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Maine gun permit info should remain public

By Staff | Mar 2, 2013

The Maine Legislature went into a panic last week after word got out that the Bangor Daily News was seeking the names of concealed firearms permit holders in the state.

Instead of trusting this well-respected daily paper to do the right thing with the public information it was seeking, and instead of taking the paper at its word when editors said the names were being sought for ongoing research projects, and not for publication, Maine legislators and Gov. Paul LePage enacted temporary emergency legislation to bar access to the permit information that has, for years, been public.

We’re aware of no problems in the state regarding access to the names of concealed firearms permit holders, but guns and gun laws have become delicate subjects since the tragic December shootings in Newtown, Conn.

We’re sensitive to the concerns of people on both sides of the issue, but, in this instance, we feel strongly that it would be better for legislators to err on the side of transparency.

Most arguments for keeping permit holders’ names confidential in this case have been centered on the decision of a New York paper, the Journal News, to publish a list of local gun permit holders and a
corresponding map. The paper published the information shortly after the Newtown shootings, and within a matter of weeks had pulled the map amid a public outcry.

Many said the map was a public safety hazard because it gave thieves detailed information on where to find weapons in local communities. There were, according to news reports, at least two reported break-ins after the information was published, one in which the burglars were unable to access guns stored in a safe, and another in which two guns were stolen, along with two permits.

But the Journal News did not so much create a public safety hazard as offer up a crash course in public relations. What we learned from the printing of the permit holders’ names and the map was that the public will hold a newspaper accountable for its actions. The Journal News made a reckless decision and suffered the consequences as a result of reader, and likely advertiser, backlash.

We doubt the Bangor Daily News cared to follow suit.

Either newspaper’s intentions aside, Maine’s legislators still have to face a debate over LD 345, “An Act To Ensure the Confidentiality of Concealed Weapons Permit Holder Information.” The bill has been sent to the Judiciary Committee for further review.

When it’s time for debating, legislators will need to make a balanced decision based on facts and history instead of succumbing to unfounded fears.

Ultimately, this is not about guns, but about public access to information held by the state. There have been no published lists of concealed firearms permit holders in Maine, and there have not even been many requests for such information, according to local law enforcement officials.

Our legislators need to think long and hard about whether they are addressing an actual problem or a perceived threat, and there needs to be a thorough debate before they go down a road that starts a trend of exempting select permit holders from the Freedom of Access Act.

– Portsmouth Herald
Feb. 27, 2013

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