The suburban New York newspaper’s decision to take down its controversial gun map“is not a concession to critics that no value was served by the posting of the map in the first place,” Publisher Janet Hasson writes in a letter to readers.

“On the contrary, we’ve heard from too many grateful community members to consider our decision to post information contained in the public record to have been a mistake. Nor is our decision made because we were intimidated by those who threatened the safety of our staffers. We know our business is a controversial one, and we do not cower.”

 

Color me skeptical. The heat was pretty high in the kitchen. And maybe two of the residences getting broken into by burglars targeting guns had something to do with it.

According to police reports on public record, Journal News Rockland Editor Caryn A. McBride was alarmed by the volume of “negative correspondence,” namely an avalanche of phone calls and emails to the Journal News office, following the newspaper’s publishing of a map of all pistol permit holders in Rockland and Westchester. — More.

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Community anger over its decision to publish the names and addresses of gun owners in two New York counties did not deter The Journal News from plans to publish the same information for a third county. But that third county now says it will not provide the Gannett paper with the data, which has been considered public information. — More.

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Maybe they need to publish the names of those taking prescription drugs, too. “More Americans die each year of prescription drug overdoses than gun homicides.”