Last week the Supreme Court issued a decision striking down a New York gun law that puts unconstitutional restrictions on concealed carry of a gun out in public, as the Globe reported.
Less than one week later, it appears the California Attorney General leaked the state database of names and addresses of the state’s legal gun owners and concealed carry permit holders.
How could this happen – is it accidental or deliberate? California gun owners cheered the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirming that state officials cannot require concealed carry applicants to show “proper cause” and “demonstrate a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community.”
“The California Department of Justice’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal went live on Monday with publicly-accessible files that include identifying information for those who have concealed carry permits. The leaked information includes the person’s full name, race, home address, date of birth, and date their permit was issued. The data also shows the type of permit issued, indicating if the permit holder is a member of law enforcement or a judge.”
The AG’s Firearms Dashboard Portal is currently down:
The Reload reported they reviewed a copy of the Lost Angeles County database and found 244 judge permits listed in the database including the home addresses, full names, and dates of birth for all of them. “The same was true for seven custodial officers, 63 people with a place of employment permit, and 420 reserve officers.”
Last year Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 171 into law, which allows the state to share personal information of gun owners with gun violence research organizations.
Bill analysis of AB 171 specifies “the DOJ may at its discretion, also disclose specified information, to other nonprofit bona fide research institutions that are accredited by the United State Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation for the study of violence prevention in the matter prescribed. Requires that any material identifying individuals to only be used for research and statistical purposes and prohibits reports or publications derived from the material from identifying any specific individuals. Requires DOJ to establish procedures for these requests and allows researchers to be charged reasonable fees related to their requests.”
The Reload reported that the office of Attorney General Rob Bonta confirmed private information had been exposed and said they are examining the situation.
“We are investigating an exposure of individuals’ personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard,” a spokesperson for the office told The Reload. “Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”
The Reload published a statement from the California Rifle & Pistol Association, which they say “slammed the leak and said it was looking into potential legal action against the state.”
“Vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information,” Chuck Michel, CRPA President, told The Reload. “CRPA is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by DOJ’s doxing of law abiding gun owners. Litigation is likely.”
Attorney General Bonta announced the new and updated firearms data available through the California Department of Justice (DOJ)’s 2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal in a press release Monday:
“Transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve. As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence. One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen California’s commonsense gun laws. Today’s announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state.”
“Instead, the leaked private information of gun owners is likely to increase the risk criminals will target their homes for burglaries–something the state’s dashboard reports happened 145,377 times in 2020 alone,” the Reload reported.
In a statement following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, Attorney General Bonta said, “We are working with the Governor and the legislature to advance legislation that is both constitutional and will maintain safety for Californians. In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, and with gun deaths at an all-time high, ensuring that dangerous individuals are not allowed to carry concealed firearms is more important than ever. The data is clear and the consequences are dire — more guns in more places make us less safe. In California, we are committed to passing and defending commonsense, constitutional gun laws that save lives.”
Someone who believes “more guns in more places make us less safe” is likely to have illegally leaked the database of California’s legal gun owners following the landmark Supreme Court decision. And if so, legal recourse is called for immediately.
View Comments (35)
Oh, right ------ an "accidental" leak that was a "coincidence." Do I need to say that was sarcasm? I don't think so. These people are out of control.
YES, absolutely, agree completely: IMMEDIATE legal recourse is a MUST.
Well said , Show !
I hope some hacker does not 'leak' personal info on Bonta ,
his family and friends,co-workers, etc.
It would be a shame if he had to feel as exposed and violated as he just made thousands of
Californians feel.
I have news for him, the reason that people need a CCW permit is because not everybody has their own private security guards ,like I am sure he probably does.
We know that Newsom does.
If they are SO against guns, they should not have armed security detail everywhere they go.
Double standard.
6254.21.
(a) No state or local agency shall post the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official on the Internet without first obtaining the written permission of that individual.
(b) No person shall knowingly post the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official, or of the official’s residing spouse or child, on the Internet knowing that person is an elected or appointed official and intending to cause imminent great bodily harm that is likely to occur or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm to that individual. A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor. A violation of this subdivision that leads to the bodily injury of the official, or his or her residing spouse or child, is a misdemeanor or a felony.
FOUND ON ROB BONTAS WEBSITE
And AB 171 (now law) "allows the State to share personal information of gun owners with 'gun violence research organizations?'" Well, that's convenient, isn't it? (!!!)
As long as CA Atty General Rob Bonta and his like-minded "friends" are still in office, given that it takes A LOT to swallow that this is an accident or a coincidence, there will always be the threat that such a breach will happen again. There MUST be consequences for what has happened here.
So leaking PII info is ok as long as it is dealing with law abiding citizens exercising a constitutionally protected right. If I am not mistaken, the penalty for "mishandling" Personably Identifiable Information(PII) is $5000 per occurrence. Is the AG going to be held accountable? Will anyone in the department that facilitated the publication of PII be held accountable or lose their position or job? I doubt it. In my profession, the state can and will revoke my license ending my business immediately if such a incident occurred. This is becoming a they/us problem, rules for thee not for me.
Democrats are ruthless, lacking morals, values, and real life common sense. It might be a result from the COVID vaccine but I doubt it since Hilary and Bill had these symptoms years ago. Thank you Katy Grimes for all your reporting!
How do we file a Civil lawsuit?!!
More messed up nonsense from the incompetent CADOJ and Attorney General! Talk about sore losers first they trample all over gun owners' rights under the guise of public safety and then when they get their A$$ kicked in court they resort to crap like this. No LE I knows has any type of respect for the CADOJ and for just this reason. If you look at something like Megan's Law website which the DOJ is mandated to maintain about sexual offenders in California,, some of these predators don't even have a photo as part of their online file, the most important piece of any sexual offender's public file. In Los Angeles alone over 500 sexual offenders on Megan's Law website did not have a picture. Disgraceful!
I would like to participate in the Class Action Law Suit against the State of California and the Attorney General Rob Bonta for this reckless negligence and poor regard for the safety of the citizens of the State of California. Claims that the unreasonable AB171 allows for this sensitive information to be released for research is completely heinous and jeopardizes the safety and well being of too many law abiding Californians
Can we jail everyone involved in the release?
I second that!!
I would like to write a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta, what is his address, phone number and e-mail ? If needed, you can leak it to we the readers of this post. ???? Thank you.
Stop voting for any Democrat