OUR VIEW: Proposed law would limit your right to know | thestarpress.com | The Star Press
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) exhibited by typical journalists in our country who are, deservedly, losing their grip/monopoly on information dissemination/analysis after proving themselves unworthy of such a responsibility.
I don't care if they are atheists they are still citizens. 
OUR VIEW: Proposed law would limit your right to know
Want to know whether your friend or neighbor has a permit to carry a gun? Today you can get that information.
Starting July 1, there will be no way to know if a bill before the House Natural Resources Committee is enacted.
A bill authored by Rep. Peggy Welch, a Democrat from the Brown County area, removes from public inspection information about people carrying gun permits. Welch's bill would allow journalists and academic researchers access to generalized data from the Indiana State Police, but would not allow specific permit information about an individual.
This is not a good idea. This bill needs to be severely amended or allowed to die in committee.
Here's why:
Say, for example, you want to find out whether there are any convicted child molesters living in your neighborhood. You have young children, and like any good parent, you look up the information on available Web sites. Your research uncovers several living in your neighborhood. If you want to know whether they have permits to carry a gun, you can get that information. This bill, however, would prohibit that information from being made known.
Welch's bill was sparked, at least in part, by investigative reporting in two unrelated stories by The (Bloomington) Herald-Times and The Indianapolis Star. The Bloomington newspaper's story reported on the number of permits, by street, in Monroe County. Seems reasonable to know whether your neighbor has a permit to carry a gun. The newspaper also posted a database with the information.
The Indianapolis Star uncovered numerous cases where the Indiana State Police granted permits to individuals despite the recommendations of the Indianapolis Police Department that the permits be denied. The newspaper also found situations where the permits should have been denied due to criminal convictions of the applicants.
Unless the bill, HB1068 is amended, this kind of examination of the gun permit process will be closed. It will be impossible for a newspaper -- or you -- to dig for this information.
It also will be nearly impossible to find out whether police or other members are denying permits to legitimate applicants, maybe because of race or names that might denote a Muslim background, for example.
As for allowing journalists access to generalized data: That information is useless. About all that could be gleaned is how many permits were issued and in what city or county -- maybe.
When lawmakers introduce bills to remove information from the public, it's usually the public that loses. This bill is no exception. It seems designed to placate law enforcement from being embarrassed by their gaffes.
It's a bad bill and should not get a favorable vote in its current form.
by alienating subscribers with their ignorance, and pathetic reporting. I would be ashamed to put my name on an article written like that.
You would think this was California or something.
