“They just created an opportunity for some crimes to be committed and I think it’s exceptionally stupid”
While some burglars may use the newspaper’s information to avoid guns, Portenier said others will target homes with guns. The newspaper’s decision could even lead to legally-owned guns proliferating on the street, he said.
“That’s one of the first things we’d check out—guns are on the top of the list of what you want to steal,” he said. “They can walk out with a shotgun and a couple of handguns and sell them on the street for $300 or $400 a pop. They can sell them to a gangbanger who ends up killing someone.”
Frank Abagnale, who was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2002 film “Catch Me if You Can,” and is perhaps the most famous reformed thief to ever earn a legitimate living by offering the public insight into the criminal mind, called the newspaper’s actions “reprehensible.”
“It is unbelievable that a newspaper or so called journalist would publish the names and addresses of legal gun owners, including federal agents, law enforcement officers and the like,” said Abagnale, who noted that he grew up in the suburban New York area served by the Journal-News. “This would be equivalent to publishing the names of individuals who keep substantial sums of money, jewelry and valuables in their home.”
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Someone should publish the names and addresses of journalists with lots of goodies to steal, and make sure they indicate whether or not the journalist owns any guns.
The Rogue Tomato on January 5, 2013 at 3:23 PM
So if and when someone is victimized, hurt or killed as a result of this, can they sue this loathsome paper out of existence?
jawkneemusic on January 5, 2013 at 3:27 PM
If the founding fathers could have imagined 24/7 media and the internet, I am sure they would made the first ammendment more restrictive. No way they could have forseen the power and destructiveness and negative unintended consequences of the first ammendment as they wrote it. We need limits on speech now, lets start with a ban on news papers with more than 10 articles.
flyfishingdad on January 5, 2013 at 3:32 PM
Just more leftie crap, if it’s un-american DO IT.
deptofredundancydept on January 5, 2013 at 3:37 PM
No, the gunowner will be blamed and sued.
Wethal on January 5, 2013 at 3:43 PM
Robbing houses with guns so more guns end up in criminal hands used for violence is a bad thing to a liberal? That is so preciously naive.
This was their intention. More dead bodies = more propaganda opportunities. As I have said before, we should be happy that the leftists are just going out and shooting kids themselves. Such atrocities are easily acceptable to lefty hypocrites and their allies (like Islamists).
iconoclast on January 5, 2013 at 4:03 PM
While I freely admit that there is no discernible reason to have published the article, a key fact has been omitted: this map only represents handgun permits. If you assume that a house without a dot on this map has no firearms in it, you will eventually run into a shotgun/rifle owner, who significantly outnumber handgun owners in Westchester and Putnam.
ernesto on January 5, 2013 at 4:07 PM
.
How the hell would you know that?
ExpressoBold on January 5, 2013 at 4:12 PM
The internet is a huge, scary, random, insane place. Publishing someone’s name and address online for ANY reason makes that person just a leeetle more likely to be touched by the bad crazy.
S. Weasel on January 5, 2013 at 4:15 PM
Doesn’t really matter now does it? Considering they’re bound to run into a number of people who don’t own any type of firearm.
jawkneemusic on January 5, 2013 at 4:15 PM
Hey, why not go all the way and single them out on he street. Make gun owners wear a patch on their clothes of some sort. A “I Own Guns” patch” or something. Sorta like the Nazi’s did with the Jews only that was the star of David.
I bet there would be libs who would support this. Low info voters sure would. They know nothing of history anyway.
JellyToast on January 5, 2013 at 4:17 PM
My head is reeling. First you admit that the Nazis were socialists, now you admit that the Journal-News is obviously committed to their own brand of fascism. Were you mugged recently?
NotCoach on January 5, 2013 at 4:20 PM
Criminals deserve the right to know who they can safely murder after all.
NotCoach on January 5, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Yeah, well, this is what America is today. It’s like our Constitution doesn’t even exist.
For fun…. people have got to go back and watch old TV shows from the 70′s and old black and white movies. You will see the culture change. When my wife and I do that, it’s like “Can’t say that anymore. Can’t do that anymore. Old movies look more like movies from foreign country.
I still remember so clearly teachers telling me about the greatness of America. Slavery wasn’t just an American problem but a world problem… one that we fixed. History classes used to look at history through the eyes of the times. Christmas was always celebrated and it was never a second thought. I played cowboys and Indians during recess and we piled on each other all the time. We had real monkey bars, see-saws, swings and those climbing latter things you would race across. There was always a pile of mud under those so if you fell you got muddy.
Our libraries had books full of guns. I remember reading one about military weapons and guns of the old pioneers. It was all innocent… until some lib somewhere came along and pointed his long bony finger at us and called it all “Dirty and Bad!”
Guys kissed girls held their hands at recess. People played tag and dodge ball. Communism was bad. America was good. God was to be feared. We had no school shootings at all. The police were friendly, as I remember. I think we had one cop in our little town of Beech Creek.
Nothing is a big mystery here… we have allowed our virtue, as Americans, to be used against us. That is why we are where we are.
JellyToast on January 5, 2013 at 4:41 PM
Yes, the baby boomers really did shaft American culture in the name of Progress.
Just have a look at the movie Les Miserables against the current backdrop. Heh…all red flags waving, tomorrow, fake french people talking hopenchange…and the ‘critics’ love it.
CorporatePiggy on January 5, 2013 at 4:57 PM
And these idiots seem to not grasp why the gun owning public does not like the idea of registration. Let me make that clear for any leftists here; it is because we don’t trust you with that kind of information, because of things like this.
MikeA on January 5, 2013 at 5:01 PM
Translated: “It was probably wrong to publish this article, also but probably right!”
2 questions for you:
1. How come the vast majority of the mass shootings in the past 15 years have taken place in Blue States with tough gun control laws?
2. And how come all of the shooters have been college kids or college dropouts? NONE of them have been guys named “Bubba” from the South.
(Starts Stopwatch. I’m sure it will be running all night.)
Del Dolemonte on January 5, 2013 at 5:26 PM
That would be the infamous Democrat “Historian”, Howard Zinn. More than any one other person, he’s most responsible for America’s public education decline, because his “textbooks” have been required reading in our Democrat State Schools for nearly 4 decades.
Del Dolemonte on January 5, 2013 at 5:29 PM
Good one! +
Mimzey on January 5, 2013 at 5:51 PM
Depends on the jury. So, I seriously doubt it.
astonerii on January 5, 2013 at 7:09 PM
.
… author of the infamous quote “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism,” glibly voiced by the ignoramus Sean Penn and falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, in fact, attributed unwavering dissent as a reason for lack of progress and unity of purpose.
ExpressoBold on January 5, 2013 at 7:35 PM