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TMCNet: EDITORIAL: Possible limitations to gun permit database supported

[January 02, 2010]

EDITORIAL: Possible limitations to gun permit database supported

Jan 02, 2010 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A move is afoot in the Indiana General Assembly to make personal information on gun permit applications unavailable to the public. Bloomington area representatives Peggy Welch, a Democrat, and Eric Koch, a Republican, are working together on a bill that would limit such access. State Sen. Brent Steele, a Republican from Bedford, is working on a similar bill in his chamber.


We at The Herald-Times seem to be at the root of the furor to keep this information from the public. The database of personal protection handgun permits that's now available and which we posted on HeraldTimesOnline.com as part of a report on the recent rise in applications for permits, has drawn fire from the NRA and many of its members. They have mobilized to seek a change in state law on this currently public record.

So it might seem inconsistent that we would support closing these records.

We do.

At least we support the efforts of legislators who want to close access to some of this personal information. We await the specifics of the legislation before offering our full endorsement of a particular bill, but we agree that some personal information should not be available to the public, including the media.

As criticism poured in about our database, it was obvious many people believed we had made available their names and addresses along with the fact they had been granted a permit to carry a handgun. We did not, although the Indiana State Police database does include those facts.

We did not publish them for the same reasons our critics didn't think we should: Names and specific addresses would give people a pretty good idea who had guns and who didn't. Thieves interested in stealing guns might go to a house of a permit holder. Other less daring thieves might go to other houses.

While the points are valid, that information alone would not guarantee knowledge of the presence of guns in a house because in Indiana, you don't need a permit to keep a shotgun, rifle or even a handgun in your home. Still, we see the risk of having the wrong people have names and addresses.

Even more troubling to us, though, is the potential for a woman seeking protection with a handgun and refuge from an abusive man to be tracked through the state's database. It's dangerous to the woman for that information to be easily accessible. We understood that, which is still another reason we sanitized the information we posted.

While we remain convinced the information we've published does not realistically endanger anyone, we are equally convinced that names and addresses in those permits that are considered public records in the state of Indiana could put people in jeopardy if they fell into the wrong hands.

For that reason, we support legislative efforts to close those records. While we believe with all our heart in the value of open records and transparency in government, the fact we felt strongly that some specifics about gun permits should not be released for all to see leads us to the conclusion this closure is prudent.

To see more of the Herald-Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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