Leftwing Newspaper Gone Too Far?

[Brian37]

A local New York newspaper sparks outrage from its readers after publishing a map along with the names and addresses of thousands of residents who have handgun permits...Is this the left gone crazy?...isn't this irresponsible journalism and isn't this just inciting more incidences of violence....

"New York newspaper faces backlash after publishing map of gun permit holders"
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/...t-holders/

I started a thread about this too. YES they went too far, and I do not care what the issue was that they would be "outing" people for. It was legal because all government documents are available, as they should be, via "freedom of information act", but legal and moral are two different things.

This is a total violation of public trust. I understand the intent wanting to reduce gun death, but this is a completely dirty tactic. If I owned that newspaper that editor and the reporter would be fired.

What these fuckwads do not understand, is there is a difference between reporting a lawbreaker, and the difference between a public figure and private citizen, I took journalism ethics in college and what they did violates every code of conduct of journalism.

If these assholes want to act as public informers and HELP do the right thing which even gun owners want to reduce gun death, becoming Big Brother to do it is sick.

If we were talking about a mafia enterprise, or any type of crime, that would be one thing. But knowing that I myself do things(as we all do) that someone else may not like, I don't want private media violating my privacy because long term(eroding that public trust) hurts all of us.

They could have put front page stories of the dead, or gun death stats, or opinions ect ect ect ect. But prying into the lives of people who have NOT broken is a very dangerous game. If we don't want government doing it, media has even more of a responsibility because it is the ONLY protection of dissent and protection of competing views that ALL OF US SHOULD WANT not to mention our privacy.

These assholes are NOT helping by using this tactic. They have just played into the very needless fascist fears the nutters want in saying "the liberal media". Thanks assholes, for giving the nutters more of an excuse to maintain the status quo.

[Minimalist]

Everyone in that area would knows who's packin heat and not to fuck with that house.

Then again, if you want to steal a gun from one of these NRA asswipes you now know where to go. Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them.

[CapnAwesome]

Oh the irony. I don't really think much will come of it though, if someone were planning violence against a group, gun owners are not a very likely target.

[Brian37]

Everyone in that area would knows who's packin heat and not to fuck with that house.

Then again, if you want to steal a gun from one of these NRA asswipes you now know where to go. Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them.

Still, this is NOT a social issue, this is a tactic issue and journalists should be the last line of defense against fascism, when they start invading privacy themselves they violate the public trust, and that is something that affects all citizens.

Now again, I am not talking about a story being brought to them. I am also not talking about a whistle blower coming to them. And I am also not talking about an investigative story where the reporter suspects a crime is in action.

They printed the addresses of people who had not broken any laws(even if I don't like our current gun laws). AND on top of that they were not going after say Bush or Obama or Jay Leno. They went after no name citizens, and again they violated a very basic principle of public vs private figure.

The right thing would have been to go after gun manufacturers, politicians and the NRA lobbyists. They should stick to putting gun death stories on the front page and the opinion columns.

This tactic they used could be used against private citizens who value other social issues, like contraception, or alcohol, or porn, or infidelity issues.

It was Orwellian on par with 1984.

[A Theist]

Everyone in that area would knows who's packin heat and not to fuck with that house.

Then again, if you want to steal a gun from one of these NRA asswipes you now know where to go. Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them.

" Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them."....I'll take that Pepsi challenge!....Try breaking into MY house and see who pisses their pants!

[Minimalist]

You suffer from Rambo fantasies.

Do you walk around your house with your gun strapped on?

I think Bill Maher has you people pegged. "Dick too small....buy big guns."

[CapnAwesome]

You suffer from Rambo fantasies.

Do you walk around your house with your gun strapped on?

I think Bill Maher has you people pegged. "Dick too small....buy big guns."

Criminals are also not really that scary. They are most just low class idiots who are high on crack or meth and ready to run at the first sign of resistance. Your average home break in isn't exactly done by the mob.

[Anomalocaris]

It sounds a little over the top to be so apprehensive about the list. You are put into to telephone directories - which are made public - without your consent all the time. It even happens to people who have specifically chosen to have private and unlisted numbers.

But it also shows by definition the households that don't have guns.

And provides some nice data to show just how much having a hand gun would more likely result in premature death.

---

Then again, if you want to steal a gun from one of these NRA asswipes you now know where to go. Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them.

" Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them."....I'll take that Pepsi challenge!....Try breaking into MY house and see who pisses their pants!

If I try to break into your house, i will succeed, and you will die.

[Tiberius]

If the information was already public, I'm amazed there wasn't a website dedicated to doing this already. In any case, this is information that shouldn't be public in the first place. There is no need for the general population to know who owns guns.

[A Theist]

But it also shows by definition the households that don't have guns.

And provides some nice data to show just how much having a hand gun would more likely result in premature death.

---

" Let's face it, most of them would piss their pants if a real criminal ever came after them."....I'll take that Pepsi challenge!....Try breaking into MY house and see who pisses their pants!

If I try to break into your house, i will succeed, and you will die.

Try it and find out...