Blogger turns tables on gun map paper's employees - 12/27/12

A blogger who retaliated against a New York newspaper that came under fire for identifying people with gun licenses in its circulation area explained on Thursday why he published the names and home addresses of the paper's employees. "Well, I just thought they were being hypocrites," said Christopher Fountain on CNN's "Early Start." "In the aftermath of Newtown, it was obviously one tragedy, but somehow they were conflating legal gun owners with some crazed tormented devil up in Newtown and putting the two together. And I was offended by that and I wondered how they would like it if their addresses were published." Fountain's blog on Wednesday linked to a map that identified — with pictures — employees of the suburban New York newspaper, the Journal News, as well as their places of residence. That move came several days after the Journal News published interactive maps of Westchester and Rockland counties, which named people with gun licenses and included their addresses — igniting outrage from the right and from some readers.

"We knew publication of the database [as well as the accompanying article providing context] would be controversial, but we felt sharing information about gun permits in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings," Janet Hasson, president and publisher of the Journal News Media Group, told POLITICO Wednesday in a statement. In an accompanying piece, the paper had said that some citizens "would like lawmakers to expand the amount of information the public can find out about gun owners" after the Newtown massacre.

Fountain swung back at that response.

"Well, she could have just published the number of gun permits, which is actually quite small, if she wanted to show an issue that there are 2,000 legally registered guns in her county, fine," he said. "But the fact that they put the addresses — I've received e-mails from abused women who were under protective order and in hiding and they're terribly afraid that now their names and addresses are all over the Internet and accessible through that map."

He added that he was giving the paper a taste of its own medicine.

"The media has been exposing, harassing personal details of people for a long time," Fountain said. "I don't believe I'm escalating, I believe I'm punching back.

"My original point in posting this was to just show those particular reporters and the publisher what it feels like," he continued.

The map that was eventually posted offered a much more extensive list of Journal News employees.

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  News & Politics

[FrackNow]

Legal, peaceful gun owners get their names published by hateful bullies. Good for him, he is a national hero.

[Charles McCune]

pay back is a bitch and they are pissed about it fuck those Obama gunlobiest fuckt tards get them and show them they have no idea of who the fuck they are fucking with NRA all the way. support you second amendment right, to Own what ever the fuck you want, if you cna have it so can I fuck you Obama bitches.

[mewaggoner]

Wow that's awesome, I just watched a YOUTUBE video commercial completely in Spanish. Assholes! It's bad enough that we are forced to watch commercials to promote corporate gains, now I have to watch it in Spanish. Didn't even get the option to press #1 for English.

[jenius124]

I'm on the waste of human beings part of Youtube again.

[Powerpickle68]

I see that those CNN pukes never said that the Journal SHOULD NOT HAVE AND IT WAS WRONG to publish private information of law abiding gun owners. I bet some of those gun owners were and are now former subscribers. How many of those gun owners have children that are now in danger because of the Journal news??

[1WEEBLE1]

you held your own very well, you will not be invited back

[Viet959]

good for him!

[NonAggressionState]

Eye for an eye.

[UncleFexxer]

Listen to the bleating of those hypocritical, ivory tower media pukes. Someone held a "journalist" to the same standards that they bully other people with and now they're stamping their feet and crying, demonizing the man who subjected them to the same treatment they dish out. They found out they're not protected by a sacred wall to hide behind and it enrages them. Bullies HATE it when their victims meet force with force... just ask any mugger or rapist who's been shot by a CCW holder.

[Unit01232]

When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.

[sam kay]

What that newspaper did was tell burglars where and who had guns even worse home invaders. Also it told gun hater where they could find someone to punish by burning down a gun owner home. Just like some of right to live people did to doctors, and women who had abortion. It is too bad he did not add all of the TV news media that did condemn the paper. let then see how it feels.