Ban sought on publicizing concealed carry permits

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution Tuesday asking state lawmakers to make it crime to publish information about Idaho’s concealed weapons permit holders.

Idaho law already exempts such records from being disclosed under the state’s public records law, although Commissioner Mike Nielsen is concerned a rogue employee with access to those records could leak them to the press or online, as occurred in the cases of Chelsea Elizabeth Manning and Edward Snowden.

Manning, formerly known as Bradley Edward Manning, leaked classified information to the WikiLeaks website while serving in the U.S. Army. Snowden, meanwhile, is accused of leaking top secret information about the National Security Agency’s global surveillance programs.

Nielsen emphasized that state law forbids the release of concealed weapon permit holders, but not its publication.

“This is a step to protect that protected information from being published,” said Nielsen.

The resolution was prompted by a recent report published by Fox News that Civitas Media planned to obtain concealed weapon permit through state and federal public records laws to compile a nationwide database.

Civitas disputed the report and said the company has never had plans to publish such information in print or online.

“A poorly crafted internal memo meant to highlight editorial discussions and planning incorrectly indicated that such a database was being planned; it has been considered and rejected,” Civitas CEO Michael C. Bush said in a statement published last week.

Civitas Media publishes more than 80 papers, all of which are concentrated in the Midwest and South, according to the company’s website. The company has no holdings in the West or Northwest.

Nielsen is calling for publication of Idaho’s concealed carry information to be a felony offense and include a civil penalty provision so permit holders can hold publishers liable.

“It’s only dollars that make people respond. If we make it bite hard enough, I think we can protect the information,” said Nielsen.

Idaho’s governor and lawmakers, however, would have to decide whether to take up such a measure, let alone potential penalties. They also would have to parse through the conflicts between the First and Second constitutional amendments.

The Journal News in New York state published an interactive map in 2012 showing the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in two counties,  drawing the ire of gun rights advocates and threats against the newspaper’s staff. The map was published in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Connecticut.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation keeps track of Idaho’s concealed weapons permits, as do Idaho State Police and county sheriffs.

Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said he advised state lawmakers last weekend that he would share the information “over his dead body.”

“I would never, ever release that list,” Wheeler said on Tuesday.