California Attorney General leaks private data of thousands of gun owners

On Wednesday, Gun Owners of California fired back, condemning Attorney General Rob Bonta for allowing the leak to take place.

The group, which describes itself as being "dedicated to the unequivocal defense of the 2nd Amendment, and America’s extraordinary heritage of firearm ownership," released a statement to FOX News.

"We believe that AG Rob Bonta is either massively incompetent, incredibly negligent, or willing to criminally leak information that he does not have the authority to leak," the group's executive director Sam Paredes said.

"This is so egregious that he should resign. He has placed tens of thousands of abiding citizens in California in harms way. That is not excusable with an 'I'm sorry'."

Gun Owners of California added that they are exploring potential legal options.

The leak, originally reported by The Reload, included peoples' full names, race, home address, date of birth, and date their permit was issued, as well as the type of permit and whether the holder was a judge or officer.

According to the outlet, the information was made available by simply clicking a button on the website, which has since been rendered unavailable.

The AG's office issued a statement acknowledging the leak.

"We are investigating an exposure of individuals' personal information connected to the DOJ Firearms Dashboard," a spokesperson said. "Any unauthorized release of personal information is unacceptable. We are working swiftly to address this situation and will provide additional information as soon as possible."

AG Bonta, a Democrat, was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021. In a press release on Monday, he defended the creation of the portal.

"Transparency is key to increasing public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve," he said. "As news of tragic mass shootings continue to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and uncertainty, we must do everything we can to prevent gun violence. One of my continued priorities is to better provide information needed to help advance efforts that strengthen California's commonsense gun laws. Today's announcement puts power and information into the hands of our communities by helping them better understand the role and potential dangers of firearms within our state."