22 June 2010
A sends 22 June 2010:
I believe that it is a violation of the privacy of any and all law abiding citizens who has followed all of the legal steps to obtain a pistol permit. These are people who have passed federal background checks and have had interviews with police officers. They don't give these permits out to prisoners or felons. No way. What is the purpose of your list? Why post it? I believe it may give a directory for thieves to pick and choose houses to target to steal guns. This list is possibly endangering the lives of doctors, lawyers, police officers, and other regular law abiding people.
Please take down this list!
20 June 2010
This page was originally at http://www.whospackingny.com, downloaded on 16 June 2010. The original site operator, using an anonymizing email, asked Cryptome on 16 June 2010 to mirror the NY concealed firearms databases after receiving threats for hosting the publicly-available information. Sometime after 16 June 2010 the original site was configured to redirect requests for access to the Cryptome homepage.
Cryptome's purpose it to host controversial and banned information. Comments welcomed for publication, anonymity assured. Send to cryptome[at]earthlink.net. Other contact information at http://cryptome.org/other-stuff.htm
New York Penal Law § 400.00(5)
5. Filing of approved applications. The application for any license, if granted,
shall be filed by the licensing officer with the clerk of the county of issuance,
except that in the city of New York and, in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk,
the licensing officer shall designate the place of filing in the appropriate
division, bureau or unit of the police department thereof, and in the county
of Suffolk the county clerk is hereby authorized to transfer all records
or applications relating to firearms to the licensing authority of that county.
The name and address of any person to whom an application for any
license has been granted shall be a public record. Upon application
by a licensee who has changed his place of residence such records or applications
shall be transferred to the appropriate officer at the licensee's new place
of residence. A duplicate copy of such application shall be filed by the
licensing officer in the executive department, division of state police,
Albany, within ten days after the issuance of the license. Nothing in
this subdivision shall be construed to change the expiration date or term
of such licenses if otherwise provided by law.
This site provides public access to certain fields from the master pistol permit database maintained by the Pistol Permit Bureau of the New York State Police.
Full downloads:
Search is disabled for now. You can open the whole database above in any spreadsheet or text editor and search them more effectively that way.
What is this?
These records consist of certain fields from the pistol permit master database as of April 5, 2010. Despite the term "master database," the pistol permit bureau actually maintains two databases, labeled "old system" and "new system." It appears that all new pistol permits have gone into the "new system" database. Importantly, it seems that the "old system" lacks locational identifying data on permit-holders, and individuals remain in the "old system" despite permit renewals/amendments. All that is provided for the old database is a list of names. There are almost 900,000 names in the old database versus just over 300,000 entries in the new database.
To understand the master database, a little background on pistol licensing in the state of New York is necessary. With a few exceptions (broadly, for peace officers, military, and temporary presence for transit or certain special events), possession of a pistol is illegal in New York without a pistol permit, which must be carried with the pistol. Pistol permits are issued locally by the designated licensing officers of the counties/cities. Licensing will involve a background check by local and state police, but the application is made to local authorities, the permit is issued by local authorities at their discretion, and the record of the permit is kept by local authorities. However, when a permit is granted or amended, the local authorities must promptly transmit this information to the state police to be recorded in the master database.
Although the definitive records of pistol permits are kept by dozens of local agencies that are only easily available locally, the master database is available to law enforcement across the state. In theory, the master database should be kept consistent with all these local records. In fact, the database is riddled with errors, omissions, and some outright garbage, and in some cases may not match local records.
Why is my address on this site?
Pistol permits are public records under New York law. Under current law, New Yorkers have a right to know who in their state is licensed to legally possess a pistol, or conversely, who is not licensed. See the statute quoted at the top of this page.
The state police have maintained these public records since 1936. If you do not think this information should be public, you should contact your state legislators in the assembly or senate. If you disagree with New York's pistol licensing scheme, you should contact your state legislator. If you believe these records are being mismanaged, you should contact your state legislator or the appropriate officials in state executive. If you find a specific error that you believe should be corrected, contact the state police or your local law enforcement officers.
DISCLAIMER
The pistol permit database records are provided as disclosed by the State of New York. No representations are made as to the quality or accuracy of this information. Pistol permits are issued, revoked, and amended on a daily basis; the records on this website were extracted on or about April 5, 2010. Nothing on this page is to be construed as legal advice. Criminal possession of a firearm is a very serious matter and you should consult with an attorney if you have any questions about the legality of any action.
Feedback
You can email feedback to a2978453@owlpic.com if you wish. Do not expect a response.
This website, with the exception of the graphic, is in the public domain.
Copy freely.