Fun_People Archive
22 Nov
Truth is stranger than RISKS

Date: Mon, 22 Nov 93 19:37:51 PST
To: Fun_People
Subject: Truth is stranger than RISKS

 From: simsong@next.cambridge.ma.us (Simson L. Garfinkel)
 Subject: Massachusetts state police confuse car owners with gun carriers

I forwarded the RISKS note about people receiving gun permit renewal notes
accidentally in Massachusetts to David Lewis, who heads the Registry of Motor
Vehicle's information technology group.  (His official title is Deputy
Registrar.)

You may remember the message:

>Date: Fri, 5 Nov 93 13:26:43 EST
>Subject: Mass. state police confuse car owners with gun carriers

>My wife received a letter yesterday from the Massachusetts state police,
>informing her that it was time to renew her "License to Carry Firearms".
>It included a renewal form that she was to take to her local licensing 
>authority, the police station in our case.

This is what David Lewis had to say about it:

"It wasn't actually a tape of vehicle owners.  They got stickers confused with
people who were supposed to get food stamps.  So the people [who were supposed
to get] the food stamp books got the gun permits, and the people who were
supposed to get gun permits got food stamps.  But it wasn't the Registry this
time."

Just setting the record straight.

© 1993 Peter Langston