As we have seen since the slaughter at Sandy Hook, policy makers very often have a hard time keeping their eye on policy fixes that might actually save the lives of other first-graders, city kids, teachers, cops, grocery store clerks, wives, husbands, etc. It’s so much easier to play to the dumb-TV crowd, fans of slack firearms laws, and other enablers of gun violence — no matter how many additional firearms deaths are recorded. Well, the good folks at Slate have fashioned a solution to help keep the public’s eye on the important subject at hand — the death toll from firearms in our communities.
Here’s a link to a nationwide grid and map, culled by Slate and the Twitter feed @GunGeaths, which show by name and location the ever-expanding number of firearms deaths since Sandy Hook. Each click of an assembled stick figure reveals another human tragedy, the range from hunting accidents and other accidental shootings to murder-suicides and gang-related shootings.
For example, there is small-sized stick figure for Aydan Perea, 4, who died after being caught in the crossfire of rivals gang in Kansas City. Another icon represents Rebecca Buffkin, 46, shot and killed by her boyfriend in Tabor City, N.C., according to police. Also making the map is Tyler Randolph, 20, shot and killed outside his Chicago-area home. Changes are good you will recognize names on the list: In case anyone has forgotten them, the map includes the deaths in Newtown on Dec. 14.
43 Comments
Boy if we could only get rid of all the guns and all the bad people. We can do that, right?
maybe we should go after illegal drugs and drunk drivers surely we can make some laws that would stop all the deaths caused by these, or is it stupid is as stupid does. You people are clue less
Boy are you guys stupid. Publishing the whereabouts of gun permit holders. Why don’t you just roll out the redcarpet for burglars and thieves?
It is proven that firearms in the hands of responsible, law abiding citizens, lowers crime. For this garbage newspaper to provide criminals a map of where they can obtain firearms illegally, is just plain stupid!
Wake up! Look at Chicago. No firearms in the city? Criminals just run around murdering people, 500 homicides in 2012, 5 or 6 murders in four days of the new year?? When will idiot lawmakers and anti-gun nut jobs realize that when firearms are taken away….bad sh** happens!
Crack a history book, Nazi Germany. Adolf Hitler outlawed and collected all private firearms, then murdered 14 million people who could not defend themselves (just one example of many), and that is right where we are headed.
I hope this newspaper gets what it had coming to it, lawsuits and eventually closing up its Nazi shop.
This is really stupid-in this article it tells about a 4 year old girl who was killed in a crossfire gang shooting- common sense tells me that what you go after here is the gang having the shoot outs in the damn street—NOT the guns. Enforce the gun/criminal laws and we will see crime and violence go down.
Who is going to obey gun laws? Criminals or non criminals? Not the criminals-criminals ARE law breakers. So if you disarm the population, you are only disarming the noncriminals. I don’t want to be disarmed while the criminals are armed. Common sense, people.
Just looked at the link to the “gun death” map—what I noticed was the states with the most strict gun laws have the most gun deaths…...hmmmmmm…......what does that tell a person with common sense and some intelligence?
You are 100% correct Shana! All more gun laws do is strengthen the criminals and murders. It seems like common sense but people like Dianne Feinstein in CA. Can’t figure that out. Maybe it’s Alzheimer’s from old age, (and she has a concealed weapons permit and carries a handgun!) what a Hypocrite!
Hit the Journal News in the pocketbook. This was the stupidest publicity stunt I’ve seen since the Kardashians reality show. I promise to never ever subscribe again. Stupid stupid stupid.
With the map, Now the bad guys know where to get the guns they need. When they obtain the unregistered guns, they can then use the map to rob homes where they are sure they won’t be met by an armed citizen. Good Thinking! By the way, If the 2nd amendment is thrashed, who will defend the 1st amendment?
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so now Kansas City gang bangers are the same as law abiding citizens with legal permits. Please cancel my subscription!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who cares…....... This is all yesterdays news…......lets get on to the future
Your whole paper can be read in 10 minutes. Other than High School scores and racially charged stories you provide nothing. You probably sell more papers in Cuba and Venezela.
Journal News Publisher Janet Hasson (l.) and Rockland County Editor Caryn McBride (r.) should have published their addresses to the web. I’m sure that data is also available to the public, but I’m not sure they would want it posted.
The journal news will soon go out of business. Prior to this stupidity the journalism was on par with that of an elephant with a paint brush. And now this???? Morons. Karma is a BITCH
Many anti-gun zealots use the violence rate in England as reason to follow in their restrictive footsteps. England has always had a lower violence rate even when firearms restrictions there were nonexistent. As their legislation has stiffened and stiffened against private ownership of firearms, their rate of gun violence has dramatically INCREASED. One only has to look to see how well current legislation keeps firearms out of the hands of the criminal and mentally imbalanced elements in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia…
As greater numbers of criminals have been retained longer in our penal institutions AND the issuance of Concealed Weapons Permits have increased across our land, our level of criminal firearms related death has dramatically decreased while accidental shootings have remained unchanged. I find it interesting that we live in a libertine culture that espouses doing whatever we like “as long as no one is hurt” and then when things blow up in our faces, we frantically run to the same old platitudes and red herring anchors of our liberal arguments and blame everything but the root cause for our woes.
How could elementary school children once have carried rifles and shotguns to school and the incidence of school shootings was zero for over a century?
Perhaps there was a sense of morality imbued to our children in our schools AND at home that actually taught right from wrong based on Judeo-Christian religious ethics.
When we do everything in our power to remove The Deity from public discussion and exchange Him for a politic morality based on a twisted sense of social justice based on instant gratification, how can we expect anything but a twisted result?
“Changing ourselves” means more than wringing our hands and braying to the sky of our pathetic, impotent “outrage” and then buying a tee shirt displaying the latest catchy slogan promoting “gun control”. It means taking responsibility for our actions, standing for a code that venerates real justice and honest morality and passing those concepts to our progeny while expecting the same from our peers and the rest of society as a whole.
In every one of these resent instances of brutality and evil the cowardly, terrorist actors have attacked the unprepared and the defenseless. The shooter in the theater attacked the only theater in his area (and further from his home) that was posted as a “Gun Free Zone”. Until we as a nation fully accept that we are ultimately responsible for our own protection, barbaric savages who have no respect for themselves, society at large or anyone else will continue to have the upper hand.
The school where the President’s kids are enrolled has nine (9) armed guards on duty constantly…even when there are no First Family children enrolled.
Do you think the administrators think Wayne La Pierre is crazy?
Finally, 62% of all firearms deaths in America are suicides. That figure includes drive-by, murder by firearms and accidental shootings.
It doesn’t take self-loading technologies or high capacity magazines to accomplish this grizzly, wasteful and selfish task. It only takes a modicum of determination…and one shot.
In a society that actively promotes abortion and medical suicide, should we be surprised when our young people have no regard for human life?
I think this Newspaper should Post the address of all their employees and state that none of the people own guns so that the can feel the fear that they caused by posting Legal Gun owners addresses, and then Post a Full page add in every newspaper. That would make me feel better!
It is not the guns stupid so-called journalist. It is the stupid criminals. They shoot each other and the innocent. Do your research. Your rag of a paper is history along with your jobs. As ultra-liberals you might tend your resume with the BHO company.
So when a drunk driver kills other people do you blame the car or the drunk?
Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to publish the names of people seeing mental health professionals. I believe in privacy but most often crimes like Newtown are committed by people who have mental problems. For our own protection we should let the public know who these people are in our community. We do this to sex offenders, etc.
I am astonished by the noise surrounding your publication of arms bearers in your vicinity. Go Journal News!!! We seem to want to know about sex predators – after the fact – but, like The Lanza family – how much good did it do the safety of all those murdered children and teachers to know the shooter’s mother a) had an arsenal and b) shared its access with her disturbed son – after the fact???? Let’s know more – vigilance is the only way to protect our children. The Constitution did not. Margot in Boston
Everyone that disagrees with what these idiots at the Journal News rag did should cancel their subscription to all of their products – hit em where they will feel it – put them out of business.
What fools these journalist are! What till they are slammed with lawsuits after these homes that have been published as non-weapon license holders are robbed. Cancel your subscription to the Journal and find a good lawyer, cause the criminals now have you marked. Go out and buy a gun in protest and paint the town with red dots. Locked and loaded. You will not take away my religion or my second amendment rights. Go put your lipstick on a pig.
To the person(s) who decision it was to post the information of those people should have no problem then posting their OWN information for all to see.
After 15 years, I cancelled this rag subscription…and hope to hell it goes out of business, along with the liberal journalist/idiots who work there..Not to worry, you can get in line and get your unemployment check ….this is what you libs believe, right??? Socialism,,.take from all those who work hard and abide by laws…and support those who drain the system..why not post all the people in my community who are on Governement assistance so I can see if they should really be buying that steak or driving a certain type of car…?.oh what, you don’t think that’s public information..why not?? It’s my money paying for that….
What GOOD came from this besides “outing” all the police officers addresses, abused scared women and LAW ABIDING citizens?? Don’t says its public information and we have a right to know…I have a “right” to sing show tunes in a crowded elevator, or yell” fire” in a crowded theatre, but t doesn’t make it RIGHT!!
F’n Idiots.. I hope you’ll get shut down..
How ridiculous to mention a child killed in a shootout. Tragic as that is, it was done by criminals with illegal, unregistered guns. How do you propose to collect the guns from criminals? We don’t have a map of their houses!
As for your hands being clean, imprisoned criminals are now using your map to intimidate guards by letting them know they know where they live. And I’m sure criminals are plotting revenge against the cops who arrested them and the judges who sentenced them.
You’ve put the lives of some battered women on the line as well, by telling their batterers where they can be found.
Go Journal News! Straight out of business!
“It’s so much easier to play to the dumb-TV crowd, fans of slack firearms laws, and other enablers of gun violence — no matter how many additional firearms deaths are recorded.”
According to university journalism professors, that sentence is a hasty generalization that invalidates the logic of the entire argument; it paints a picture that all the people on the list the Journal published are ignorant couch potatoes with no education. I challenge the Journal to do their homework. Any lazy journalism student at a university can easily publish that list. However it is the impartial and seasoned journalist that does the homework by investigating the list and finding out the percentage of the gun owners are criminals, lack a high school education or have a college or post graduate degree. Boys and girls of Gannett’s Journal, show us your stuff and impress us. Unfortunately all we have seen so far is lazy freshmen work. Kids, this is not going to get you a permanent job at Gannett’s USA Today, but an deep and impartial analysis of the list might get you in the door.
You people (the NEWSPAPER people) are SO STUPID & IGNORANT it it no longer funny!!!!
I see YOU got ARMED PROTECTION….WHY??? Is it because you are AFRAID???? Of WHAT??? LEGAL GUN OWNERS??? I THINK NOT!!!!
Dear Editor,
Australia banned semi-automatic weapons after a mass killing in Tasmania in 1996. There hasn’t been a mass killing down here since that time. Australia’s Prime Minister at the time didn’t have the fear mongering N.R.A. to contend with and very few complained about it. To relate America in 2013 to Hitler’s 1930’s Germany is ludicrous. Is the U.S. military like the Nazi SS? Not likely.
I would want to know if the person living beside me had an arsenal of weapons that should only be in the hands of the military or some sections of the police force. Well done to your paper.
Congratulations on putting every citizen in your area at risk for robbery. The would be thieves now know WHEN to rob them too. Gun owners should be robbed when they are not home so they can steal the guns. Non owners may be robbed anytime because they have no protections. Don’t be surprised when the crime rate rises in your area. You made it possible.
Robert Hudson, our military is not the Nazi SS, but our current government is well on its way! Don’t fool yourself!
Annie O, right on the money my dear!
Margot from Boston, of course it was the mothers fault. She new her kid had mental issues, she should have had her weapons locked up a hell of alot better than she did! BUT, do forks make obese people fat? Of course not, just like guns don’t murder people, people do! Get it straight Dems! We the responsible gun owners are tired of your force-fed rhetoric! If you don’t like firearms, then don’t buy them, use them, keep them, or have anything to do with them. But don’t force your way of life on the rest of us….THE RESPONSIBLE, SAFE GUN OWNERS! -enough said!
I think that by publishing the names and addresses of people with gun permits only endangers none gun owners, because it lets the criminal know what homes are not protected and makes them easy targets. I feel like you are only endangering people by doing this. I’m worried more about the criminals then people with legal guns. And the criminals will get there guns no matter what we do. Please for the sake of innocent people quit doing this, your doing more harm then good.
I agree with Kathy this really endangers none gun owners the most. However, the real issue is why would you do something so lame as to publish a map of gun owners. Once again the media is the one responsible, not for the shooting but the notoriety. By your over zealousness, you are demonstrating to people, who are not of sound mind and body, a way to get noticed. Wow, how pathetic; but what is more pathetic are the citizens who buy your paper. The only way to stop your behavior is to quit buying your product. Anything for a story, how disgusting!
Janet Hasson- You go girl!
Never have I been So Moved to contribute to (and recruit for) ones efforts as I have yours. You’ll be proud to know that I went right out and purchased two AR-15’s and 900 rounds of ammo. After sharing your crusade with relatives, they immediately came on board and purchased three more AR-15’s as well. Thanks so much for your advancement of the 2nd. Amendment and property values in the great state of Texas.
I would be as well as about 1000 other friends of mine like to see your editor sit in the chair next to Judge Jeanine and answer a few questions. Not going to happen is it. Much easier to throw spitballs than to receive isn’t it.
The editor of the News Journals name Janet Hasson, phone # and street address is spreading like wild fire on FaceBook and other internet sites.
Janet Hasson, you should be fired immediately. Publishing this list was completely irresponsible and may very well prove to have put individuals in danger. As Pete noted, your personal information is spreading across social media sites. I refused to perpetuate it because it could very well put you in danger, but you were WAY out of line!!! It is, however, your constitutional right to be an idiot and a fool!
I consider myself a liberal but I was appalled at the publishing of this information. I told my wife that of course the gun owners are outraged but what about the non gun owners? Either they will be indifferent, mad at the gun owners or afraid. If afraid, they are likly to buy a gun, which has to be the exact opposite of what the Journal News intended. Today, we are finding that is true – gun sales are up dramitically, as well as more licenses. I did not think about the police officers and prison guards who got their addresses published. That is probably the worst repercussion of this. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, but Ms.’s Hasson and McBride owe the public a huge apology and beg for forgiveness. But regardless of what they do or say, if anyone gets killed because their information was published, it will be blood on their hands.
Freedom comes with responsibility! You are self-serving ideologues who have placed many people at great risk to violence, including yourselves! You didn’t even attempt accurate reporting, that map includes people that are deceased or moved away. That means that the criminals may be looking to steal guns from houses that don’t even have them!!! You should be commended! Bet you didn’t see that coming while you were gulping your Koo-laid. This is what happens when you stray from OBJECTIVE reporting and start shoving your sick delusional Utopian agenda down people’s throats! And great job stimulating gun sales and license applications! Your anti-gun insanity just motivated me to buy yet ANOTHER 1,000 rounds of ammo! I really hope you are as miserable as you are pathetic, may God have mercy on your soul. (So are you going to turn me in?)
As the Supreme Court hears arguments for and against the Chicago, IL, Gun Ban, I offer you another stellar example of a letter (written by a Marine), that places the proper perspective on what a gun means to a civilized society.
Interesting take and one you don’t hear much… Read this eloquent and profound letter and pay close attention to the last paragraph of the letter…..
“The Gun Is Civilization”
By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret)
Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force . If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it .
In a truly moral and civilized society , people exclusively interact through persuasion . Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may
sound to some.
When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force .
The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gang banger, and a single guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.
There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we’d be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a [armed] mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger’s potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat – it has no validity when most of a mugger’s potential marks are armed.
People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that’s the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly .
Then there’s the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser.
People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don’t constitute lethal force, watch too much TV , where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier, works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level.
The gun is the only weapon that’s as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weight lifter. It simply would not work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn’t both lethal and easily employable.
When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded . I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation… And that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act !!
By Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret.)
So the greatest civilization is one where all citizens are equally armed and can only be persuaded, never forced !!
This is worth printing and sharing with others…....right?
Remember freedom is not free.
I find it interesting that Janet Hasson, when sought out by the media this week, was unavailable for interviews either at her office or home. So earlier, she violated her hatred of guns by hiring armed guards. And now she violated the press bread and butter of the press by ignoring those seeking her comments on the story her paper created. So i recommend the public follow their exaample: (i) everyone should get armed and (ii) if approached by a Journal News reporter, say no comment and walk away. Be sure to make comments to rival papers but nothing to The Jounal News. If they won’t tak to outsiders, no one should talk to them.
Im curious with all of this biased media where is teh map of all of teh lives that were saved by legal gun owners….. Wait that would be against your political agenda so of course you wouldn’t want that to get published.
Hassan, Royle and other employees involved; your ethics are missing. Publishing the gun owner information is reckless and endangers lives. Did you not know this would cause criminals to come out of the woodwork? It will be you and each one of your group that assisted who will be ultimately responsible for every single hazard, theft or harm that happens. Unfortunately, what you did isn’t illegal, but it is immoral. I see someone created websites in your name and Royle’s name; hopefully the display of your information will unequivocally clarify to you how terribly exposed you’ve made all those people and also unintentionally exposed those that aren’t listed…so that you never do it again….what really was your motive by the way? The brief comment you made doesn’t add up.