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Health & Fitness

Promoting Hate Crimes and Home Invasions

Promoting Hate Crimes and Home Invasions

When I first read the Second Amendment Foundation e-newsletter below, I was a bit skeptical.  I mean, law-abiding gun owning citizens should be able to expect as much respect and privacy as any other citizen, right?

Apparently not.  The Gannett owned Journal News covering Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties in New York State has chosen to demonize gun owners, instill fear in county residents, and promote home invasions and hate crimes.  The method used was to publish a detailed list of permit holders, their addresses, and an interactive map (with satellite view option) showing the exact location of those residences. 

In publishing the data, the Journal News, apparently with the approval of the Gannett Corporation , has promoted crime and chaos.  Now every gun owner in that area can expect burglaries and/or home invasions by criminals seeking firearms.  Every non-gun owner in those counties can anticipate the same with the odds of the event turning deadly increased. 

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Connecticut Gun Owner Privacy Law

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Chapter 529, Section 29-28, Paragraph (d)

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1-210 and 1-211, the name and address of a person issued a permit to sell at retail pistols and revolvers pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or a state or a temporary state permit to carry a pistol or revolver pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, or a local permit to carry pistols and revolvers issued by local authorities prior to October 1, 2001, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except (1) such information may be disclosed to law enforcement officials acting in the performance of their duties, (2) the issuing authority may disclose such information to the extent necessary to comply with a request made pursuant to section 29-33 for verification that such state or temporary state permit is still valid and has not been suspended or revoked, and the local authority may disclose such information to the extent necessary to comply with a request made pursuant to section 29-33 for verification that a local permit is still valid and has not been suspended or revoked, and (3) such information may be disclosed to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services to carry out the provisions of subsection (c) of section 17a-500.

Chapter 529, Section 29-36e, Paragraph (e)

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1-210 and 1-211, the name and address of a person issued an eligibility certificate for a pistol or revolver under the provisions of section 29-36f shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except (1) such information may be disclosed to law enforcement officials acting in the performance of their duties, (2) the Commissioner of Public Safety may disclose such information to the extent necessary to comply with a request made pursuant to section 29-33 for verification that such certificate is still valid and has not been suspended or revoked, and (3) such information may be disclosed to the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services to carry out the provisions of subsection (c) of section 17a-500.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemptions

The aforementioned Sections 1-210 and 1-211 set forth exemptions for the FOIA.  The state’s Freedom of Information Act does not include gun permits as the permits are already considered confidential under Section 29-28 (above).  State law takes precedent and neither state nor local records cannot be made public. 

NOTE:  There was resistance to this exemption in the state legislature when the legislation was raised.  It is possible that legislation will rise in the next session to repeal the exemption. 

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Second Amendment Foundation e-newsletter 121220

BELLEVUE, WA - Hate speech directed at gun owners and firearms rights groups in the wake of the Connecticut tragedy could lead to hate crimes, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

SAF said statements made by broadcasters including Piers Morgan and Chris Matthews, as well as comments on social media have contributed to an environment of hate directed against law-abiding Americans who are being demonized for a crime they did not commit.

This comes as President Obama has launched an effort that could culminate in an attempt to ban semiautomatic sport-utility rifles and ammunition magazines, and impose other restrictions on gun owners who are not responsible for the actions of an obviously mentally disturbed individual.

"Focusing on the instrumentality of firearms alone to the exclusion of possible other causative factors is doomed to failure and would do an injustice to the memories of the Sandy Hook victims and their families," said SAF President Joseph Tartaro. "Of course, we are pleased to see that by adopting a broad task force approach in search of solutions to prevent or reduce the kind of violence that was visited upon Newtown, CT, last week that the president has sought the expertise of several cabinet departments that deal with mental health, educational administration, pharmacology, law enforcement and cultural issues in addition to firearms."

But SAF cautioned that narrowing the focus to firearms and pushing a ban on popular semiautomatic firearms will only fuel the campaign of hate now underway on cable television and in social media. For example, Morgan called one national gun rights leader "an unbelievably stupid man," Matthews suggested gun owners are, "..people on the far-right (who) never lose their passionNormal people have other interests like their spouses, their lives, their children, and even their generalized politics isn't driven by one issue." A university professor in Rhode Island tweeted, "Looks like the National Rifle Association has murdered some children."

"The remarks become obscene after that," noted SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. "We have received some vulgar e-mails from people that want us to vanish for the sake of a civilized world'.

"This kind of rhetoric does not contribute to any rational discussion," he said. "Vitriol like this only promotes hate, but apparently it's okay to perpetuate bigotry so long as you are an anti-gunner, and a liberal. If anyone is harmed as a result of this hate campaign, we expect them to be prosecuted under the hate crimes laws."

"If this hate speech leads to hate crimes," Gottlieb concluded, "people like Piers Morgan and Chris Matthews will be partly responsible."

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Gannett Corporation

The company’s 82 U.S. daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, reach 11.6 million readers every weekday and 12 million readers every Sunday, providing important news and information from their customers’ neighborhoods and around the globe. USA TODAY, the nation's No. 1 newspaper in print circulation, and USATODAY.com reach a combined 6.6 million readers daily.

The Broadcasting Division’s 23 TV stations reach 21 million households, covering 18.2 percent of the U.S. population. Through its Captivate subsidiary, the Broadcasting Division delivers news, information and advertising to a highly desirable audience demographic on 9,500 video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies in 25 major cities across North America. 

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