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House Identified on NY Paper’s ‘Gun Map’ Burglarized — And the Robbers Went Straight for the Guns

Jan. 13, 2013 7:33pm Erica Ritz

Man Revealed by Journal News Gun Map Has House Robbed, Criminals Target Gun Safe

(Photo: Lohud.com)

After the Journal News published interactive maps detailing where gun owners live in a number of New York counties in late December, people all across the nation decried the move as an invasion of privacy and a danger to the families.

A number of ex-burglars told Fox News that the list would prove invaluable to criminals, telling them which houses to avoid or rob, depending on what they wanted.

It was revealed on Sunday that one of the homes identified by the paper was targeted by burglars over the weekend, though a connection to the Journal News has not been proven.

New York’s Westchester/Rockland Newsday has noteworthy details on the break-in (all subsequent emphasis added):

A White Plains residence pinpointed on a controversial handgun permit database was burglarized Saturday, and the burglars’ target was the homeowner’s gun safe.

At least two burglars broke into a home on Davis Avenue at 9:30 p.m. Saturday but were unsuccessful in an attempt to open the safe, which contained legally owned weapons, according to a law enforcement source. One suspect was taken into custody, the source said.

The gun owner was not home when the burglary occurred, the source said. The victim, who is in his 70s, told Newsday on Sunday that he did not want to comment while the police investigation continues.

[...]

Neighbor John Mascia said he thought the gun permit database should not have been published.

“I could [not] care less what they have in their home,” Mascia said.

Police are investigating what role, if any, the database played in the burglars’ decision to target the home, the law enforcement source said.

Republican State Senator Greg Ball of New York released a strongly-worded statement on the matter Sunday, adding that he plans to introduce legislation to better protect the identities of gun owners in the future:

“The Journal News has placed the lives of these folks at risk by creating a virtual shopping list for criminals and nut jobs. 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. 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,” Senator Greg Ball said.

[...]

“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. These bills are critical to keep folks safe and fundamentally protect their inherent right to privacy… 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. This legislation is critical,” said Senator Greg Ball.

Ball wasn’t the only one to call out the Journal News in the wake of the robbery. Senator Ball’s office adds:

In addition to Senator Ball’s legislation, the Vice President of the Affiliated Police Association of Westchester County, Robert Buckley, said in a letter [that] publishing these maps online is jeopardizing the safety of residents and is irresponsible.

“The Affiliated Police Association of Westchester County Inc. is putting The Journal News on notice that we will hold [them] accountable for any incident where any of our over 25,000 members are involved with an incident where a criminal or ex-con presents themselves at the residence of one of our members as a result of their name being made public by [their] newspaper,” said Buckley.

Fox News’ Judge Jeanine Pirro ripped into the Journal News over the weekend, noting that the “cowards” who publish the paper appear to be fiercely protective of their own privacy:

–

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (268)

Standman1
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:53am
Judge Pirro was an attractive woman when that segment began. By the time it was over, she was SMOKIN’ HOT!

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zapparules
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:42am
The information was/is in the public domain already. The newspaper cannot / should not – I believe – be held accountable simply because they ‘promoted’ ALREADY AVAILABLE public information.

So lets say someone has a ‘Protected By Smith & Wesson’ bumper sticker – and their vehicle or home is broken into and guns stolen.
Is that person to be held accountable for promoting that they have guns?

Do I think what the newspaper did was the right thing to do? NO – but it was public information.
If you don’t like it work to change it – or move.

And then I find it rather ‘interesting’ that so many gun owners seem to want to let people know they own guns – they would like open carry laws, they like being seen at, oh, Tea Party rallies carrying… But now when a criminal act occurs PERHAPS associated to public information… some folks get all upset at ONE possible sharer of that information.

Doesn’t the Right seek to hold the actual criminal accountable?
Newspapers don’t rob people. People rob people (with AND without guns).

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- Teaparty_Grammy
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 3:08pm
  Your argument is specious, at best. First of all, this information was only obtained through a “freedom of information” applicaton, which the average burglar is NOT going to do. Secondly, the issue here is the targeting of law-abiding citizens to be treated like criminals, wihch they are not. Suppose this same editor didn’t like YOUR politics, and decided to publish YOUR name and address, along with the names, ages and pictures of your children? I’m sure that’s public information that “could” be obtained, but how would you like it to have it plastered across the pages of the newspaper. But then I don’t know why I even bother trying to talk sense to you, because you are obviously a LIBERAL and liberals are insane and delusional, at best, downright EVIL and the enemy of individual liberties at worst.
  
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jessieH
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:29am
Any deaths that occure, because of the stupid agenda of this newscrapper, is their fault.

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savant
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:04am
Someone needs to go to the newspaper employees homes, look in their windows and post what those people have and what their address is on flyers all over gang neighborhoods.

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turkey13
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 10:01am
Come on folks, lay off the paper – they are just following Obama’s 2007 speech to Jo The Plumber! Spread The Wealth.

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Sweetrae
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:45am
I hope these gun owners sue the pants off of the newspaper that so arrogantly decided to publish the names and addresses of the law abiding citizens. Start a class action lawsuit to put them out of existence.

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1FreeVoice
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:22am
Re gun laws:
The purpose of laws is to tell law abiding people what they may not do.

Laws tell criminals what not to get caught doing…
since they are already trying not to get caught, I do not see that laws affect their behavior in any significant way. It’s like having a law against murder, and another against murdering someone with a hammer.

The real fear of guns is not fear of inanimate objects, but fear of how criminals use them to harm others. It is a fear of behavior. You do not fear a gun in the hands of a police officer, why fear it in the hands of a responsible, law abiding neighbor?

You can’t pass a law telling people not to keep breaking laws and expect to be taken seriously.

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rja444
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 9:10am
Should that stoen gun be used in the commision of crie, those at the newsaper should be held accountable and harged. After all that can happen to gun oowners. No becasue of some liberal stupidity there is another illegal fire on the street,

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toomuchgovt
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:56am
Does anyone else find is suspicious, that a 70 year old man was out this late? How did the robbers know he wasn’t home? I look at that map and think what a great place to live.

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JohnJoseph
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:50am
The only reason that this paper published names of gun owners is because their agenda is to get rid of “ALL” guns. Therefore, they are just helping this administration know who has the guns and which houses to go to first.

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Msgt Ret
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:39am
I don’t usually say this but: “Let the Law Suits Begin”

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hempstead1944
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:35am
And what fool didn’t see this one coming? Didn’t think so…….

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WTF
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:33am
Can all those identified, file a class action suit against the newspaper, and sue them out of existince?

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DREDGE
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:18am
“Loose lips, sink ships” still rings true!!!!!

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Carbine
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:16am
The lawsuits should start and not stop until Gannett is out of business. They want to play? Let’s play like the commie dems, sue your way to success. If it was me I would never stop until I owned them!

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Beachbaby
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:13am
I think its obamas pals who break in and steal.

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Tickdog
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 8:01am
yep… so now hold the idiots that posted the maps accountable…

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- GuruMeditation
  Posted on January 14, 2013 at 11:19am
  I second that!
  
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GuruMeditation
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:36am
Duh.

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R2
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:32am
It seems impossible to me that some lawyer cannot find a reason to sue the paper over this. Hell they find slip and falls easy this should be just as easy.

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Government_Goodies
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 7:27am
Need to publish the names and addresses of everyone who works at the paper and their relatives.

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Mapache
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:44am
The newspaper is nothing more than an thug and using terrorist tactics to intimidate lawful gun owners. They abuse their position as the press and have utterly failed in their responsibility to the public. Shame on them.

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Free2speakRN
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:37am
I hope somehow this newspaper and the decision-making people responsible, get sued into the street. No house, no money, no guns for hire. What slug of a person would do this to others? This liberal mindset of anything goes. It’s all about, Me. Me. Me.

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Willik
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:28am
The ‘outed’ home ownes should have sen this coming and been in a ‘repel’ mode at the outset, with ‘no quarter’ being the watchword.
Bodies should be littering access points across the area.
If y’all have the damn things, flaunt the business end toward the criminal. PROBLEM SOLVED! Without the cost of an expensive trial which will probably result in no more than a slap on the wrist!

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BehindBlueEyes
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:22am
The left is full of cowards. They use underhanded dishonest methods to further their agenda. They can’t justify what they do so they hide or resort to playground tactics. Its the end justifies the means crowd and unfortunately they’re running the country right now.
Its only going to get worse Obama wants to complete his fundamental transformation of America in the next 4 years.

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JTX
Posted on January 14, 2013 at 6:02am
Send the repairs bill to the “news” company.

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