I subscribed to this paper I would stop getting it and find a newspaper that actually has integrity. Just because you know a permit for a gun doesn't make you a murderer or a criminal as the paper is suggesting. The paper is putting many innocent people in danger by listing their name and address. I hope the paper if prepared for any lawsuit and/or jail time if something bad was to happen to any of the people they "outed." I fully support posting the name and addresses of  people committed of any crime, but to do so on people who are innocent goes against every fiber of American society. Whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty?" This paper is saying these people are guilty simply because they have a gun permit even though they aren't even charged with a crime. Sometimes the Freedom of Speech and the Press is taken too far - and this is a clear case of that as the paper knowingly and willingly placed innocent men, women and children in danger by printing their names and addresses and calling them criminals even though no court of law has declared them to be. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-newspapers-handgun-permit-map-draws-criticism-005852705.html