An interactive map showing the names and addresses of all handgun permit holders in New York's Westchester and Rockland counties has infuriated many readers since it was posted Saturday on a newspaper's website. The map, published by The Journal News, allows readers to zoom in on red dots that indicate which residents are licensed to own pistols or revolvers. It had prompted more than 1,700 comments as of Wednesday morning. Blue dots indicate permit holders who "have purchased a firearm or updated the information on a permit in the past five years." "So should we start wearing yellow Stars of David so the general public can be aware of who we are??" one commenter wrote.
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The publisher issues a statement supporting the decision
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Other news agencies have published similar databases in the past
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Poynter Institute senior faculty member calls newspaper's move "journalist arrogance"
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"Readers are understandably interested" in gun data, newspaper editor says
In an article about the uproar, @placeholder says many of the thousands of people who "have taken to their computers and phones in rage" live outside the counties covered by the map.