Imagine if you could locate the names and addresses of anyone who disagrees with a belief you hold, then used that personal ?information against them.
Imagine no more.
Late last week, an app called Gunfree Geo Marker made its debut in the Google Play Store. It created such a stir that it’s already been ?removed twice.
When it was available, the app opened a map of your local area that pinpoints the homes of anyone with a vocal history of speaking out against gun violence. When the app was active, there was an important address prominently listed: Brett Stalbaum’s home and work address.
This app is definitely odd, but it was actually created in response to another app that hit the Google Play Store in 2013, Gun Geo Marker.
Brett Stalbaum launched Gun Geo Marker with community safety in mind, allowing people to geolocate sites that may be associated with unsafe and/or irresponsible gun use, according to the app’s website. Stalbaum goes on to emphasize that only the “(minimal) extra information for others to make their own contextual determinations about safety” is necessary to effectively utilize the app.
Defending the opposing app, the creator of Gunfree Geo Marker (who seemingly isn’t comfortable with disclosing his name, for whatever reason) said all the info in his app is public information, and “(the targets) have made themselves well-known in this debate. (The nutjobs) would have already had ?this data.”
While it is true vocal opponents and proponents alike, of any social issue, may bring public attention to themselves through their expressions, claiming the “nutjobs” would already have this data is insulting.
By culling the data and providing a format, not only is accessibility way less of an issue, but it may, intentionally or not, endorse ?intimidation.
It’s obvious that both sides of the debate consider it wrong to use personal information as a weapon, unless they’re the ones doing it. The only reason it’s easy for me to take sides in this app war is because of ?intended uses for each.
Gun Geo Marker was designed with community safety in mind to identify those who may not have the cleanest record when it comes to gun violence because in most cases, there’s no national mandate on registering ?firearms.
Gunfree Geo Marker was designed, explicitly, as a response to Gun Geo Marker.
Naturally, it only takes a few “nutjobs” from either side of the debate to escalate this data warfare into a dire, life-or-death situation.
These kinds of apps endorse doxing, a coined phrase for posting people’s personal information, which is a very dangerous ?precedent to set.
There are plenty of people who are simply afraid of guns and what they’re capable of — all they seek is distance from those who embrace them, not to badger them.
It’s my hope that this pissing contest goes away sans incident. But that won’t happen unless two things occur first: gun rights advocates have to understand that there really are gun owners out there who probably shouldn’t own a gun, and gun control advocates who don’t own guns have to accept that responsible gun owners certainly exist.
michoman@indiana.edu
