Gun owners in New York who don't want their registration information available to the public are facing a deadline to file an exemption form with local licensing authorities.
Starting today, the records of anyone who has asked to be exempt from the state Freedom of Information Law will be kept secret.
But the information will be available for gun owners who haven't acted.
The secrecy provision was included in January legislation that toughened New York gun laws to require registration of military-style weapons and limit the number of bullets allowed to be loaded into a clip or magazine.
Lawmakers were reacting to controversy surrounding the decision by The Journal News newspaper in White Plains to publish a map showing information about gun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties following the Newtown, Conn., school massacre.
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