It sounded like a good idea at the time.

But in trying to convey information of social interest using public records, the Bangor Daily News has done a disservice to those advocating the ideals of gun violence prevention and government openness.

It stems from the Freedom of Access Act request the newspaper filed with police, asking to inspect and copy the names, addresses and birthdates of Maine’s concealed weapons permit holders.

The paper pulled its request Friday in the face of a firestorm of complaint from Republicans and the gun lobby.

By nixing its valid request virtually at gunpoint, the newspaper handed more ammo to gun-rights zealots who famously think oversight equals tyranny.

Gun owners and their advocates in the Legislature already had a bill in place to make gun permit information private. Regrettably, that now seems poised to advance on an “emergency” basis. (Imagine a bill protecting victims of gun violence getting that kind of priority).

There should be no debate that this data remain public. Americans deserve to know whether a person who has made personal threats or is mentally unstable possesses a deadly weapon that could harm them.

For example, it might have been nice to know more about the weapons owned by Christopher Dorner or Jimmy Lee Dykes — two men who presented clear and present public danger by their gun ownership — prior to their deadly acts.

Concerns that gun permit data can go awry in the hands of the media have an unfortunate shred of validity. A similar situation occurred last month in New York, where a newspaper collected the data then printed a map of where gun owners lived.

What purpose did it serve? No one could say, but it started a move to shield such data.

The Bangor Daily News said it wasn’t going to map all owners. We believe them, knowing their reputation for fairness, professionalism and diligence.

But by imprudently casting a huge net and not publicly detailing its motives — the lesson of the missteps in New York — and then by not sticking to its guns once it had made its legal request, the newspaper has strengthened the hand of the paranoid gun lobby and those who favor government secrecy. What remains is a perfect illustration of how the gun lobby intimidates.

We need more transparency in government, not less. To achieve a “well-regulated militia,” gun permits should be no more protected than any other government-issued ID.

Dozens of innocent Americans are being gunned down daily, and the question of who owns guns — and who should not — is a legitimate public safety issue.

Collecting names and addresses of gun owners — in and of itself — does not mean people will lay siege to the homes of gun owners, steal their weapons and hustle them off to a gulag.

It’s a claim typical of the irrational gun lobby. But it’s a claim that just became a lot harder to debunk thanks to the misfire at the Bangor Daily News.