Well, it’s about time.
Posted at 6:59 pm | Filed Under Firearms, Rants, Uncategorized
Those of you who know us here at Black Cat Research know that we’re pretty uptight at the Roanoke Times over Christian Trejbal’s recent article, “Shedding light on concealed handguns.” It’s our opinion that this article was a prime example of irresponsible journalism. In his article, he likens concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders to sex offenders and suggests they should be put on an interactive map like said offenders. He insinuates that CHP holders are prone to violence and that people should “avoid annoying them.”
Trejbal acquired from the State Police a CD full of CHP holder data — names, addresses, issue and expiration dates. No problem there, right? Then he went so far as to have the data posted on the Times’ web site in a searchable database form. Now we have a problem, ladies and gentlemen. He acquired the information under the premise of checking on open government and public records, and then published the entire list.
In doing so, he effectively offered crooks an opportunity to anonymously surf the web (library, anyone) and gather up a list of who may have firearms in the home or vehicle. Ordinarily it would cost an individual a trip to the courthouse or State Police office to make a request for this information. Are our average crooks going to make that visit? Don’t hold your breath.
Further, he singled out several prominent individuals in the community and listed each person’s status as CHP holder or non-holder. That’s just rude, we say.
And on top of that, he used a First Amendment right to trample on those who would express their Second Amendment rights. We can find some irony here, and it really doesn’t take that long to do so.
The controversy didn’t take long to get started. Within a week, the comments page on the Times’ web site had nearly 500 responses. The Times elected soon after to remove the database, a very good move in the eyes of many. (Though we believe the Times should not have posted it in the first place.)
The local news caught wind of this in a hurry, particularly after the police and bomb squad were called to Trejbal’s home upon his discovery of a “suspicious package.” (WDBJ7 link here) Turns out the package was simply a batch of packing materials.
Letters to the paper were written by the hundreds. Subscriptions were cancelled. Water-cooler chats dealt with the topic for days. And the controversy kept itself aflame. Many of the responses the Times received were threatening, and it appears that the Times has the good sense to recognize that those came from “the fringe.”
Well, this morning’s lead editorial is entitled “Lessons learned in database incident.” And the Times apologizes for the incident. Sort of. The Times maintains that it had legal right to publish the information, and acknowledges it failed to think enough about the potential for harm. Quoting: “The potential for harm is something we should have given far greater thought to in making the decision. For our failure to do so, The Roanoke Times apologizes.”
Good for the Times for apologizing. Now it’s Trejbal’s turn. We at BCR think Trejbal should write and publish his own apology, and it had better be convincing. He should apologize for criminalizing CHP holders and likening them to sex offenders. He should apologize to the former crime victims, the law enforcement community members, and the public officials included in the list, many of whom take great care to keep a low profile and make themselves a bit more difficult to find. He should apologize to the entire group of over 135,000 Virginia CHP holders. And he should write additional letters to the individuals he listed specifically, asking for their forgiveness and understanding.
And if he decides to go [quietly] back to Oregon or Ohio or wherever else he’s from, we’re okay with that too.
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