A couple of things stood out about this:
The woman was in possession of the gun as she is a firefighter who is licensed to carry it.That quote is money. "Oh, that explains it! Never know when you might need to extinguish a house fire with a magazine or two of .380..."
There's nothing that makes a liberal reporter feel safer about a firearm than if you can show them a government paycheck stub to go with it. Doesn't matter if the paycheck stub says you're a dog catcher or a park ranger, it makes a gun okay. Of course the king's men may go armed!
The police got in touch with the Essex County prosecutor but the woman was not charged with anything or arrested because she reported the incident herself.That's an odd turn in New Jersey, where simple possession of an unlicensed firearm is a no-kidding go-to-prison felony, a law which innocent travelers have run afoul of before. However, those travelers weren't firefighters... they were "civilians", not the king's men, entitled to be a recipient of "professional courtesy".
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If that is indeed her job, she is most likely a member of an IAFF local.
ReplyDeleteIAFF = AFL/CIO = members & huge supporters of various levels of government in Joisey.
Instead of "brother, can you spare a dime," the meme for this version of the Great Depression seems to be "brother (union brother), can you spare a crime?"
I enjoyed the part where "the Port Authority Officer made the gun safe." regards, Alemaster
ReplyDeleteMy first thought when I heard of the case was, "she got off a plane in NEW JERSEY. Where would you need a gun more, out side of Manhatten?" Sersly, what kinda boob turns themselves in after GETTING AWAY WITH IT? Afraid she'll go postal on Chris Christie? Sheech.....
ReplyDeleteThe irony is in John's comment, with "going postal" having made the successful transition from meme to vernacular.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing I stop in here, 'cause I hadn't heard about this one.
ReplyDeleteWell, I was an EMT, and I'm still licensed, but I was a volunteer . . . . I'm not sure what that entitles me to carry in New Jersey. Can anyone help? It's not on gunlaws.org or anything.
"It's OK! She's with the DMV!"
As a firefighter, I don't remember any exemptions or special privileges regarding firearms. After being pulled over, I receive the same third degree about my legally carried handgun as any other civilian.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined tho think she should have her carry permit revoked for sheer stupidity: Having escaped the TSA minions she decided to incriminate herself.
ReplyDeleteHanding the gun to an FFL in NJ for shipment to an FFL in her Florida community should be a no-brainer.
Of course, indications are that being an IAFL member got her a free pass from the unionized TSA and unionized local cops also got her a free pass.
Anon 10:12, is it still legal to mail/FedEX stuff to yourself at your home address?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that LCP was stoked with those Nuklar Hollow-Point Armor-Piercing Cop-Killer Boolits?
After accidentally taking her gun through security, spending a couple of hours on an airplane and getting way with it, she turns herself in. That, my friend, is the textbook definition of Felony Stupid.
ReplyDeleteMissed the FD line of the story, still its true!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine was dating a dude, and she mentioned he had his carry permit, AND lived in one of those towns where they simply tell you to pound sand if you ask for anything but a "Target and Hunting" permit. (I know first hand, they've said it to my face, a total stranger who just walked in from the street)
I asked her about her new squeeze, "Cop, or Firefighter?"
He was FD! Oh, and also if a close friend or relative is a Pol, you get in too!
Makes perfect sense (eyeroll)
Love some of those comments under "professional courtesy" link. This one stuck out, "I've had situations where I could have written State Troopers and Sheriff's Deputies huge tickets for certain violations but when I look at the intent of the law, I know they are trained to levels the public is not, so I offer them 'professional courtesy' as much as possible."
ReplyDeleteFascinating, you mean the police are less well trained that the public, right? I mean, I have more hours of firearms training than a graduate of the Austin police academy. To boot, I have multiple trophies from auto racing, and more hours than the graduate of APD Academy behind the wheel of an automobile at extended speeds and unpredictable driving situations.
I just don't walk around with a tin badge that says those things. Lest I be collared for "impersonating one of the King's men."
I hope cops aren't getting free passes. From the sound of that thread, cops in the South are actually doing their jobs.
-Rob
Craig M.,
ReplyDelete"As a firefighter, I don't remember any exemptions or special privileges regarding firearms. After being pulled over, I receive the same third degree about my legally carried handgun as any other civilian."
Obviously you were firefighin' in the wrong state.
(I just knew that some firefighter was going to read this and interpret it as me slandering firefighters.)
"Handing the gun to an FFL in NJ for shipment to an FFL in her Florida community should be a no-brainer."
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have even done that (would the NJ FFL want to see your NJ .gov-issued permission slip?). I would have found a box and made a quick trip to the UPS or FedEx store closest to my hotel. Maybe found a convenient public trash can somewhere to dump the ammo so I'm not shipping live rounds.
Yeah, either one of those might be illegal, but at that point I'd be in enough potential trouble by keeping it that it would be worth the risk. I certainly wouldn't trust my future to the goodwill of a NJ prosecutor on a gun issue.
As a former NJ resident, I am amazed she's not got new bracelets and a lovely orange wardrobe. Alas, she was in with the in crowd.
ReplyDeleteSide note - "normal" firearms (non-machineguns) are not licensed in NJ, but possession is - I would have worded that as "unlicensed possession of a firearm" rather that "possession of an unlicensed firearm"; there's no such thing in NJ as a "licensed" non-MG firearm, and technically you don't even have to register firearms with the state, though if you purchase as a resident your firearms will be registered via the purchase paperwork, and there is a process by which you can register previously-owned firearms. You can own and transport firearms in NJ without having any kind of paperwork, though it would make obtaining ammunition difficult (must have FID to purchase "handgun" ammo in state, provocatively undefined by statute).
ReplyDeleteNote also that the guy from Utah reference in the "run afoul of before" link was not charged, his suit was a 1983 suit agianst the cops who arrested him claiming they ought to have known he was covered by FOPA
ReplyDeleteFinally, recall the national noise that NYC's arrest of a nurse and marine made last year under similar circumstances; the Essex Co prosecutor may just be more politically savvy that the NYC one.
ReplyDeleteIf concerned about shipping the gun in NJ, rent a car and drive into a free state like PA or VA to do the shipping home.
ReplyDeleteAll those states on the East Coast are tiny and close together, its just an afternoon jaunt.
Yeah Craig, maybe not in your state, but in a May Issue state like Massachusetts, a Firefighter can get privileges regular private citizens can't, just like the Police Chief's daughter, or the local Politician that happens to have a little accident when drinking too much, and forgets the blond woman in the back seat.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I was going to suggest, go to a Fedex shop in PA, ship it to yourself, or even decide the loss of the piece wasn't worth dealing with the authorities (it's an LCP; like a Glock, buy the same one tomorrow), field strip it and toss the pieces. $350 or whatever you paid for it wouldn't even be close to your lawyer fees if the NJ DA decided to make an example of you.
ReplyDeleteMatt
St Paul
I dunno, but my suspicion is that it's less about "professional courtesy" and more about "let's just make this all go away and we can get back to the groping, perv-o-scanning, and iPad stealing."
ReplyDelete"or even decide the loss of the piece wasn't worth dealing with the authorities (it's an LCP; like a Glock, buy the same one tomorrow), field strip it and toss the pieces."
ReplyDeleteThat's another option I considered, but my concern would be that someone would find a numbered part and turn it in, and then I'd end up with feds knocking on my door asking about it after tracing it to me through my FFL, and assuming it had been used in a (real) crime.
What Matthew said - Get in a car and get to PA. A gun shop there could ship it home and keep your ass out of jail.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how often this happens and we never hear about it.
"Yeah Craig, maybe not in your state, but in a May Issue state like Massachusetts, a Firefighter can get privileges regular private citizens can't, just like the Police Chief's daughter, or the local Politician that happens to have a little accident when drinking too much, and forgets the blond woman in the back seat. "
ReplyDeleteYup. What he said. In reading this and the "all the King's men" thing I was struck by the notion that this sorta thing most often occurs in third-world places like Mexico, CA, NJ and MA, where the "Kings men" rule with fewer concerns of pushback by Free Americans...
And a big "PLUS 1" on the gal being a dumbass for not just walking clear
Thus spake the geekWithA.45
ReplyDeleteAs an escapee of the Dark and Fascist state of NJ, I must say that I'm gobsmacked.
The normal result of any such admission would have been a notch or two short of summary execution.
The last I heard, there was no "I narced myself out" exemption*, nor was there any "firefighter's exemption" to NJ law. (There actually is, however, a police exemption that was literally a judicial invention, no such exemption appearing in the text of the law.)
My advise to that person: Recognize how titanically lucky you are, leave the state immediately, and never, ever let yourself be subject to its jurisdiction again.
*For those of you who don't know: the way NJ gun law is structured, which places the citizen at peril and permanent disadvantage: possession of firearms is blanket prohibited *unless* a specific, context sensitive exemption can be shown to exist in that specific case, as an affirmative defense, which inverts the usual situation of an activity being presumed lawful unless specifically prohibited under certain circumstances. In general, exemptions exist for your home, at a gunshop/range, or unloaded/trunked and traveling directly to or from an approved destination.
NYC has worse laws for possession and at least 3 people last year got off with nothing or slaps on the wrist.
ReplyDeleteNot saying there wasn't professional courtesy, but rather that there's as much a chance that Essex Co didn't feel like facing a crapstorm in the national media. Because geekWithA.45 is right, there is no exemption covering this circumstance; even if she claimed one of the exemptions the handgun would have had to be unloaded and secured in a package separate from ammunition.
Note also: there's no exemption for travelling to a point for the purpose of handing in a gun at one of those gun-buys organizations do instead of doing something, but they hold them in NJ nonetheless.
Ian Argent,
ReplyDelete"there is no exemption covering this circumstance"
I don't think anybody is claiming that there is an official exemption.
Out of curiosity, have you read through all four pages at the "professional courtesy" link?
No, I hadn't. (scanned it now)
ReplyDeleteLooks like mostly cops bitching that other cops won't cut them some slack, along with a few trying to hold a higher standard. Didn't seem to be much mention of firefighters specifically being worthy of "courtesy," but your average bunch of folks who feel "entitled" due to their position, and some who would cut "ousiders" with high-prestige positions (priest, doctor, etc) some slack as well.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was courtesy extended here, but it's not the only explanation available. The local prosecutor's office has a history of not charging in these circumstances, and "courtesy" happens at the person-to-person level, generally. Once they dragged in the Prosecutor, things have officially Happened, and even more so once it hit the news. My WAG is that "Courtesy" kept her out of the perp-walk and may get her the Elsie-Pea back without a lawyer. I doubt the prosecutor gave much of a damn about her profession.
(Side note - various elements in the NJ judicial community have been doing their damndest to deflect the chance of challenged to NJ's laws; look at the most recent results of Brian Aitken's appeal, where the appeals court held that the charge of possession of a large capacity magazine was not proven because the factory 16-round magazine for his handgun had not been demonstrated in court to functionally feed the 16th round, and the cop who testified was not admitted as an expert witness to testify to same. Likewise his possession outside of the exemptions charge was voided on almost as blatant a technicality; the only "live" charge is possession of hollow points. State is (of course) declining to re-try him on the voided charges since his sentence was commuted and they couldn't imprison him even if they won on the retrial. This is in stark contrast to DC where they won't give an inch even in situations where it might help, strategically)