In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., the Journal News in Westchester County, New York, made freedom of information requests for pistol permit holders in its home county and neighboring Rockland County. The paper published the permit information, including the names and addresses of the permit holders, in an interactive map Dec. 22.
The data covered all permit types – residential, business, target and hunting among them – but for pistols only. Because New York does not require permits for rifles and shotguns, those weapons were not included.
The interactive functionality allowed users to view specific names and addresses of permit holders, pinpointed on a scalable map.
