N.Y. newspaper's gun-owner database draws criticism

Randi Weiner, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News | USATODAY

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Thousands of people have taken to their computers and phones in rage after The Journal News posted an online database of local gun-permit holders.

The database, legally obtained from the county clerks' offices through a Freedom of Information Act request made after the shootings at Sandy Hook (Conn.) Elementary School left 20 children and six staffers dead, has been called irresponsible, dangerous and leaning toward intimidation by online pundits.

Wednesday, Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs, for the National Rifle Association condemned the coverage. He said, "People obtain permits for personal safety reason. It is incredibly ignorant and irresponsible for the newspaper to publish a map of which houses have firearms in them." There is no public service component (to the database) no matter how you look at it."

Janet Hasson, president and the publisher of The Journal News, stood her ground Tuesday, in a statement saying, "New York residents have the right to own guns with a permit and they also have a right to access public information,"

Wednesday, Hasson issued a new statement saying "One of (journalists') roles is to report publicly available information on timely issues, even when unpopular."

Social media played a big part in the exponential spread of the story, whose map has been recommended more than 20,000 times.

Numerous additional comments relating to the gun-permit map have appeared on posts in other unrelated articles. More than a dozen more people sent private messages via Facebook objecting to the map. The overwhelming majority of comments strongly object to the article.

The database also was mentioned in the Drudge Report, Memorandum.com, Breitbart.com, Thegatewaypundit.com, Instapundit, iOwnTheWorld.com and UrbanGrounds, along with Yahoo, ABC News and Fox News, among others.

More than 500 comments — on both sides of the debate — accompanied an article on CNN.com Tuesday.

The Journal News is owned by Gannett, which is also the parent company of USA TODAY.

Hundreds of callers have complained, claiming publication of the database put their safety at risk or violated their privacy. Others claimed publication was illegal. Many of the callers were vitriolic and some threatened members of the newspaper staff.

Robert Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government and an expert on the state's Freedom of Information law, has said all government records and data are presumed public unless a specific statute bars their release. Names and addresses are specifically deemed public records, he said.

This is not the first time The Journal News has been criticized for publishing information about gun permits. A similar article in 2006 received similar responses, although social media did not play as large a part in the spread of the article or of the complaints.

"We knew publication of the database would be controversial, but we felt sharing as much information as we could about gun ownership in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings," said CynDee Royle, editor and vice president/news.

"People are concerned about who owns guns and how many of them there are in their neighborhoods," she said. "Our Freedom of Information request also sought specifics on how many and what types of weapons people owned. That portion of the request was denied."

Scott Williams, 41, of Haddon Heights, N.J., who served in the Marines as a rifleman, was one of the very few callers who agreed to identify themselves and comment on why they called.

"This is what I see," he said. "It's all in the context of the shootings in Newtown ... it gets us all talking about gun control. That people are at a heightened concern makes sense to me. I am a gun owner and a pro-Second-Amendment (person). I try to be rational." He called the newspaper's decision to link to the database "highly Orwellian."

"The implications are mind-boggling," he said. "It's as if gun owners are sex offenders (and) to own a handgun risks exposure as if one is a sex offender. It's, in my mind, crazy."

Contributing: Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY