The Sandusky [Ohio] Register on June 24 published the names, ages and home counties of the almost 2,700 concealed carry permit holders in its circulation area. Ohio gun laws restrict public access to concealed carry records but allow the media to access them.
In retaliation – and to illustrate the ease of finding personal information when given a name – the BFA began printing personal information about Sandusky Register Managing Editor Matt Westerhold.
On its website, the group has printed Westerhold’s phone numbers, automobile records, traffic ticket record, the address of a home he owns and information about the mortgage on the property.
This is an interesting Open Records fight for several reasons:
1. Why should “media” have access to records that the public does not, as is the case under Ohio law? This smacks of elitism and brings to mind Nixon’s famous quote, “Trust me.”
2. The arguments for maintaining secrecy of concealed carry permit holders appear to be similar to the arguments made by AIDS infected individuals. Disclosure would be embarrassing.
Security concerns are commonly raised in Open Records cases. As a practical matter, the effect of Open Records on security appears to be minimal or positive. The most publicized security claim alleged for blocking Open Records was made to stop this WEB site from publicizing the names, addresses, and photos of members of the Sex Offender Registry.
The results of making the records public were so uniformly positive that as of last count, 36 states have made the release mandatory, and most make the information available for free on the Internet.
The Open Records Project has argued from its founding that public information encourages public trust in government and trust between fellow citizens.
3. Disclosure of the managing editor’s personal information would seem to be an interesting response. One might want to see his campaign contributions as well.
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