So it seemed a little strange to see Mr. Mateo on Thursday urging bodega owners to apply for handgun licenses to protect themselves.
That was my initial reflex after The Journal News in Westchester County, N.Y., decided, in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, to publish a map with the names and addresses of people who had applied for handgun permits in two suburban counties.
By coincidence, Mr. Valerio's troubles stemming from his old gun conviction arose just as Ramon Murphy, the president of the Bodega Association of the United States, and local Latino leaders, urged bodega owners to apply for handgun licenses to protect themselves after a gunman killed a Queens bodega clerk in a botched robbery last Saturday.
"Nobody ever called and verified the address," said Mike Smith, who was surprised to see his address on the map, and apparently was marked after his brother had used his address when he applied for a handgun licence.
Mr. Osman, the mosque's former imam, has been indicted on charges of fraudulently applying for United States citizenship and having a handgun with the serial number scratched off.
In addition, lawmakers have proposed requiring those applying for welfare and unemployment benefits to undergo drug testing and allowing teachers who are licensed to carry concealed handguns to wear their weapons in the classroom.
In 2007 a decades-old law that required state residents to apply for police permits to purchase handguns was overturned, and the result was an immediate spike in gun homicides.
Finally, after the death of his stepfather, for which in his delusional state he blamed Mr. Lowenstein, he applied for a permit to buy a handgun.
"If you want to apply for a license or permit for a handgun, you have to prove ownership of a handgun," he said.
