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Putnam Loses Bid To Withhold Gun-Owner Data

This story has been updated.

The Journal News' interactive maps for Westchester (shown here) and Rockland published in December 2012.

The Journal News' interactive maps for Westchester (shown here) and Rockland published in December 2012.

Photo Credit: irevolutions.org

CARMEL, N.Y. – Putnam County has lost a bid to keep secret the names of gun owners who didn’t opt out of a public database, according to a report by lohud.com.

A state judge ruled two years ago that names and addresses had to be disclosed, but the county took its case to the state’s Appellate Division, lohud.com reported.

That four-judge panel unanimously ruled that The Journal News/lohud is entitled to those names, and the only recourse the county now has is to get the state Court of Appeals’ OK to challenge it, the lohud.com story said.

Journal News executive editor Traci Bauer applauded the open records win but said the newspaper did not plan to “revisit” the gun permit information.

Despite the loss, the county claimed victory, saying that the court agreed with their position that the exemptions contained in the New York State Freedom of Information Law must be still be applied.

 “As promised, we will see this through to the end, and therefore we will be seeking permission to appeal the order to hand over the records to the New York State Court of Appeals," County Executive MaryEllen Odell said. "I am committed to not providing these records which not only is an invasion of privacy, but also places all of our residents, gun owners and non-gun owners alike, in harm’s way”.

To read the Journal News/lohud.com story, click here.

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