NY newspaper takes the gun control debate too far.

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PM
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24 Dec 2012, 9:14 pm

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/n ... ories.html

I'm pretty sure what they did is illegal.

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John_Browning
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24 Dec 2012, 10:59 pm

PM wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/newspaper-publishes-gun-owners-names-addresses-215214269--abc-news-topstories.html

I'm pretty sure what they did is illegal.

They could end up with a lawsuit on their hands if someone faces discrimination or if someones house gets singled out for a burglary/invasion over this.

In the past, gun owners in other states were able to publish detailed personal/family information about reporters online.

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auntblabby
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24 Dec 2012, 11:38 pm

2 wrongs do not a right make.

redrobin62
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24 Dec 2012, 11:39 pm

But two Wrights make an...oh, sorry.

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NorthPark
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25 Dec 2012, 1:01 am

Know I know who,has a gun in Upstate NY.

No, seriously.....they should be put in jail or sued for this.......

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John_Browning
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25 Dec 2012, 2:27 am

auntblabby wrote:

2 wrongs do not a right make.

I'm not enthusiastic about disclosing the reporters' kids' schools and stuff like that, but both sides agreed to take down their lists on each other.

I suppose those gun owners in NY could file a defamation class action suit for suggesting they are psycho killers.

meems
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25 Dec 2012, 6:08 am

If it's all from public records, is it legal then? I'm not talking about right or wrong, but just legality. I could picture people setting up websites and doing the same thing for their areas if it's legal, especially.

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25 Dec 2012, 6:40 am

this will hurt the non gun owners,what houses do you think the burglers will choose.

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meems
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25 Dec 2012, 10:29 am

vermontsavant wrote:

this will hurt the non gun owners,what houses do you think the burglers will choose.

Houses where no one is home, possibly with an illegally obtained gun. ? _? Hopefully most burglars aren't that bright, and don't think to use this as a guide.

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MrXxx
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25 Dec 2012, 1:06 pm

PM wrote:

I'm pretty sure what they did is illegal.

Publishing public records? How would that be illegal? The report said all they did was ask for the public records. They did ask for more details, but were told those were not public, so they didn't get those, and didn't publish them.

Public records are public records. Anyone can access them.

Sounds like the real issue is that they are public to begin with.

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PM
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25 Dec 2012, 1:25 pm

MrXxx wrote:

PM wrote:

I'm pretty sure what they did is illegal.

Reckless endangerment. The newspaper put those individuals at risk of harm to well-being and property.

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MrXxx
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25 Dec 2012, 1:51 pm

PM wrote:

MrXxx wrote:

PM wrote:

I'm pretty sure what they did is illegal.

Reckless endangerment. The newspaper put those individuals at risk of harm to well-being and property.

What about the laws requiring the names to be public? They are public records, which means anyone can gain access to them. Public is public. It's not illegal to post publicly available information online or anywhere else as far as I know.

If the newspaper is liable for reckless endangerment, then so are the lawmakers and record keepers. But then if you're going to go that far into it, you also have to take into consideration that each and every gun owner voluntarily registered their information into public record. Did they endanger themselves?

I'm just saying. Did none of them read the paperwork they signed when they registered?

Seems to me the real problem with this for gun owners lies in the registration law itself. You can't have freedom of information then tell a newspaper they can't print the information, otherwise there really ins't any freedom of information at all.

Maybe the real complaint should be that gun owner information shouldn't be publicly available? But then, you'd have the government in complete control of the info, and that would be a problem too.

I just don't think the problem is that simple.

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26 Dec 2012, 1:11 am

Oh man, when those guns get stolen and used to commit crimes, those reporters are gonna feel hella bad.

(Seriously though, it takes guts to do this sort of thing, and I salute them for it. If some houses get invaded, well, I thought they had guns to protect themselves?)

John_Browning
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26 Dec 2012, 7:38 pm

Publishing the names of law abiding gun owners out of public concern over active shooters is a good way to get sued for slander.

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27 Dec 2012, 12:32 am

They are really trying hard to push for their agendas and apparently don't care about how they do it. Sure anyone can look them up but pinpoints on maps with their addresses??

Oh well, maybe they will be spared from burglary.

visagrunt
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27 Dec 2012, 9:26 am

John_Browning wrote:

Publishing the names of law abiding gun owners out of public concern over active shooters is a good way to get sued for slander.

You mean libel.

But how can a plaintiff sue for libel when the plaintiff cannot demonstrate that the statement complained of is false?

A complete defence to a claim of libel (or slander) is an honest belief in the truth of the statement. A person publishing the content of a public record has every reason to believe that the contents of that record are accurate, and therefore no claim of libel (or slander) could ever succeed, unless the plaintiff can demonstrate both that the record is inaccurate, and that the defendant knew or ought properly to have known that it was inaccurate.

This entire thread is an exercise in legal amateurishness. This has nothing to do with defamation, libel, slander, reckless endangerment, or any of the myriad torts and crimes cited thus far. They are political posturing masquerading (poorly) as legal conjecture.

The only legal interests that I see involved here are the privacy rights of the gun owners (and whether or not the state legislation making those records public violates those rights) and the rights of a free press. There is a balancing of interests to be found in those two constitutional principles.

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