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

[one-eyed fat man]

220. The Ohio case is a bit twisted.

The Ohio legislature made the records available only to law enforcement and the newspapers. The papers who campaigned most vigorously against the concealed weapons law, most notably the Cleveland Plain Dealer immediately undertook to publish the names and addresses of all license holders.

Those who defended the papers' position cited "public records" and the "public's right to know" but howled like gut shot chipmunks when those in opposition published the names and addresses of the paper's publisher and editorial staff. When instances of abused spouse being outed and such came to light, it was dismissed as inconsequential to the "public's right to know."

Now let us compare the public access to another set of "public records," the motor vehicle registry. You can't punch in a plate number and find out who owns the car that just cut you off. Curious about the guy who parks his car in your neighbor's driveway alternate Tuesday's after her husband has left for work, see if your buddy in the local PD will run the plate for you?

A cop running a plate for a "friend" or out of idle curiosity can find themselves fired or even jailed over it. But as a tool restricted to legitimate law enforcement, a cop getting ready to stop a car for a broken taillight in all but the tiniest of departments, can punch the plate into a console in the car and almost instantly have registered owner's name, address, registration, insurance and licensing status, wants, warrants, BOLO's or if they have a concealed carry permit. Those may still rely on the radio and having the dispatcher relay that info.

On July 18, 1989, Rebecca Schaeffer was prepared to meet director Francis Ford Coppola to audition for a role in Godfather III. Simultaneously, Robert John Bardo tracked down Schaeffer’s home address and decided to pay her a visit in West Hollywood.

With his obligatory copy of The Catcher in the Rye in hand (the same book found in the possession of John Lennon’s assassin Mark David Chapman), Bardo staked out Schaeffer’s apartment building. He rang her direct intercom, but since it was broken, she came down to see who was there.

As Schaeffer opened the front door, Bardo plugged a single bullet into her chest and casually strolled off.

How did he know where she lived? Public information freely available from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Following Schaeffer's murder, California laws regarding the release of personal information through the DMV were drastically changed. The Driver's Privacy Protection Act was enacted in 1994, which prevents the DMV from releasing private addresses.

Am I to understand that making that kind of information available to anyone at whim of a newspaper editor or the click of a mouse is OK for gun owners, but not car owners? Does it make a difference if they are a celebrity?