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NRA range safety officer Marc Ferraro takes aim at a target, showing customers of RTSP in Randolph how to properly use a pistol.

(Louis C. Hochman/NJ.com)

The Journal News of New York saw widespread criticism late last year when it published an interactive map with the addresses of registered handgun owners in Rockland and Westchester counties.

Over the last month, the state legislature has said with one voice: Not here.

The Assembly Monday unanimously passed a bill that would prohibit the public release of such data — the identities of firearms purchased ID card holders, and handgun purchaser permit holders. The state Senate unanimously passed the legislation on May 30, specifying the restricted confidential information as a person's name, address and Social Security number.

The bill codifies regulations already established by the state attorney general. But those existing regulations could have been changed by the attorney general or a successor without the legislature's approval.

The bill's sponsors called it a victory for personal privacy and safety.

"This legislation has nothing to do with gun control, but with protecting law-abiding citizens and ensuring their safety," Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, R-Ocean, Burlington, Middlesex and Monmouth, said in a joint news release from the bill's primary sponsors in the Assembly. "It is quite possible that citizens can be targeted by thieves, as could victims of domestic violence who possess a firearm to defend themselves. This bill will legally remove the ambiguity in the current regulation and respect that releasing such information must have a legitimate purpose."

Of the 24 legislators sponsoring the bill in the two chambers, four are Democrats: Assemblyman Troy Singleton, Assemblyman Wayne P. DeAngelo, Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Senator Fred H. Madden Jr.

The primary sponsors on the Assembly version passed Monday are Republicans Dancer, Dave Rible, Anthony M. Bucco, Alison Littell McHose and Jay Webber.

"The bipartisan and overwhelming legislative support for this bill recognizes the value we place on personal and privileged information," Bucco, whose 25th legislative district includes portions of Morris and Somerset, said in the news release. "Law-abiding citizens, especially victims of domestic violence or abuse, will now be afforded the safeguards they deserve. They should not be exposed to the risk of further danger or harassment by their abusers. Protecting the public should always be our No. 1 goal."

For its part, the New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America —

, co-founded by Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman, who is running as an independent in this year's 25th district Assembly race — offered no objection to the bill when sent information about it Tuesday.

"We recognize privacy as a concern of some law abiding gun owners and that their concerns are addressed in this bill," New Jersey co-chapter leader Mandi Perlmutter said.

The Journal News took down its interactive map of gun owners early this year, after a New York adopted a gun control law that also included privacy shields —

. Publisher Janet Hasson wrote at the time that the newspaper wasn't required to take down the information, but believed the decision complied with the spirit of the new law.

.

The gun map had drawn criticism from people who said it endangered responsible gun owners and served no public purpose.

"They have NO RIGHT to print this information," NJ.com user

.

"These are law-abiding citizens that prefer to protect themselves instead of waiting for the police to look for maybe even arrest the perp months after the citizen has been buried. I'm getting real tired and angry with the nanny state and no one having responsibility for anything including themselves.

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A Star-Ledger editorial in December defended the publication of the gun map, calling the criticism "overblown."

"For one, no one suggested that it is wrong to own a gun. This was a release of public information, nothing more,"

. "And let’s face it: This is useful information for parents trying to help their children navigate a safe path in a nation with 270 million guns. The guns that Adam Lanza used to kill 26 at Sandy Hook Elementary School were legally bought and owned by his mother."

It said parents might want to know, for instance, if they're trusting their children with babysitters who have guns in their homes. And it said people with concerns about their neighbors' mental health might want to know if those neighbors own guns.

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"

There is nothing else licensed which is protected by secrecy. What law makes the the gun license exempt from public knowledge?" NJ.com user "wood" asked in December

Rible, a retired police officer whose district includes areas of Monmouth and Ocean counties, said in this week's news release that "releasing personal information about those who have firearms permits or licenses puts law enforcement officers and law-abiding citizens in harm's way."

Webber, whose district includes areas of Morris, Essex and Passaic, said people exercising their Second Amendment rights should be protected from "harassment and snooping."

"Just because gun owners take affirmative steps to ensure their own safety and security doesn't mean they give up their right to privacy. This bill protects that privacy, and I am proud to support it."

McHose, of Sussex, Warren and Morris, said the release of information about gun owners "to anyone besides those involved in law enforcement is an invitation to those with a criminal intent."