[Drizzt]

Local man's letter evokes gun owners' wrath

Cook County News-Herald
Last Updated: Thursday, June 05th, 2003 11:31:11 AM

Vicki Biggs-Anderson/Publisher

Keith Kuckler’s letter was a mere 39 words in length. He says now that they were probably a bit sarcastic. Yet never did he imagine that writing a brief letter to the editor would result in his driver’s license number and other details of his private life being posted on an Internet gun-owners rights site.

Kuckler, who lives and works in Grand Marais and is currently a member of the county planning commission, wrote his letter to the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune after the state legislature passed a law loosening requirements for obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon. It was dubbed the “conceal and carry” law.

The letter appeared in the Sunday, May 18 edition of the paper.

Two weeks later, on Monday, June 2, Kuckler was preparing to be interviewed by a Duluth television news crew about the fallout. He also talked to the News-Herald.

“The Monday after the letter appeared I had about 25 e-mails from people, none of which threatened violence, but they all threatened to violate my privacy by publishing my personal information on the Internet,” Kuckler said.

Perplexed as to how so many people of a certain bent would be zeroing in on him, he followed a link in one of the e-mails to a pro-conceal and carry Web site, www.packing.org.

The page greets visitors with “Welcome to Packing.org. This is a great place to find out how to legally carry a concealed weapon, if it is possible in your state.”

Farther down the page there is a link to the chat rooms where Kuckler’s letter was posted. The reactions to it were mostly negative. Some were positively threatening. And several were clearly meant to silence him and those who thought as he did.

The site manager linked the mention of Kuckler’s letter to the Star Tribune Web site, calling it “The Red Star,” an allusion to Communistic tendencies.

Then, within a matter of hours, Kuckler’s home address, telephone number, e-mail address and complete driver’s license information were posted on the site. Detailed directions to his home were also included, with suggestions that he might be getting some unexpected visitors thanks to his letter.

Fortunately, some people were put off by the tone of the reactions. It was noted by several visitors to the site that Kuckler had a right to voice his opinion without being harassed in this way.

“In a way this is kind of chilling, I talked to Jim Boyd (a neighbor and Star Tribune editorial page deputy editor) about this and he really didn’t want to talk about how easy it is to get this information off the Internet just by having your name at the end of a letter,” Kuckler said.

“I am not anti-gun. I grew up in a farm family where we hunted and fished and had hunting guns in the house. It’s not like I never shot a gun. I don’t choose to have them around now, but I’m not some anti-gun nut.

“I will admit, I was being a bit sarcastic, but having the information published in the paper is one of those things which might prevent someone from casually getting a permit,” Kuckler said.

He said he was not frightened by the reaction to his letter and only hesitated coming forward because he did not want to dampen others’ enthusiasm for writing their opinion.

“I was really kind of flabbergasted because I didn’t expect that kind of response. I think it’s a sorry state when you can’t voice your opinion without being intimidated,” Kuckler said.



Text of Keith Kuckler’s letter

“If concealed weapons permits are a matter of public record, why not have the names of permit holders published in our newspapers? This will give all of us the chance to know who our neighbors with concealed handguns are.”

Published in the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, May 18, 2003.

http://www.grandmarais-mn.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=142985

Doing stuff like this does not win us any friends.... Fortunately, I know THIS crew would never stoop that low.

[dance varmint]

A rat I smell. (A little Yoda there.)

It's fairly simple for an online "extremist" to in fact be an anti who can anticipate good press coming from this sort of tactic.

[AJ Dual]

I'd never do such a thing either.

But "Sauce for the Goose and sauce for the Gander" does come to mind...

I also notice how his letter isn't published until the very end of the article, hoping the casual skimmer of the article will get the impression that the harassment was completely unprovoked, instead of being more of a "careful what you wish for", Shoe on the other foot sort of ironic situation.

[Justin]

I'm sure that Mr. Kuckler will take a moment to stop and think before shooting his mouth off about invading other people's right to privacy. Sometimes gettin' hit with a clue-by-four isn't pretty.

[pytron]

For reference, here is the Packing.org thread (http://www.packing.org./talk/thread.jsp?talk_thread=11892)

[spacemanspiff]

the guy deserved a dose of his own reality. high road or not, right or wrong, now he will think twice before voicing his opinions maybe?

[Monkeyleg]

I, too, smell a rat. How do you get someone's drivers license info if you don't know them well?

[Standing Wolf]

Anti-Second Amendment bigots can dish it out, but they sure can't take it, can they?

[gunsmith]

that bozo want's to make sure criminals can steal your guns when your not home :fire: he want's to help murderers,rapist, and he want's to prevent us from defending our children we should see how he likes it by going to every prison in his state and telling the inmates he does not have a gun in his house :neener:

[El Tejon]

Ah, yes, the battle cry of the Left: "privacy for me, but not for thee!"

How does it feel, bigot? Do your shoes pinch?

You want my name and address in the paper, but not yours? How about this: since you choose not to have guns around and are all for publishing peoples' names and addresses, then it must be O.K. to send your name, address, work schedule to the Minnesota Department of Correction? Let me know if this is O.K. and I'll see to it.

[Don Gwinn]

I wouldn't have done it, but I have an awfully hard time working up any sympathy for this cockroach. Just reading that article, I was beginning to get kind of worked up about fools going too far and making us look bad--and then I read his letter.

For the love of Mike, what did he THINK people were going to do? :scrutiny:

The tragedy of it is that they sank to his level and yet he learned absolutely nothing. He's "intimidated" and it's "chilling" and "disturbing" that this could happen to him, but he still wants to do it to everyone else because it "might prevent people from casually getting a permit."

Well, sure, Puddin' Head, and having your name and address listed on Packing.org might prevent you from casually writing imbecilic nonsense to your local newspaper for publication--but that doesn't make it right.

[Bruce H]

Words mean things. If you think you have a point make it. Be prepaired to back up your statement. If you are just shouting to hear yourself be prepaired to put up with those who think you are an idiot. As to stuping to his level, rolling your eyes and doing nothing is far worse that nailing them. One sided debates aren't debates but preaching. Needs to happen more often.

[jimpeel]

The author on the packing.org thread who posted the d/l info probably has access to one of these "services" that you can screen potential employees, etc. It would be a snap to use that service to that end.

He may also be an insurance agent who would have access to the state database of drivers.

I went to http://refdesk.whitepages.com and searched on his name and "minnesota" and got the info on his address which matched what is posted on http://www.packing.org .

[Mike Irwin]

A newspaper in Northern Virginia did exactly this a few years ago.