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Bangor Daily News Seeks List of Concealed Weapons Holders from Presque Isle PD
By: David Deschesne Fort Fairfield Journal, February 14, 2013 PRESQUE ISLE, Maine —The mindless, arrogant, ignorant leftists at the Bangor Daily News have yet again demonstrated brazen stupidity by demanding a list of all Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permit holders in the city of Presque Isle, as well as other towns across the State.In a letter dated February 13, 2013, Bangor Daily News Managing Editor, Susan Young requested the Presque Isle Police Department “make available for inspection and copying, pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. §408, the records of concealed weapons permits, including the names, addresses and dates of birth of permit holders, that are maintained by the Town of Presque Isle or the Presque Isle Police Department and kept in accordance with and made available to the pubic in 25 M.R.S.A. §2006.” The letter goes on to state, “the Bangor Daily News does not intend to publish wholesale identifying information included in this list.” But, Ms. Young stopped short of actually making any guarantees or promises. In response to the request, Presque Isle Police Chief, Matt Irwin posted on the PIPD’s Facebook page, “While I object to this request, there is no legal basis that I know of which would allow me to disregard or not fulfill it; state law seems to be very clear.” Chief Irwin further stated, “Beyond the general concern for an individual’s privacy, I am concerned for permit holders who may be victims of domestic violence and/or stalking crimes and people who have active protection orders and their whereabouts are unknown to the offender/other party. If you believe you fall into one of these categories and have been issued a permit by the Presque Isle Police Department, please call the police department and explain your issue or send us a private message via Facebook. While I will likely have to provide your information, I will segregate your permit information and make clear to the Bangor Daily News how your personal life may be disrupted/impacted by the release of this information.” The Bangor Daily News seems to be operating under the deluded mindset so prevalent in today’s communist press; that a person who has agreed to comply with the law, undergo a background check, participate in a handgun safety course, and submit to the permit process is someone who needs to be identified in a public forum as either a potential criminal, or murderer. In December, 2012, the Journal News in New York raised a firestorm of criticism when it published the names and addresses of all concealed weapon permit holders in Westchester and Putnam counties, along with an online map to pinpoint the permit holders’ homes. Privacy issues aside, what the Journal News unwittingly did was provide a free roadmap for criminals who wish to rob homes to either know which ones likely weren’t protected by firearms, or to let them know which homes had firearms they could steal and fence for a quick buck. Also compromised in the Journal News’ ill -conceived initiative were undercover police officers’ and prison guards’ names and home addresses.“If newspapers would like to know who has concealed weapons permits, then they should know the Governor has his," said Maine Governor, Paul LePage. "I have serious concerns that BDN’s request will incite fear among gun owners and non-gun owners alike regarding their safety. There is no reason why these records should be public and I encourage the Legislature to act quickly to make this personal information confidential. As I have said, the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms will not be questioned while I am Governor. That is especially true for those who respect the law enough to go through the process of obtaining a permit to carry concealed.” What the Bangor Daily News, and all other communist-oriented news rags fail to realize is the reason they even enjoy the right to a free press is there are still gun owners preventing a tyrannical, dictatorial police state from imposing on them to begin with. However, if they have their way—like a snake eating its own tail—they will have all gun owners compromised and abolished, thereby paving the way for an out of control government and the demise of their once coveted position as an unencumbered news reporting agency safeguarding the rights of a once free society. Addendum The Bangor Daily News recently rescinded its request for the CCW records a couple of days after submitted, due to a huge public outcry and threats of boycotts of their advertisers across Maine. They are, however, seeking “other sources” to obtain the information. In their editorial on the subject, they complained that those who were against the records release were engaging in “rampant misinformation” and “political opportunism” and admitted they have more work to do in order to adequately propagandize the idea of open reporting of CCW permit holders to the general public. There are confirmed reports at this time that requests for those records are coming from a private group friendly to the anti -gun movement as a proxy to obtain those records. The Maine legislature is currently considering emergency legislation that would prevent the release of any CCW records to anyone in the public.
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