North Country Gazette



Saratoga County Gives Post-Star Pistol Permit Holders

Posted on Tuesday, 26 of February , 2008 at 7:50 pm

COMMENTARY

GLENS FALLS—Will The Post-Star be responsible or not now that Saratoga County officials have released the names of pistol permit holders in that county from 2001 to present?

Earlier this month, The North Country Gazette learned that The Post-Star had filed Freedom of Information Law requests with the town clerks of Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties for a list of names and towns of concealed carry permit holders in the three counties and had plans of publishing those names in a database on their website.

Although Post-Star editor Ken Tingley vigorously denied that the daily newspaper intended to make public the names of pistol permit holders, NCG filed its own FOIL request and found that Tingley was telling a story.

The initial FOIL request to Pamela Vogel, Warren County clerk, was submitted on Jan. 9 by Nick Reisman who bills himself as “Washington County Reporter” for The Post-Star.  Reisman’s request was for “any and all records or portions thereof pertaining a the list of (sic) pistol permit and firearm permit holders in Warren County, NY.  I am requesting the list contain (sic) the full name and town of the permit holders. I am also requesting that that this document be compiled in electronic form”.

Not only did the Post-Star want the taxpayers and the county clerk’s office to provide the list of names of the pistol permit holders, they wanted the taxpayers to fund the preparation of the database in electronic form for their ease of slapping it up on their website.

The NCG article stirred a firestorm of protest from gun owners across the country who began firing off emails to the newspaper, some of whom indicated that they would be instituting a boycott of Post-Star advertisers and canceling their subscriptions to the paper. Law enforcement officials and county officials said they “absolutely did not support” the newspaper’s plan as it posed a potential threat to public safety.

On Thursday, Feb. 21, Saratoga County clerk Kathleen Marchione provided Reisman with a computer disc containing the names of that county’s pistol permit holders but without their corresponding towns.  “I do not have towns listed in our computer index database”, Marchione told Reisman.  “For permits 2001 and older, you can find those names in a hard copy index book in our record room”.

But Marchione wasn’t happy that she had to provide the names, telling Reisman that “I would not be providing you with this information except that Penal Law requires me to do so”.

“Although I firmly believe that open government is extremely important, I also believe it needs to be balanced when the safety and security of residents may be at risk.  The publication of pistol permit holders’ names and/or addresses may put those individuals in danger of being burglarized by criminals seeking handguns”, Marchione told Reisman.  “Conversely, criminals might target where they know the household does not possess a handgun”.

She requested that the daily newspaper consider the safety and security concerns when “utilizing” the list.

Marchione said that Senate Bill 2733 which has passed out the Senate Codes Committee and awaits debate on the Senate floor, would amend the Penal Law in relation to confidentiality of information contained in an application for a pistol license.

Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) is one of the bill’s sponsors.

If the bill is passed, any record regarding an applicant or licensee for a concealed carry permit could only be released to a law enforcement agency for the purpose of conducting an investigation or prosecution. http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=S02733&sh=t

Initially, Warren County Clerk Pamela Vogel had acknowledged the newspaper’s FOIL request on Jan. 11, saying that “delivery of the records is anticipated to be granted within 20 business days and will however not be able to be produced in electronic format”.  She told Reisman that “non-public information will need to be redacted from the record thus requiring this additional time to process”.

But by email of Jan. 16, Reisman and The Post-Star continued to press for the county to produce what they wanted in electronic format.  While Reisman said that he “appreciate(d) the privacy issues involved”, he wanted to know what information was being redacted from the record.

According to an email sent Jan. 23 by the county clerk to Reisman, Vogel said she would be providing an amended version as had been discussed in a meeting with Warren County Court Judge John Hall, the number of license holders in each zip code in Warren County. 

Reisman quickly responded that he wasn’t content with receiving just numbers of permit holders, The Post-Star wanted names and for the first time, on Jan. 23, Reisman stated that it was the newspaper’s intent to publish a database of the permit holders.

“We’re still interested in compiling the names of pistol owners.  The way the database is being set up will only allow for a search on a specific name.  So, if we were to type in ‘Nick Reisman’ or ‘Pam Vogel’ the relevant information would show”.Reisman told Vogel that “the database will not be structured as a list of names.  If you have any other questions as to how this will be compiled, our editor, Ken Tingley, is writing a column on the issue for this Sunday’s newspaper”.

The county clerk responded to Reisman on Jan. 23, telling him that “I find no reason for your office to compile a list of pistol owners.  If all you wish is to check a name here or there in a somewhat random fashion, as you have illustrated in your email.  It is important to note that you would not know if the name is linked to a recent revocation, death or surrender as that information would not be available to you.  Should there be a need for a check of a particular name, as illustrated, then that request can be directed to this office (Pistol Permits) which is the custodian of the records.  We would be the primary source”.

Vogel continued, saying that “I also do not see how a specific, selected name pulled from a compiled listing by someone other than the custodial agency is a benefit for a story on pistol permit and safety.  There is much information available on obtaining the permit, procedures and of course Penal Law Article 400….excellent learning tools for you and members of the public.  I trust that all of that information will help you in your article.  I look forward to finding out more about the intent of this article from Mr. Tingley’s column on Sunday”.

But Tingley’s column never materialized.  The first The Post-Star and Tingley made the issue public was on Feb. 4 with his “denial” letter after the first North Country Gazette article informing the public of the Post-Star’s plan.

On Friday, Jan. 25, Vogel asked Tingley and Mark Mahoney of The Post-Star to meet with the newspaper’s editorial board as she had “concerns regarding the information and its use as well as ability to provide without other compromise”.

In his response on Monday, Jan. 28, Tingley skirted Vogel’s request to meet with the editorial board and in a terse email, began backing away from their plans to publish a database on their website, telling Vogel that “The Post-Star regular (sic) files FOIL requests when it is researching possible stories.  Sometimes we use the information, sometimes we don’t.  At this juncture, it would really be quite premature to discuss a story that is still being reported.  Nick has been working on a gun safety story and right now we have no plans to use the pistol permit information for anything other than research”.

Days later, The North Country Gazette took the controversy public. Although Reisman had already stated the newspaper’s intent to publish a database in his emails to Vogel and had reportedly told several callers to the newspaper the same thing, after NCG’s article appeared, Tingley was on the forum of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, stating that “as editor of The Post-Star I can assure you there is no intent to publish the names and towns of gun permit holders.  It simply is not true”.

The public record spoke for itself and the email exchange between the county clerk’s office and The Post-Star contradicted Tingley.  There certainly was initially an intent to publish the database, that is until their plan was made public by NCG and was met with outrage and protests from across the country, especially from gun owners.

The Post-Star has been silent on the issue of pistol permits since NCG’s last article on the subject on Feb. 7.

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/02/07/post_star_progaganda/

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/02/05/post_star_poo_poo/ http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/02/05/gun_owners_score/ http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/02/02/public_safety_and_permits/

Individuals who wish to voice their opinion to The Post-Star about this issue should e-mail Reisman at nreisman@poststar.com, Rona Rahlf, publisher at rahlf@poststar.com or editor Ken Tingley at tingley@poststar.com    2-26-08

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Category: Constitution, Government, Media, New York State, Opinion, Police, Warren County

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