Irresponsible Journalism Endangers All New Yorkers

The imbeciles at the Journal News who published an interactive map listing the names and addresses of law abiding gun permit holders in several New York Counties have endangered the public with their astounding lack of judgment. Even the Brady Campaign is condemning this poor excuse for journalism:

The Journal News' fear mongering invites neighbors to substitute their judgment for the pistol permit licensing authorities of these counties, who have subjected the permit holders to fingerprinting, background checks at the state and federal level, and have required them to provide references as to their character from fellow county residents, all to add fuel to the fire of polarizing us versus them insanity that they have fed us in the wake of the tragic murder of 20 innocent children and their teachers and school personnel at the hands of a madman. They have just placed the children of over 32,000 law abiding citizens at risk from the threat of gun thieves, who now have a road map to their doors, as well as identified all of the other households in those counties as potentially softer targets for home invasion crimes (though perpetrators might still be surprised to find a long arm pointed at them in some of those homes.)

This could have been reported in a responsible way, by listing the number of permits in each neighborhood, without giving identifying information to criminals. Oh, but people want to know, so that their little darlings are not sent on playdates to the homes of these presumptively (by the Journal News, anyway) evil and dangerous individuals who the state has vetted and who have committed no crime, they say.

Well, if you are allowing your children to visit someone's home, why not simply ask the question: "Do you have any firearms?" But don't stop there. Ask how they are stored. Your neighbor may not want to give you the GPS coordinates of his gun safe, but most people will be more than happy to tell you that they store their weapons in accordance with state law and that they are locked away from casual visitors. If you haven't had that much communication and contact with these people, why are you entrusting them with your children?

Lazy and irresponsible parents who assume everyone shares their antipathy for or fear of firearms and who therefor neglect to teach their children gun safety are more dangerous to their young than the law abiding gun owner next door. Every child should be taught that if they ever see a gun, they should LEAVE and tell an adult immediately, and never to touch a firearm!