Putnam County, N.Y., Won't Release Gun Permit Info to Paper

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.

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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.

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“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.

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