Who didn’t see this one coming? Remember the thing about a newspaper in New York publishing the full names and hope addresses of every pistol permit holder in Westchester and Putnam county? The claim was that they were doing it for the greater good, that there was a pressing need for the public to know about these dangerous people in their community. Turns out some of those ‘dangerous people’ were prison guards, and now that the inmates have their home addresses they’re scaring the crap out of the guards . . .
From Fox News:
Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, who spoke at a news conference flanked by other county officials, said the Journal News’ decision to post an online map of names and addresses of handgun owners Dec. 23 has put law enforcement officers in danger.
“They have inmates coming up to them and telling them exactly where they live. That’s not acceptable to me,” Falco said, according to Newsday.
Robert Riley, an officer with the White Plains Police Department and president of its Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, agreed.
We at TTAG had predicted that this would happen, that criminals would be able to find out where LEOs and other law abiding citizens lived and target them. Prison intimidation wasn’t what we had in mind, but its one of those unforeseen consequences of an intentional act.
Now that police officers are being threatened instead of just regular subjects citizens, there’s a plan afoot to get those records locked up so that this can never happen again. But for the thousands of people whose names and addresses are now permanently out in the open there’s no relief in sight.
No word yet on whether the Journal News editorial board is going to help the thousands of people whose lives they have put in harms way move to a safer, unlisted location. Don’t get me wrong, the First Amendment is sacred, but there’s something about yelling “fire” in a crowded room that I seem to remember from my law professor . . .