Target, Best Buy face boycott from gun rights group

Target, at least, doesn't seem particularly concerned about the threatened boycott.

A few days before Christmas, The Journal News, A Gannett-owned newspaper covering Westchester and Rockland counties in suburban New York City, used public information to publish an interactive online map with the names and addresses of NYC-area handgun permit holders.

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Believe it or not, the continued online existence of that map prompted the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association to call for a boycott of Target and Best Buy.

Politico explains the connection:

The association on Monday announced it was urging people to stop patronizing any business who advertises with Gannett... until the map is removed...

The paper's decision to publish an online list of pistol permit holders was a "wanton act" that "has put in harm's way tens of thousands of lawful license holders," the association stated in a news release.

The group is encouraging "concerned citizens" to contact national and local advertisers who use the Journal News -- including Best Buy, CVS, IKEA and Target, among others -- and tell them to stop running ads until the list of lower Hudson Valley pistol license holders is off the Web.

But according to the Minnepolis/St. Paul Business Journal, a Target spokeswoman has already said the company will continue to advertise with Gannett, which also owns KARE 11.

"Target's goal when purchasing advertising space is to reach audiences in communities where we do business," spokeswoman Stacia Nelson said in a statement. "Target continues to advertise with a variety of media outlets, including Gannett, in order to reach our target audiences."

For what it's worth, The Journal News vows not only to keep the map online, but to continue adding names to it.