Criminals Use the Journal News Gun Map to Target a Home with Guns

When the Journal News published their infamous interactive map of all registered gun owners in Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York, to include names and addresses (some of which belonged to victims of domestic assault who were hiding from former tormentors, prison guards who have now been threatened and targeted by the inmates they oversee, and former police and prosecutors who could be a target of criminal retribution) the backlash was large and one of the primary concerns (besides the invasion of privacy) was the idea that criminals would use that information to target houses to steal guns.

Anybody who said that was a silly idea can go ahead and order themselves a steaming plate of crow. On January 12, two burglars broke into the home of a 70+ year old Westchester man, whose home appeared on the map, and attempted to break into his gun safe. Most news articles are either downplaying the connection as coincidental or saying that the link between the map and the break in have not been proven, and I can respect the journalistic integrity there. But I'm not a journalist. According to police, the safe was the only object in the house targeted at a time when the owner was not home, and when they could not get it open, they left the house; it appears pretty clear cut to me that they were targeting that home to obtain guns without that cumbersome registration and background check.

Senator Greg Ball announced that he would be introducing legislation that had bipartisan support and would combat this issue. The full text of the press release is below:

PRESS RELEASE

FROM GREG BALL’S OFFICE

Brewster, N.Y. – 1/13/2013 – Today Senator Greg Ball (Patterson – R, C, I) announced that a burglary has been reported on Davis Ave. in White Plains, New York that evidently ties into The Journal News gun maps. It is reported that the burglar used The Journal News’ interactive gun map to target a home included on the map. Luckily the gun was locked up and no one was hurt.

“The Journal News has placed the lives of these folks at risk by creating a virtual shopping list for criminals and nut jobs. If the connection is proven, this is further proof that these maps are not only an invasion of privacy but that they present a clear and present danger to law-abiding, private citizens. Former convicts have already testified to the usefulness of the asinine Journal News ‘gun maps’ yet the reckless editors are evidently willing to roll the dice, gambling with the lives of innocent local homeowners,” said Senator Greg Ball.

Tomorrow, Senator Ball will be publicly unveiling three separate pieces of legislation, all with bipartisan support, among them (S2132), to protect the privacy rights of ordinary citizens; including: law enforcement personnel, victims of domestic violence and private citizens. Let it be clear however, that under Ball’s legislation that has garnered bipartisan kudos and support, law enforcement and all related agencies would continue to have full access to permit information. Senate bill (S2132) would protect lawful gun owners, including thousands of retired and active law enforcement and victim of domestic violence survivors, from having their information publicly disclosed.

“The same elitist eggheads who use their editorial page to coddle terrorists and criminals are now treating law abiding citizens like level three sexual predators. These bills are critical to keep folks safe and fundamentally protect their inherent right to privacy. I hope all of these bills will be brought to the floor for an up or down vote, and allowed to fail or pass on their own merits and not as part of a large, overarching gun-control package. This is not about the Second Amendment; these bills are simply about commonsense and personal privacy. Publishing this information on a website, as we have evidently just witnessed in the recent attempted gun burglary, provides criminals with a map of where they can steal firearms from lawful owners for later use in the commission of crimes. This legislation is critical,” said Senator Greg Ball.