Call: (828) 837-5122 Fax: (828) 837-5832 Internet: 89 Sycamore St. Box 190 Murphy, NC 28906 Feb. 19. 2013 577 Regal St. Murphy. NC 28906 To Sheriff Keith Lovin: Under the N.C. Public Records Law, G.S. I32-l. am requesting a list of all Cherokee County residents who have applied for and/or have received a concealed carry permit. If there are any fees for searching or copying these records. please inform me. However. as a member of the news media, I also would like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested informa- tion is in the public interest. This information is not being sought for commercial purposes. The law requires that you respond to and fulfill this request "as as possible." If you expect a significant delay in responding to and fulfilling this request. please contact me with infonnation about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records by Friday. Feb. 22. If you deny any or all of this request. please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law. Thank you for considering my request. Sincerely, Robert Home Editor Cherokee Scout r'c softens-up-r . I Office of the Sheriff Cherokee County New cm (826) 837-2589 577 Regal SI-met (828) 837-2521 Fax (828) 837-6590 Murphy. North Carolina 28906 Fax (828) 837-5844 Keith Lovin Sheriff February 19, 2013 Joe Wood Cmerbeputy Robert Home, Editor Cherokee Scout Keith Watkins Murphy, NC 28906 Jail Administrator Home: I am in receipt of your February 19, 2013 request. In reviewing N.C.G.S. I4-403 et- seq, there is nothing within the statute that makes the information contained therein, a public record. The mere fact that it is information gathered by this office, in and of itself is not enough. If you feel that there is statutory authority that entitles you to the information requested, I am more than happy to review and consider it. 8 Thank you, Keith Lovin Vfilfl Call: (823) 837-5122 Fax: (828) 837-5832 lnternet 89 Sycamore St. PO. Box 190 Murphy, NC 28906 Feb. 20. 2013 577 Regal St. Murphy. NC 28906 To Sheriff Keith Lovin: Under the N.C. Public Records Law, G.S. l32- . I am once again requesting a list of all Cherokee County residents who have applied for and/or have received a concealed can'y permit. have spoken with .C. Press Association legal attomey Amanda Martin, and she has assured me that these records are public. The statute you cited - G.S. I4-403 - only gives the sherifi's office the authority to issue permits. I remind you that it is your responsibility to cite specific state exemptions as to why these are not public records. GS l4-403 does not indicate those records are confidential. If, as you claim, these records are confidential. why was it necessary to get the Cherokee County Com- mission to pass a resolution asking the N.C. Legislature to remove concealed carry permits from the public record? The Legislature was discussing removing these from public records before the county took up the issue. Until the Legislature makes its decision and the govemor signs off on it, these records are still open. If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me. However, as a member of the news media, I also would like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested infom1a- tion is in the public interest. This information is not being sought for commercial purposes. We respectfully urge you to follow the state's open records law and release this information. as neither of us wish to cost the taxpayers of Cherokee County money in a lawsuit. Thank you for reconsidering my request Sincerely. Robert Home Editor Cherokee Scout iw cout 89 Sycamore St. - Call: (828) 837-5122 P.O. Box 190 Fax: (828) 837-5832 Murphy, NC 289116 Internet: Feb 2013 The readers have spoken. and the (.'IiemIt'ee Smut has heard you - loud and clear. That's a good thing. regardless of the circumstances. We are here to serve. and it' we head down a road you don't agree with. we ap- preciate it when you let us know. That's what America is all about -- an open discussion of issues, with various ideas given and taken aw ay. before a tinal decision is reached. We do this for every edition with hat articles to place on the front page and hat "Our View" will be that week. We should have expected Sherill" Keith Levin's posting of his correspondence with Editor Robert Home. because he knows he can't win in a court of law but wants to win in the court of public opinion. He also knows he's breaking the law because if the list wasn't open. he wouldn't have been pushing the state Legislature to close it. lie also knows that since there are no criminal penalties in North Carolina's open records law, he has nothing to lose by openly defying it. However. despite the fact that the Scout likely would win a lawsuit, we have no intention of taking it to court. That would only give more opportunity to grandstand about his alleged protection of personal gun rights while taking aim at a S. Marine and veteran of Operation Desert Storm who instructed members of the military on the firing range during his service - a Marine who actually has been threatened today by near-hy s- terical residents as a result of the sherilT's actions. The truth is. as Home wrote in his column on Feb. 20, we never had any desire nor intention to publish any names of any person carrying a concealed weapon. We did. however. want to see why Lot in objected to it being published. He is the person who giants such permits. and we've been told you have to have the right name or know the right person in order to get one. so we wanted to take a look and see if that's true. We also thought it would be revealing to share. for example. how many residents in a specilic area had gun permits. If we reported that. say. a large percentage of Tar Heel residents were packing. do you think enmi- nals would be :tn\ious to break into homes in that neighborhixxl'? We think not. We must be vigilant in maintaining the public's right to know. We cannot give away our rights to access public records. If we do. soon there will be no way to hold gov ernment oflicials accountable for their actions. which will lead to that dystopian future so many gun advocates dread. That said. this matter is not a priority with the Scorn. We didn't want to publish the names anyway'. as Publisher David Brown as adarnantly opposed to the New York newspaper that did. and we have no interest in costing taxpayers money through a court battle. Our readers have spoken. and we always listen to you. We are retracting our request. and the matter is closed. Sincerely'. David Brow Robert Horne Publisher Editor Cherokee Scout Cherokee Scout Call: (828) 837-5122 Fax: (828) 837-5832 lntemet: 89 Sycamore St. P.O. Box 190 Murphy, NC 28906 Feb. 22. 2013 577 Regal St. Murphy. NC 28906 To Sheriff Keith Lovin: On Feb. we made a request under the N.C. Public Records Law, G.S. 132-1 for a list of all Cherokee County residents who have applied for and/or have received a concealed carry permit by Friday. Feb. 22. Please consider this request officially dropped. Sincerely - I Home Editor Cherokee Scout Chero Scout 89SycamoIe St. Call: (323) 3375122 Po. Box 190 3 Fax: (323) 337.5332 Murphy, NC 23903 Call: (323)331-1309 Internet. E-mail: t.wm From the desk of Publisher David Brown Feb. 22. 2013 NOTE TO READERS leamedatoughlesson. of your local newspapenlwantno apologize noeveryone we unintentionally upsetwithour theteactionitwouldcanse. reqnest.'IheScout wouldliketo ofieranapologytohim aswell. thatmoming. which Lovin graciously accepted. while,butwe'regoing to try.Thanksfotreading. Sincerely. (Ewe am) Publisher David Brown