Here is an excerpt from a 1/13 Boston Globe editorial. Perhaps the stupidest proposal I have heard yet, and Exh. A for why people who don't use or own firearms should not be proposing ideas for gun control legislation:

Quote:
In Massachusetts, in addition to clearing a federal background check to buy a gun, owners also must have a license issued by local police. Those licenses should be public information, as a similar type of permit required for pistols in New York already is. In New York, that data allowed a newspaper in White Plains to publish its much-discussed map of local pistol-permit holders. Making the information public gives residents a clearer idea about the extent of gun ownership in their community, and alerts them to potential safety risks — for instance, if a gun permit were granted to someone with a history of domestic violence. In Massachusetts, because decisions about who receives a license are made on the local level, publicizing them would also serve as a check on favoritism or other improper actions by police. Gun advocates worry that opening the names of license-holders to scrutiny would provide thieves with a shopping list, or stigmatize gun owners, but those concerns need to take a back seat to public safety and accountability.

Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there.