Fairfax, Va. – The careless action by the Bloomington Herald-Times making public the private information of Indiana's Right-to-Carry permit holders drew widespread outrage after NRA alerted members to this senseless act and urged them to contact the paper and its advertisers to express their displeasure. Thanks to the efforts of NRA members, one of the newspaper’s pro-Second Amendment advertisers has taken a stand.
In a press release issued December 10 from Bloomington Harley-Davidson the business states, “Harley-Davidson of Bloomington believes in freedom and is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights … We believe the decision of the Herald-Times, a valued business partner, to publish a searchable database of gun permit holders in the state of Indiana by street, is an unnecessary and dangerous practice.”
“I want to sincerely thank Harley-Davidson of Bloomington for their strong support of Indiana gun owners. Gun owners appreciate their principled denunciation of the Bloomington Herald-Times’ reckless action of publishing a database of law-abiding right-to-carry permit holders,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA-ILA. “Our freedom is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we are grateful to have businesses like Harley-Davidson of Bloomington on the side of the Second Amendment.”
On Dec. 1 the Bloomington Herald-Times published a searchable database of individual law-abiding right-to-carry permit holders. While house numbers were not included, the database continues to be searchable by street name and zip code. It remains NRA’s firm belief that media outlets abuse their First Amendment rights when they harass and demonize lawful citizens for exercising their Second Amendment rights.
“Once again, NRA members and gun owners have stood up on principle, and have shown that they will not tolerate any effort by a media outlet to try and malign law-abiding gun owners” concluded Cox. “NRA remains steadfast in our commitment to seek a legislative remedy to ensure that media outlets in Indiana and across the country will no longer be able to exploit lawful gun owners.”
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Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.