“The asinine editors at The Journal News, have once again gone out of their way to place a virtual scarlet letter on law abiding firearm owners throughout the region. The immediate elimination of the information posted on the Journal News Website is the only way we can ensure the safety and liberty of these New Yorkers,” said Mr. Ball in a statement. “This is clearly a violation of privacy, and needs to be corrected immediately. The same elitist egg heads who use their editorial page to coddle terrorists and criminals are now treating law abiding citizens like level three sexual predators.”

Mr. Ball vowed to introduce a bill in the State Senate that would ban disclosure of information in pistol license applications except to law enforcement officials involved in active investigations. Similar legislation has already been proposed in the State Assembly. In his statement, Mr. Ball described The Journal News’ map as placing peoples’ lives in danger.