California Just Leaked The Name, Address Of Every Concealed Carry Licensee In The State

The California government has leaked an enormous volume of personal data on the state’s gun owners—including the name and address of every concealed carry permit holder in the state. The data was posted to the internet on Monday—when the California Department of Justice launched its “2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal.”

The readily-downloadable information included “names, birthdays, addresses, ages, the purchase date and type of firearm permit they possessed, and their Criminal Identification Index numbers, which are used to track state and federal criminal records,” according to Gizmodo.  ABC30 reports that gender and driver’s license numbers were also exposed. 

The state’s assault weapon registry and Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) data were also affected, but the DOJ has not yet determined to what extent associated personal data was compromised. 

The personal data was available for downloading with the click of a button on the site’s mapping feature, according to The Reload. The portal was accessible from Monday afternoon until sometime Tuesday morning. 

The breach potentially opened a Pandora’s box of harms for law-abiding Californians who acquired firearms and permits for self-protection. Those perils extend far beyond merely being ostracized by liberal coworkers and neighbors. For example: 

• A list of gun owners and their addresses is a treasure map for thieves seeking to steal firearms
• Knowledge of an individual’s gun ownership can be used against them via the filing of spurious “red flag” complaints pursuant to the state’s Gun Violence Restraining Order system
• Someone who obtained a firearm for protection from an abusive partner or ex-partner could be endangered if knowledge of that weapon acquisition sends the partner into a rage 

The California AG “accidentally” releasing the personal info of every single registered gun owner and carry licensed holder in California is yet another perfect example of why none of that info should be known to the government in the first place.

— Spike Cohen (@RealSpikeCohen) June 29, 2022

The leaked data identified who among the concealed carry permit holders is a police officer or a judge. The Reload studied the posted data for Los Angeles County and found 244 judge permits complete with addresses and other personal data. Another 2,891 ordinary concealed carry permit-holders in the county were also exposed. 

California issued 40,000 concealed carry permits in 2021, well off the 2016 peak of 100,000. 

In light of the state’s dangerous mass violation of gun owners’ privacy, Monday’s press release promoting the portal’s debut now reads like dark comedy. In it, state attorney general Rob Bonta said, “Transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve…Today’s announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities.”

After the leak was discovered, Bonta said, “This unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable and falls far short of my expectations for this department.” As this article is written, those attempting to access the portal are presented with a notice: “Website temporarily unavailable. Please try again in a few minutes.”

California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) president Chuck Michel told The Reload that “vindictive sore loser bureaucrats have endangered people’s lives and invited conflict by illegally releasing confidential private information. CRPA is working with several legislators and sheriffs to determine the extent of the damage caused by DOJ’s doxing of law abiding gun owners. Litigation is likely.” 

The portal is meant to provide data on dealer record of sales, Gun Violence Restraining Orders, concealed carry permits, firearms safety certificates, “assault weapons,” and a roster of “certified handguns.”  The mass data dump was discovered by two California sheriffs who were using the new dashboard.