Which Neighbors Have Concealed Weapons Permits? (Redwood City, Ca. publishes list)

[petronius]

34. But there is no public safety benefit from publishing this info - what reasonable

actions could anyone take based on it: refuse a job? Bar someone from a store? Print out their pictures and cross the street when you see them coming? You must realize that the safety benefits from any of those are so infinitesimal as to be nonexistent.

On the other hand, the increased risk of crime, harassment, or discrimination against these people based on the (albeit legal) broadcasting of their personal and private information is real and at least as substantial as any public safety benefit.

I can think of a lot of other private issues - medical marijuana use, recovering alcoholism, a decades old felony conviction, etc - that might be legal to publish and would give a similar public safety 'benefit'.

So I'd suggest to you - and anyone else who approves of what this paper did - to consider whether you're just motivated by your feelings about guns, or whether your applause is based on your general beliefs about appropriate levels of privacy protection in our society. Do you think it proper to disseminate any private and personal data you want, as long as a tenuous benefit can be ginned up and it isn't legally forbidden to do so?