Gawker Releases 446-page List of New York City Gun Owners
OutdoorHub Reporters 01.11.13
Apparently seeking to one-up the Journal News, the website Gawker has published a 446-page list of licensed handgun owners in New York City (Outdoor Hub has decided not to directly link to the article and its attendant list. -Editor). The blog, which was published by Gawker contributor John Cook on Tuesday afternoon, has drawn a massive amount of criticism from both sides of the gun control debate and since undergone several revisions.
Adding to its confrontational allure was the article’s original title, “Here Is a List of All the Assholes Who Own Guns in New York City,” which has since been sarcastically struck out to read “Here Is a List of All the Assholes Handsome Law-Abiding Citizens Who Own Guns Some People in New York City.”
The list is based on information Cook obtained over two years ago via a Freedom of Information Act request to the New York City Police Department and classifies each licensed handgun owner based on the type of permit they hold. The document does not include licensees’ addresses.
The publication has led to outrage from gun owners and gun control advocates alike. One commentator on the Gawker site echoed the opinion of other posters by starting off his criticism with “what does this prove? What is the point John?” Another highly-responded to comment came from another poster who claims to be against firearm ownership, who stated:
I don’t get the point. Keep in mind I am not pro-gun. I don’t like them. I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth. I just don’t get the point of singling out law abiding citizens whose only crime is owning gun… which is enshrined in your own constitution.
The article continues to be regularly updated by Cook, and the list was intermittently unavailable at the time of this article’s publication.
