Paper That Published Addresses of Gun Owners Now Concerned With Rights of COMMENTERS on Their Website

LoHud.com, the website of The Journal News (TJN) that published an interactive map which includes the names and addresses of law-abiding handgun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties in the state of New York, ironically, is now ultra-worried with the "rights" of people who COMMENT on their website and on their Facebook page. The Journal News doesn't care so much about the right of a citizen to LEGALLY DEFEND themselves from bodily injury at the hand of a criminal (as long as you use a handgun to defend yourself, that is - knives, samurai swords, golf clubs, hammers, crossbows, forks, machetes, & banjos are apparently A-OK). BUT NOW The Journal News is going to be extra-vigilant in making sure you do as THEY wish online, too. They're going to make it "safe" for those who are currently "afraid" to comment to feel as though they can do so. And, they're going to block you from commenting if you don't behave. The Journal News has listed their TOS for you to peruse prior to posting your comments. (I found NOTHING on their website stating that they would publish your email, IP address, operating system, browser type, and a map to your house if you fail to abide by their rules...if you post nasty/stupid/ignorant/waste-of-time comments on this blog I, however, WILL do so.) ;)

Below you'll find a portion of the statement posted on LoHud's website and Facebook page earlier today (emphasis mine):

A note about comments and our Terms of Service

We have received an enormous and intense response since publication of the Westchester/Rockland gun permit holders map on LoHud.com. Many of the comments have contributed to an important community discussion. Many, however, have violated LoHud.com’s Terms of Service and Community Rules. We want to hear from all voices and all perspectives, but the tenor of the commentary on LoHud.com and on our Facebook page, located at facebook.com/lohud, has kept many of our users from joining the conversation. To that end, we remind our users that, per our Terms of Service, “We ... reserve the right to terminate the use of any username or account, or to deny access to the Site or any features of the Site, to anyone who violates these Terms of Service or who, in our sole judgment, interferes with the ability of others to enjoy our website or infringes the rights of others.”

(If you wish to read the remainder of the statement posted by The Journal News, go HERE or see the first picture below.)

While it is NOT a violation of someone's first amendment right to block them from posting a comment or to delete their comments from any online forum, it IS just a tad bit ironic coming from TJN since TJN has taken such a holier-than-thou attitude when dealing with what could create LIFE or DEATH situations for some of those they "outed" with their silly map stunt (police officers, crime/domestic abuse/stalking victims). The fact that TJN is now so seemingly concerned with the "tenor of the commentary" on their sites is downright laughable. While TJN has been dealing with some "real" threats this week...
1. "Police probe suspicious envelope received by The Journal News"
2. "Suspicious powder sent to Journal News, 2nd time in a week",
3. "Bomb squad responds to suspicious package at Journal News editor's home"...as a result of their little map stunt, one would think that TJN would be more concerned with letting people have their say online...as opposed to making it necessary for people to begin sending in their comments via snail mail. Just a thought.

The following is a screen shot of the message TJN posted on their Facebook page:

Killed by banjos?
Yes.
Banjos.

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