A Memphis newspaper has posted a searchable database of Tennesseans with permits to carry concealed handguns, upsetting firearm owners and igniting a debate on whether such information should be publicly available.
Gun owners say the database is an invasion of privacy and makes permit holders easy targets for burglaries. They have flooded the newspaper with complaints — some 600 e-mail messages a day — and threatened staff members and posted personal information about newspaper employees.
The newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, added the database to its Web site in December. The database did not draw attention, though, until an early February article about an argument over a parking spot that ended with a motorist shot dead.
The editor, Chris Peck, said the paper added the database because newspapers should be a thorough source for community information. Mr. Peck pointed to the recent shooting as proof of why the database is valuable to readers.
After the shooting, a reader posted an online comment asking whether the suspect charged with murder had a permit to carry a gun. The newspaper responded by directing readers to its database.
“When that gun comes out in public, the citizens of Tennessee have a right to know,” Mr. Peck said.
The database allows people to search for those who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon by name, ZIP code or city. Mr. Peck said it is the most viewed item on the newspaper’s Web site, with more than 65,000 page views per day.
“We haven’t done anything illegal or unethical,” Mr. Peck said, adding the paper had no plans to remove the database.
The database has widened the rift between First and Second Amendment proponents.
The executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, calls the database a “hateful, shameful form of public irresponsibility and the collapse of responsible media.”
“Normal people don’t get up in the morning and say, ‘I wonder if my doctor, lawyer or my kid’s teacher has a concealed carry gun permit?’ ” Mr. LaPierre said. “A normal person wouldn’t say, ‘My right to information is more important than someone’s fear and safety.’ ”
Tennessee is one of 19 states that allow the public to have access to gun permit information, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. At least 21 states keep such information confidential.
A bill before the Arkansas Legislature would close to public view that state’s list of concealed weapon license holders.
The remaining states have no laws or court decisions that address the matter. Wisconsin does not allow people to carry concealed weapons.
Florida, Ohio and Texas have passed laws in recent years to remove or restrict concealed-weapon information from the public domain.
Source: NYTimes
Gun owners say the database is an invasion of privacy and makes permit holders easy targets for burglaries. They have flooded the newspaper with complaints — some 600 e-mail messages a day — and threatened staff members and posted personal information about newspaper employees.
The newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, added the database to its Web site in December. The database did not draw attention, though, until an early February article about an argument over a parking spot that ended with a motorist shot dead.
The editor, Chris Peck, said the paper added the database because newspapers should be a thorough source for community information. Mr. Peck pointed to the recent shooting as proof of why the database is valuable to readers.
After the shooting, a reader posted an online comment asking whether the suspect charged with murder had a permit to carry a gun. The newspaper responded by directing readers to its database.
“When that gun comes out in public, the citizens of Tennessee have a right to know,” Mr. Peck said.
The database allows people to search for those who have a permit to carry a concealed weapon by name, ZIP code or city. Mr. Peck said it is the most viewed item on the newspaper’s Web site, with more than 65,000 page views per day.
“We haven’t done anything illegal or unethical,” Mr. Peck said, adding the paper had no plans to remove the database.
The database has widened the rift between First and Second Amendment proponents.
The executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, calls the database a “hateful, shameful form of public irresponsibility and the collapse of responsible media.”
“Normal people don’t get up in the morning and say, ‘I wonder if my doctor, lawyer or my kid’s teacher has a concealed carry gun permit?’ ” Mr. LaPierre said. “A normal person wouldn’t say, ‘My right to information is more important than someone’s fear and safety.’ ”
Tennessee is one of 19 states that allow the public to have access to gun permit information, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. At least 21 states keep such information confidential.
A bill before the Arkansas Legislature would close to public view that state’s list of concealed weapon license holders.
The remaining states have no laws or court decisions that address the matter. Wisconsin does not allow people to carry concealed weapons.
Florida, Ohio and Texas have passed laws in recent years to remove or restrict concealed-weapon information from the public domain.
Source: NYTimes
