A New York state senator crusading against the Journal News release of gun permit holders’ home information will join Putnam County officials tomorrow to announce that the newspaper will not be supplied with the information it requested.
The Gannett newspaper recently posted maps on its website pinpointing homes linked to a gun permit in Westchester and Rockland counties. It’s now trying to do the same in Putnam County.
State Sen. Greg Ball (R) will join Putnam County Clerk Denis Sant and other elected officials at the clerk’s office tomorrow at noon to formally announce that the Journal News will not be getting Putnam Pistol Permits records.
“The asinine editors at the Journal News have gone out of their way to place a virtual scarlet letter on law abiding firearm owners throughout the region,” Ball said in a statement, “and I thank God that Putnam County has a clerk with the guts to stand up and draw the line here.”
Sant said the original publishing of the map drew hundreds of phone calls from permit holders in his county urging his office to not release the records.
“There is the rule of law, and there is right and wrong and The Journal News is clearly wrong. I could not live with myself if one Putnam pistol permit holder was put in harm’s way, for the sole purpose of selling newspapers,” Sant said.
Today, the Journal News ran a story that led with a state official’s opinion that the county would violate the state Freedom of Information Law if it refuses to release the records.
“The name and address of any gun licensee are public,” Committee on Open Government Executive Director Robert Freeman said.
““The name and address of any gun licensee are public,” Committee on Open Government Executive Director Robert Freeman said.”
So are the names of the board of the corporation that owns the newspaper (assuming it is incorporated), and the officers of the Committee Mr. Freeman, but is that something you want published in the paper?
Open records laws are for the little people.
Putnam County has a few big people.
Thank God someone’s having sense up there.
The newspaper’s going to win the suit — the permits are public record — but if nothing else, this action is going to force them go to court and explain exactly what they see is in the public interest in releasing the names and home addresses of people who own guns but have never had a run-in with the law (i.e. — they could just as easily go to court and demand the county or the state release the records of anyone who has had mental health problems severe enough to have been reported to local health department workers, but then they’d have to challenge the liberals’ beloved HIPPA laws, and they’re not doing that).
Gannett’s people and the paper’s self-righteous executives will leave all the explaining up to their lawyers, but in a declining market for newspaper circulation and print advertising, claiming it’s in the public interest to possibly endanger the safety of both gun owners and their non-gun-owning neighbors is not a way to boost subscription levels.
If this article from last week is correct, it was illegal for the paper to obtain the information. (all capital letters in original):
Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 400.00 of the penal law
A. 9388 2
1 (II) A REQUEST FOR THE ENTIRE LIST OF LICENSEES, OR FOR ALL LICENSEES IN A GEOGRAPHIC AREA, SHALL BE DENIED, EXCEPT TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR ANY ENTITY ACTING ON BEHALF OF OR PROVIDING SERVICES TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM “LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY” SHALL MEAN THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE, ANY NEW YORK STATE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT OF ANY CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWN WITHIN NEW YORK STATE, THE POLICE FORCE OF ANY NEW YORK STATE AUTHORITY OR AGENCY, THE STATE POLICE FORCE OF ANY OTHER STATE, ANY FEDERAL LAW.
Will be interesting should a filing be made (I’m unaware of such) as the state statute may well be in conflict with federal law in a couple areas. If you gain followup, be nice to keep it posted.
We need common sense media control, right Journal News?
Nicely played !