“…Let me say this right off the bat: I was stupid. Also naïve. And I am truly sorry because, as pure as my motive for posting the list was, it became obvious to me that my tactic was colossally wrong. As my many critics will point out, what’s done can’t be undone. But I wish it could.” Well, as long as her motives were pure…. Gwen Moritz, the Arkansas Business editor, didn’t like that the state’s database of gun owner info was about to be exempted from FOIA availability. So she grabbed the latest version she could before the list went dark and posted it on line. Then, when the the state’s gun owners turned up the heat on her . . .
She took the list down, but still made it available to anyone who requested it. Nothing impure there.
I quickly realized that striking a blow for government transparency struck terror into many Arkansas CCL holders.
Gosh, it’s hard to figure why a publicly available list of people with firearms in their homes could possibly cause such a kerfuffle.
…My name, my husband’s name, home address, phone and work phone numbers and pictures of my house — from the same Pulaski County tax records that Arkansas Business regularly mines for news — were posted all over the Internet. A Facebook page sprang up called “Gwen Moritz Breaks the Law” (although I have not) with prison bars Photoshopped over my picture. A 51-year-old wife, mother and journalist who exercised her First Amendment right in objection to government secrecy became a national threat to the Second Amendment literally overnight.
But everything’s sunshine and rainbows now, because Gwen has grown from her blow-striking experience. Besides figuring out that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should — not to mention the revelation that gun owners “are not criminals”– Gwen had a couple of other epiphanies.
I believe that citizens should be able to ask their government whom it has licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Also who their government has licensed to practice medicine, practice law and cut hair. But my clumsy attempt to make that point instantly turned me into an unrecognizable caricature who wants to strip Americans of the right to own guns, who hates America and the Constitution.
So for the record: I do not want to want to strip Americans of the right to own guns, I do not hate America, and I do not hate the Constitution.
That’s the “my motives were pure” part. The crusading journalist defending the people’s right to know. She just wanted to be able to ask her government who has CCW licenses. Just like she’s done countless time with barbers and beauticians, right?
Wait, one more teachable moment resulted:
A lot of our fellow Americans are scared. I heard from several people whose names were on the Arkansas CCL list who said they were happy for the world to know that they could be packing at any time. I heard from others who were terrified that random bad guys would be reading ArkansasBusiness.com and use the list to harm them.
It was never my intention to make people who already live in fear more miserable. I’m ashamed to say that never even crossed my mind, although it certainly should have. Many of my correspondents immediately concluded that punishing CCL licensees for daring to want to protect themselves was my one and only goal. And I completely understand why they would feel that way: As I also wrote recently (in another inadvertent but poetic exercise in hypocrisy), motives don’t matter nearly as much as actions.
So again, for the record: I do not wish to punish law-abiding CCL licensees, and I am sorry if they believe I have.
Miscreants using her list to target gun owners never crossed her mind? That’s kinda hard to believe, since she referenced what happened in New York in her apology.
I certainly didn’t think I was doing anything like The Journal News in New York, which in December created an interactive online map showing the addresses of handgun licensees.
Maybe she thought publishing a list of only names and zip codes wouldn’t have the same effect as the Journal News’s little stunt. But in a much more sparsely populated state, how hard could it really be to ID gun owners using the Arkansas Business list?
Can she really be that obtuse?
Your just making lemonade out of lemons. If Morgan dropped over dead this instant, my emotion meter would not even lift off the peg.
I was stupid. Also naïve.
True on the first part. Likely a complete falsehood on the second, since she was aware of the reaction in NY. Nice try, though.
Ugh. Like watching two carp tussling over a piece of muck.
Uh Jim, I thought you were supposed ti bring the dogs?
I love how it didn’t hit home what she’d done until it was her information made public. Perhaps her apology is honest and she really didn’t mean it as a 2A attack. If so, she’s still bumbling and shortsighted, and I wouldn’t want her as editor of my community newspaper.
Or the editor of the local Bingo newsletter. She’d probably publish the addresses of the winners.
as do most ‘sheepy’ anti’s who don’t realize they could be rounded up to dig their own graves until it’s too late.
So saying “I’m sorry” make everything alright. Commit murder and say “sorry.” I don’t think so. I am trying to get my kids to never get into the position of having to say “I’m sorry.”
i intend to let my Concealed Handgun Permit to expire and not to renew, because free men do not request permission to bear arms.
and no, i don’t intend to stop carrying, concealed or otherwise, it just means i will no longer request permission. looking back i wish i hadn’t gotten one to begin with, because getting a carry permit is de facto registration; while they don’t know WHAT you have and where it’s located, they do know almost without a doubt that you do have something, and can therefore question your friends and family to find out what and where, or simply do a no-knock and/or warrantless search to find it.
Imagine if newspapers pulished the names and addresses of African-Americans — because racists have a right to know, and blacks commit more crime than whites — or homosexuals — so parents can protect their children from possible pedophiles.
I’d like to see all these blowhard journalists who think the only reason people own guns is because they live in fear, go ahead and make available (with an online interactive map) youe addresses, and follow it up with nice big signage on your front door saying “gun free zone”…. we’ll see how that works out for you
They are playing both sides. I’m LE, and they are quietly offering a special LE deal on 10 Pmags per officer. This is going on all over. Magpul is in it for Magpul, nothing more than that. Smell the coffee.
Indeed! This is a wise move & most needed. NOW if the NRA would just run some of these commercials during Prime Time NATIONAL TV.
Wow. Your actions have consequences, and some of those you wrong might decide to fight fire with fire. Imagine that.
She is yet another Philistine busybody who has put herself on the wrong side of the David and Goliath story.
Piers Morgan is to TV what Howard Stern is to radio. Both have a lot to say without saying anything. In egocentric worlds, ingratiated by self-importance, but disconnected to reality and any measure of social worth. In short, outstanding examples that the First Amendment protects absolutely the “market place of ideas”, no matter how trivial, unredeeming, or lacking in any social value; but guaranteed absolutely by the Second Amendment. Sadly, a fact that eludes Piers Morgan.
A frog was sitting by the creek one day and a scorpion came by and said to the frog I need to get across the creek, will you take me across on your back.
The frog goes no, you are a scoprion and you will sting me and I will die.
The scorpion pleads his case for hours, finally the frog relents and the scorpion climbs on the frogs back and they begin to cross the creek.
ABout half-way across the scorpion starts to get nervous and in a panic, stings the frog, who in his dying breath asks, you promised you would not sting and kill me, why did you? The scorpion replies, I am a scoprion, what else could I do, as the scorpion slipped beneath the waters and died also.
Poor editor, sucks being a scorpion!
This was my comment in the other thread when someone posted the original link to this:
Thanks for that. Those who called and emailed their anger a few days ago might consider sending her a note congratulating her on her lessons learned. Not everyone figures stuff out instinctively.
“Some can learn by being told, others can learn by watching. The rest of us have to pee on the electric fence ourselves.”
I want to add to that comment now, having seen 20-some of the comments here. My addition to the above is this:
Jesus H. Tap-dancing Christ, you guys are a bunch of assholes. It is, despite what you seem to believe, possible for someone, once in a while, to make an honest mistake. Her language and tone seem humbled to me, and I’m inclined to take what she wrote at face value. But maybe that’s because I got to read the full, actual retraction, a link to which was left out of the post above. Isn’t this, especially “Lesson #4”,
exactly what we hope for when we try to convince anti-gun people the error of their ways?
Maybe you aren’t assholes after all, since you were operating without the full information that you should have been afforded prior to making your comments.
“They are not criminals.” If she truly learned this, and is willing to actively bringing that message to her friends, then I for one will forgive her.
Until a few years ago Texas DPS published a list of people with a CHL in the state. That is until Nokia, and several other scum sucking freedom hating companies started using that list to pink slip everyone with a CHL. CHL holder list should never be public info.
If I were and Arkansas CHL holder I would be calling this worm and her employer until she was gone.
Another head case that was trying to help their cause. These people probably do help our cause, Randy
You can also give gift memberships , I got wife one , you can give to family members, friends, co-workers , your doc. and your kids they are the future America… do one each pay day ….America is in BIG TROUBLE …. old saying : Now is the TIME for all good MEN(WOMAN) to come to the aid of their country….
“I believe that citizens should be able to ask their government whom it has licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Also who their government has licensed to practice medicine, practice law and cut hair”
Last time I checked a CWP holder has not responsibilities to you or anyone else, so why would they have to divulge that information to the likes of you or anyone else? And also who the hell goes to their barber and says “you have to provide me with your license to cut my hair or I’m outa here!”. It is everyone right to know if a person you are paying money for a service that requires training and competency I.E. “licensed to practice medicine, practice law and cut hair” but a private citizen that you have no affiliation with has no obligation to inform you or anyone else that has nothing to do with them about what they are licensed to do. If you feel unsafe because you don’t know who may or may not have a gun go hang out in a gun free zone, I’m sure you will be safe there. /sarc
“…My name, my husband’s name, home address, phone and work phone numbers and pictures of my house — from the same Pulaski County tax records that Arkansas Business regularly mines for news — were posted all over the Internet.”
WOW WOW WOW… you mean your information was posted for anyone to see without your consent? I wonder why anyone would be mad at that? I mean I’m sure that wouldn’t make her a TARGET or anything like that. And I’m sure the people posting her information were not intending for her to stand out as a target, I’m sure THEY never would have seen that coming.
She knew exactly what she was doing and what the end result would be, she is only attempting to apologize because of the backlash she is suffering and she wants to preserve what little public image she has left. It may be incorrect of me but if I were affected by her actions I would not accept her apology.
These were the actions of a cold, callous individual – and nowhere resembling an honest mistake.
How are these people literally still breathing? If you intentionally (or otherwise) endangered my family or put any of their lives at risk… that’s it. Done. Since there doesn’t seem to be any limits with this liberal mentality, maybe it’s finally time to fight fire with fire.
From what I’ve seen of these new recruits, we are standing in the safest place on the range boys.
finished my CHP class using my ruger p345 to qualify and immediately bought a consignment sale detonics 45. it couldn’t fire five rounds without malfunctioning. traded it in for the xds. fired 50 rounds thru the xds without a single stoppage. got tight groups, web of hand was tender for a couple of days. manufactured in croatia. a keeper for me. will have to wait and see about actually carrying it.
We need to get Mr Noir and Sturmgewehre from military arms channel to tag team for the NRA. All the old fogies in the NRA who only care about their hunting, time for you guys to go.
Biden’s wife Jill would be prosecuted just like David Gregory, the Black Panthers, Obama’s illegal alien aunt and uncle, the various government agents involved in Fast & Furious, . . .
“I thought it was a very realistic cardboard cut-out sir. Hit the piano playing Hitler without harming the officers type thing?”
“Whoos I slipped on his penis” – Makes about as much sense
It wasn’t that long ago that a TTAG contributor (or founder) or two claimed that our Dear Leader wouldn’t try to take our guns no matter how much the NRA yelled it from the mountaintops before the election. I’m not saying that you’re wrong again, just suggesting be sure you remember the taste of crow before prognosticating with certainty again.
This little fatties so called apology is really nullified when she among other things says
“It was never my intention to make people who already live in fear more miserable.”
The Machine gets what the Machine wants. The Machine has it easiest when information is hard to come by and voter turnout is low. She received 30K votes out of 420K registered voters. That’s 7%.
Kelly skipped many of the debates and said little during the primary. Most of the focus was on Halverson being a NRA loving nut job and how could anyone be so stupid, even though she a raging progressive statist on just about every other subject. The 2nd district gets what it deserves.
Illustrating Chicagoland Idiocy, Mayhem and Stupidity at heyjackass.com
If it is such a big deal to publish the name and addresses of all the CCL’s, then why should I then have notify a police officer, if while being detained, that I have a licensed firearm. Since it would public information, let them figure it out.
poseable targets! or… no dog in site, danger sign not needed
Score!!!!!
> the gun control jefe spent $2.2m on ads for Kelly
Billionaires buying elections is a good thing. Only a smelly Occupy-hippie would argue otherwise.
I’m sure that he has to destroy the companies in order to save them.
Is he running them into the ground? Yes. Does he have a secret anti-gun agenda? Who knows. But I certainly am distrustful. The gungrabbers are pulling out all the stops. They see the current climate as offering them their best chance — and maybe their last chance — to reverse almost three decades of 2A accomplishments. There’s nothing they won’t do.
I’m not buying into the “Hindery is just businessman” crapola any more than I bought into the “Obama isn’t coming after our guns” nonsense.
Warren Buffett & Co. now own 63+ newspapers across the country…..may not want to get the tin foil hats out yet……but soon.
“Let me say this right off the bat: I
wasam stupid. Also naïve.”There. Fixed it for her.
SORRY SORRY! I thought you were a deer!
I can’t wait to get one, it will replace the 22 mag being it is reloadable and not give all the problems associated with reloading the 22 hornet
thats a good one!!!
not like they could have gotten past the dozens of security guards to get to the house.
I surprised someone in Virgina was so stupid that he followed his advice and is now in jail.
Maybe if she is concerned about her safety, Ms. Moritz should purchase a hand gun and apply for a CCL.
Is this the retarded child of Dianne Feinstein?
So… are other policepersons now “no hesitation” targets?
I would add to that oath a promise to oppose civilian disarmament laws, especially those that create a double standard between LEOs and non-LEOs.
There’s a thread of similarity here with the gun owner who already owns all the scary black rifles he wants – Feinstein is offering to grandfather those in, let him keep them, and in exchange he’s supposed to support denying the same ownership to others who haven’t bought one yet. I’m pleased that this group, at least, seems almost universally to have seen through her ploy. It’s buying support for a bad law by creating special classes of people and bribing them with an effective exemption from it. This is wrong. It goes against our republican principles, and it’s bad law.
Where’s my personal, government-funded BODYGUARD?
DEMAND A BODYGUARD!!!
Who do you trust more with a gun: yourself or the LAPD?