The Conservative Response to Outing Legal Gun Owners

American Thinker ^ | 01/02/2013 | Elise Cooper

[SeekAndFind]

As Christmas was approaching, one newspaper, the Journal News of White Plains, New York, decided to take on Scrooge's personality of mean-spiritedness.

They printed an interactive map that included the names and addresses of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties. Each red dot represented an individual gun owner. They were able to obtain this information because New York state law allows it to be part of the public record. American Thinker was able to interview a few of these gun owners about how they felt about being "outed" by this newspaper.

In clicking randomly on the red dots, American Thinker found that gun owners make up a wide range of people. Some gun owners contacted did not want to talk, some did not even know they had been outed, some spoke but did not want their name published, and others spoke on the record. There was the same general sentiment by all, even those who did not want to be interviewed: outrage, because they had obtained their guns legally.

One person, a retired police officer, told American Thinker that the Journal News has put his family and himself in danger from the criminals he has arrested, because they now know where he lives. He wondered if the newspaper had even thought about the negative consequences.

Another person preferred to remain anonymous because of her profession. She classifies herself as a liberal Democrat except on the gun issue, where she referred to herself as a conservative. After finding out from a friend that her name had been published, she felt angry, intruded on, and invaded. "Now I have to worry if someone will try to rob us to get our guns.

[Arm_Bears]

This sort of thing dates back to at least the OJ Simpson murder trial—Remember when the names of the jurors were published in the paper?

The Left is all for privacy when it involves murdering unborn babies. When you disagree with them, though, privacy goes out the window and is replaced by intimidation.

[CORedneck]

Also in the back of my mind, what are the ramifications of the outed gun owners in relation to their employers ? I worked for some employers that would use gun ownership as one of the items for fodder against you. I worked for several very liberal democrats one which had the habit of really poking into my personal business.

[C210N]

[spodefly]

I was just about to post that had the internet been around in the 30’s it would have been exactly this sort of thing that the Nazis would have used against Jews, Communists, and homosexuals. Goebbels would have loved an interactive map of Jews and Jewish businesses.

[Navy Patriot]

Another person preferred to remain anonymous because of her profession. She classifies herself as a liberal Democrat except on the gun issue, where she referred to herself as a conservative.

In other words "I'm almost completely stupid, and I'm surprised the Marxists have destroyed MY freedom after I put them in power."

[alancarp]

While of course I would not want to be outed myself, I also am thinking that those NOT on their list suddenly become high risks for theft as easy targets with no ready defenses. Before this gets published, thieves wouldn’t know.

[Revelation 911]

one which had the habit of really poking into my personal business.

CMON - you cant tease like that and not spill details