Newspaper’s Map of Gun Owner’s Address might have Made him a Target
Benjamin T. Lambright 01.14.13
At least two burglars broke into the home of a 70-year-old, White Plains, New York, man on Saturday, January 12th. Their target? His gun safe.
This sort of thing happens in White Plains, which is close enough to Mount Vernon and The Bronx that crime spills over into the otherwise modest, quiet community area. What makes this case unique is that this robbery might stem from a recent controversial move by a Westchester County, where White Planes and Mount Vernon are located, newspaper’s decision to publish the names and addresses of local gun permit owners in an online, interactive map.
The burglars failed to steal any of the guns in the home but couldn’t gain access to the homeowner’s gun safe.
For more information on this issue check out these articles.
New York Newspaper Publishes Local Gun Owner Info, Incites Uproar
New York County Denies Newspaper’s Request for More Gun Permit Owner Info
Gawker Release 446-page List of New York City Gun Owners
White Plains Public Safety Commissioner, David Chong said “We see no pattern of the people breaking into based on the nap, but we’re certainly paying attention and monitoring that,” according to The Journal News.
The Journal News was responsible for the original publication of the map.
On the other hand New York Senator Greg Ball has publicly stated that “the burglar used The Journal News’ interactive gun map to target a home.” He went on to say, “The Journal News has placed the lives of these folks at risk by creating a virtual shopping list for criminals and nut jobs.”
Senator Ball has introduced legislation that would protect the identities of gun permit owners in New York.
The map in question is still available online and The Journal News has announced no plans to take it down.
