A Right to Know [FREEP- Newspaper Editor Threatens to Publish Names of Gun Owners, AGAIN!]

Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | 1/16/04 | Doug Clifton, Editor

[TastyManatees]

A RIGHT TO KNOW

As a lifelong consumer of the written word displayed on paper, the prospect of talking to readers by way of a "blog" is a little unnerving.

I've decided to tip toe into these electronic waters because I recognize that to ignore change is to be consumed by it. At The Plain Dealer we communicate with our readers a number of ways, the pages of the paper being the most obvious.

But the "how to reach us" box on 2A lists e-mail addresses and phone numbers for senior editors and similar information appears at the bottom of every staff produced story. Those devices make the communication more personal and more immediate. Some times it's so personal and so immediate you can feel its heat.

In the last week or so most of the heat was generated by gun rights advocates who took exception to our announced intent to publish the names of those licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

For those unfamiliar with the issue here's a recap: Ohio is one of the few remaining states in the country that does not allow its citizens to carry a concealed firearm. Those who support so-called "concealed carry" laws have fought to years to get the legislature to pass one.

This year a compromise bill was crafted that overcame almost all of Governor Bob Taft's objections. The one sticking point was public access to the records. The governor, enthusiastically supported by newspaper editorials, insisted that the records be open to the public. The concealed carry advocates felt strongly that giving the public access to the records would violate the permit holders' right to privacy, perhaps expose them to danger and take away from criminals the element of surprise the bearer of a concealed weapon has over an assailant. Some argue that gun ownership information is a sacred right that government has no right to know or share.

In the end the governor and the concealed carry advocates compromised. They opened access to the press but closed it to all other citizens. The press, they argued, could exercise the oversight role as surrogates for the public. We at The Plain Dealer opposed that compromise as did the Ohio Newspaper Association and most of the other newspapers in Ohio. We don't believe the press should have rights to information the general public is denied.

We also believe that a democracy works best when the public has the capacity to inform itself if it so chooses and, certainly, the ability to learn whether someone in your neighborhood carries a concealed weapon should be among the things a citizen has a right to.

That would be our position on all kinds of license information, from marriage to fishing and all stops in between. That said, we also believe that if a record is open to one class of citizen - in this case the media - it should be open to all citizens.

To favor one group over another is unfair and probably unconstitutional. Besides, because "media" is so broadly defined the Ohio law would give access to permit records to anyone who worked for a publication of any description.

Under the Ohio concealed carry law the most disreputable journalist in the country working for the most disreputable publication would have access to the records but the parish priest, the school teacher, even the governor, would be denied.

So we decided that we had an obligation to share the information the legislature had given us the right to see. Gun advocates reacted angrily, mostly via e-mail. A few of the messages were civil explanations of the writer's position. But the vast majority were hate filled spewings, messages that do no service to folks with principled views on the subject.

For the record, our goal in publishing the names of permit holders is not to hold them up to ridicule, expose them to danger or blow their cover. It is to give the rest of the public what the legislature denied it.

If the records were open to public scrutiny there would be no need for us to publish them. But as long as the legislature creates this dual citizenship I think we have an obligation to share the information.

In subsequent blogs I hope to chat about how the paper makes decisions and respond to some of your comments. Obviously I won't be able to respond to everything said in this forum. But I will certainly read everything and learn from it in the process.

[TastyManatees]

The Editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Doug Clifton, has AGAIN threatened the citizens of Ohio. Specifically, the Plain Dealer is now threatening to publish the names and addresses of anyone who gets a concealed carry permit under Ohio's new permit law. A few days ago, Clifton wrote an editorial where he said:

"Since Taft chooses to hide behind journalists on this vital public-records matter, it is this newspaper's intention to obtain this information and publish it. Our readers deserve to know the identities of those who obtain permits to carry their guns in public. We hope other news organizations will do the same in their communities."

He defends his decision to publish the names and addresses of holders of concealed carry permits in his newspaper, and refers to the messages that immediately called him on his decision as:

"[H]ate filled spewings, messages that do no service to folks with principled views on the subject."

Please send this gentleman a thoughtful and civil note informing him how you feel about his decision to use his newspaper as a tool to discourage people in Ohio from pursuing their civil rights.

Doug Clifton's Direct E-mail is: DClifton@plaind.com.

Tasty Manatees

[NYCVirago]

But the "how to reach us" box on 2A lists e-mail addresses and phone numbers for senior editors and similar information appears at the bottom of every staff produced story. Those devices make the communication more personal and more immediate. Some times it's so personal and so immediate you can feel its heat.

Hey, Mr. Editor, instead of work phone numbers and emails for your staff, why not print your staff's home addresses and phone numbers? Don't the people have the right to know?

[TastyManatees]

Update. Ohio newspaper editor again threatens to misuse newspaper to puboish names and addresses of concealed carry permit holders.

Tasty Manatees

[baltodog]

Send him and his staff photos of their spouses and kids.

Simple as that.

[07055]

Why not require journalists be licensed too? After all, look at the harm a journalist can do to someone's reputation. Licensing will ensure the safety of the public.

[Orangedog]

Better yet, post them on a website.

[RightWhale]

This is a non-threat. Everyone should be presumed armed whether their weapon is concealed or not. That is not the point of concealed weapons.

[ClintonBeGone]

We should have access to any and all government records.

[CindyDawg]

Actually this might back fire. It will also show who isn't armed. Burglars will now be able to be more selective.

[Humidston]

Bingo! I was thinking the same thing! The bad guys will avoid all those people who DO have arms and concentrate on those unarmed sitting ducks!

And some of that paper's staff would probably fall into that category, LOL!

[DeepDish]

Send him and his staff photos of their spouses and kids.

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG Do it tit for tat. Publish widely his information but leave the family out of it. And let him know it before he publishes that two can play this game. Send nothing to him but the certainty that his personal info will be published just he does to others. It would be a mark of cowardice to intimidate the family as the wife probably knows she married a maroon and lives with her own burden.

[BenLurkin]

"Some argue that gun ownership information is a sacred right that government has no right to know or share. "

Yeah, I'd go with that.

[Drango]

This is easy to stop. Publish online the names, addresses and phone numbers of the editor, reporters and publisher.

And if that doesn't work publish the names and school where their kids attend. (Not a serious suggestion, just funning the editor)

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Is there any competition in Cleveland for the Plain Dealer?

Here's my suggestion for those in Ohio:

Write an email. Send it to all your friends who you think won't appreciate this, and encourage them to pass it on to others who might be Plain Dealer subscribers or live in Cleveland.

Include the Plain Dealer postal address, email contacts and phone numbers. Encourage them to write a letter, call, or both. Content along the lines of:

"If you choose to violate the privacy of law-abiding Cleveland citizens by publishing their personal information in your newspaper, that's an ability our legislature has given you, but be advised that if you do choose to do so, I personally will be cancelling my subscription immediately, and I will never be your customer again."

Encourage people to be polite. Polite, but firm. This is outrageous.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

A couple of key points again:

This is an outrageous violation of the privacy of law-abiding citizens.

If you choose to go through with this, I will cancel my subscription immediately -- and I will encourage all of my friends who subscribe to do the same.

And if they DO go through with it, then follow through.

Be polite, but let them know the consequences.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

A couple more notes (just to capture the steam escaping from my ears!)

They think they can get away with this because only 1 or 2% of citizens will apply for permits.

Your emails to friends should stress that this is a violation of EVERYBODY'S rights. Maybe along the lines of: "The Cleveland Plain Dealer plans to intimidate honest, law-abiding Cleveland citizens from exercising the right to defend themselves, their families and their neighbors - by openly publishing the name and address of anyone in Cleveland who dares to legally apply for a concealed carry permit..."

[Mark]

That was my thought also. Maybe even set up a website: Burglars Robbers-Rapists R Us - publish names and addresses of the libs not having guns.

[AdamSelene235]

Doug Clifton has been editor of The Plain Dealer since June 1, 1999. He began his newspaper career in 1970 at The Miami Herald's Action Line. Over the next 17 years he held a variety of reporting and editing assignments at The Herald, including city editor and deputy managing editor. He subsequently served as news editor of Knight Ridder's Washington bureau and as managing editor of The Charlotte Observer, another Knight Ridder newspaper.

Mr. Clifton returned to The Miami Herald in 1991 as executive editor. Under his leadership, The Herald won three Pulitzer Prizes, one for meritorious public service in 1992 for coverage of Hurricane Andrew, a second for commentary and a third for investigative reporting. During that time The Herald also was a Pulitzer finalist in feature writing, commentary, investigative reporting and twice in photography.

Clifton, originally from Brooklyn, New York, graduated from Dowling College in Long Island, with a political science degree and served three years in the U.S. Army, including a year as an artillery officer in Vietnam in the late 1960s. He and his wife, Peg Clifton, have two adult children and two grandchildren. They live in Bratenahl.

[Drango]

He and his wife, Peg Clifton, have two adult children and two grandchildren. They live in Bratenahl.

Where do the grandkids live? (Just joking)