And where the 4th estate is not doing their side of the debate any favors

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There are many well-meaning folks out there that believe in the 2nd amendment but also believe in strict gun control. We can sympathize with these people. We may not agree with them but we can understand their belief that by simply restricting the quantity of guns in legal circulation, you can lower crime and perhaps even prevent massacres like what happened 2-1/2 weeks ago in Newtown, CT.

This post isn’t directed at those folks. For years, we have believed that for the rabid anti-gun left, it wasn’t about gun control and the resulting public safety benefits – it was about control, period. We have before us a shining example of this and it is represented by a New York state newspaper owned by the Gannett Company which has seen fit to publish an interactive pin map that provides the names and addresses of all registered pistol owners in the Westchester and Rockland counties.

Call it control through intimidation as we can see no reasonable explanation for why the Lower Hudson Journal News chose to do this other than what we have stated.

It’s reminiscent of similar maps that were available on the internet that provided the names and addresses of those who gave financial support to California’s Prop. 8 initiative (opposed same-sex marriage) back in 2008.

The paper obtained the permit records via the Freedom of Information Act but provided no explanation of why they decided to compile the data and publish it in the form of the map.

It is duly noted that lohud.com advises commenters to be "smart and civil". Precisely what is smart and civil about publishing this map? What did the paper hope to achieve towards creating a "civil environment for conversation" by publishing this map? Further noted from the comment section is that no one else thought this was a keen idea either.

With the internet and Twitter rife with anti-2nd amendment idiots calling for the deaths of NRA members and gun owners, this is appalling.

For those out there seeking stricter gun control laws while insisting they are not coming for our guns, what the Journal News did is not doing anything to convince us otherwise.

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