Dan Hust | Democrat LOCAL RESIDENT TONY Leone makes a statement at Tuesday’s press conference at the Government Center in Monticello.

Release of gun owners' addresses causes stir

By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — Sullivan County Clerk Dan Briggs on Tuesday accused Bloomingburg attorney Glenn Kroll of potentially endangering the safety of county residents.
Kroll, the Democratic candidate to replace retiring District Attorney Steve Lungen, fired back, saying the Republican clerk’s hastily convened press conference was merely a political attack.
Indeed, Briggs was joined in the conference by Sheriff Michael Schiff, a Republican who is running for re-election this fall.
But both the clerk and the sheriff said they were motivated solely out of concern for the welfare of county citizens – especially police officers – who happen to also be licensed handgun owners.
On June 30, Kroll requested a list of all licensed pistol permit-holders in Sullivan County, based on records maintained by the county clerk’s office.
However, the clerk’s staff said they did not have that information available in the electronic form Kroll wanted, so the request was denied.
Kroll rewrote his request to ask for it “in whatever format you have,” by which time the county’s FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) officials had determined that the data did exist in electronic form.
Thus, just last week, Kroll was provided at least 5,000 names and addresses on a disc, the $1 fee being waived as an apology by the county.
Briggs, however, was shocked to discover that information was actually FOILable, and he said he wanted to at least speak with Kroll about his concerns before the disc was released.
Research Analyst Heather Brown, standing in for FOIL Officer Michelle Huck (who was out of the office), was only required by law to provide Kroll with the requested information, not force him to speak with the county clerk.
So Briggs subsequently called a press conference Tuesday to discuss his concerns openly.
“For the record, I am opposed to the public disclosure of names and addresses of those who hold pistol permits in Sullivan County,” he told a small crowd of onlookers and the press. “What explanation or use of this information could possibly override the safety and welfare of the people of Sullivan County?”
Briggs said most permit-holders would not be aware their information is publicly accessible, giving savvy criminals the upper hand when planning burglaries.
“This information, when considering that addresses have been provided, essentially provides a roadmap to people’s homes,” he worried. “... There are residents on this list, provided with addresses, which are either single parents or live alone.
“There are those who are currently in or have served in law enforcement, responsible for numerous arrests, and now must worry about how this information will be used and for what purpose,” Briggs said.
“I see no legitimate purpose for getting that information,” Sheriff Schiff said after the conference. “... This is not anybody’s business.”
Kroll, having walked in to the Government Center at the tail end of the conference, promised the list would not be used for anything other than soliciting votes.
“I wanted to send out a personalized letter to every licensed handgun owner in Sullivan County to advise them I’m a staunch supporter of their Second Amendment rights,” he explained, noting that he has been a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a gun safety instructor since his late teens.
He also owns a small collection of weapons and is a member of the Haven Hunting Club in Wurtsboro.
And he’s a supporter and donor of the Sullivan County chapter of the Friends of the NRA, acknowledging that he wants to show voters he’s more of a pro-gun-rights candidate than his Republican opponent, Jim Farrell.
“In no way, shape or form did I ever intend to disseminate this list to anyone else,” Kroll explained.
He did get a voicemail from Briggs about the situation, but when he returned the call, he, too, had to leave a voicemail. Thus, the two never spoke.
Nevertheless, Kroll was offended by Briggs’ handling of the situation.
“If Mr. Briggs was so fearful this list was dangerous, he did not have to comply with the request,” Kroll said, pointing out that Briggs could have refused to release the information and Kroll could have sued to get it (though Kroll didn’t plan to go that far). “He gave in real quick. He rolled over immediately.”
But it was out of Briggs’ hands, according to County Attorney Sam Yasgur.
“If we were only dealing with the Freedom of Information Law, I would have denied the whole thing on the grounds of invasion of privacy,” Yasgur said this week.
But Section 400 of the NYS Penal Law stipulates that “the name and address of any person to whom an application for any [firearms] license has been granted shall be a public record.”
In Yasgur’s view, that trumps even the section of FOIL that says the disclosure of home addresses of public employees – like police officers – is not required.
Yasgur, like Briggs and Schiff, wants the law changed to prohibit what they view as an invasion of privacy. A proposal to that end is currently in discussion in Albany.
Kroll took no position on whether or not FOIL rules should be amended. But he broke no law, and he’s incensed Briggs and Schiff would attempt to discredit him this way.
“Remember which team they’re on,” he said.
Briggs denied Kroll’s accusation as being “absurd,” saying he had an obligation to inform the public of a potential breach of their security – even if it meant clueing in a large audience to the FOILability of this information.
“What do you do: not do it and have the info out there and people don’t know about it?” Briggs asked. “... I think this transcends politics.”
He pointed out that he never once mentioned Kroll’s candidacy during the press conference – though the clerk did make note of an accusation that Kroll improperly distributed material about his services to county jail inmates, a charge that has been political fodder for months.
One thing that will change is how the county handles FOIL requests, said County Manager David Fanslau, who was not pleased that Yasgur waived the fee, however small.
He said he will ensure “the county attorney does not direct my staff without going through the proper protocol,” lamenting that he was not fully aware of the situation beforehand.
In the meantime, Fanslau will encourage legislators to discuss in committee the FOILability of such material, as he shares Yasgur, Briggs and Schiff’s concerns about the addresses of gun owners being publicly available.
“There are some scenarios where the information should be protected from public disclosure,” he said.