Burglars Hit Home of Gun Owner ID’d by Newspaper Posted in
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Jan 13, 2013
The home of a gun owner, whose address was published by a New York newspaper, has been burglarized and a state lawmaker said it appears the burglars may have used the newspaper’s map to target the residence.
“Luckily the gun was locked up and no one was hurt,” Sen. Greg Ball said.
The residence in White Plains, was identified in an interactive map that identified the names and addresses individuals who have gun permits. It was published by The Journal News — a Gannett Co. newspaper.
The elderly homeowner, who legally owns weapons, was not at home at the time of the burglary.
“The police are doing a full investigation,” the unidentified man told
NewsDay. Police said it appears the burglars targeted the homeowner’s gun safe.
The newspaper has come under intense national exposure after they published a list of residents who have gun permits.
Among the most vocal local opponents is Sen. Ball — who said the newspaper had put law-abiding citizens in danger.
“The Journal News has placed the lives of these folks at risk by creating a virtual shopping list for criminals and nut jobs,” said Ball. “If the connection is proven, this is further proof that these maps are not only an invasion of privacy but that they present a clear and present danger to law-abiding, private citizens.”
Ball is introducing legislation Monday to protect the names of New Yorkers who have legally obtained gun permits.
“Former convicts have already testified to the usefulness of the asinine Journal News ‘gun maps’ yet the reckless editors are evidently willing to roll the dice, gambling with the lives of innocent local homeowners,” Ball said.
The Affiliated Police Association of Westchester County said they plan to hold the newspaper accountable for any attacks on their residences of their 25,000 members.
Ball said the newspaper, whose parent company owns USA Today, is coddling terrorists.
“The same elitist eggheads who use their editorial page to coddle terrorists and criminals are now treating law abiding citizens like level three sexual predators,” he said. “This is not about the Second Amendment; these bills are simply about commonsense and personal privacy. Publishing this information on a website, as we have evidently just witnessed in the recent attempted gun burglary, provides criminals with a map of where they can steal firearms from lawful owners for later use in the commission of crimes.”
