A tourist from Georgia was arrested Tuesday after he brought a gun to the Empire State Building, police said
The 39-year-old man was waiting on a security checkpoint line at about 7 p.m. when he saw a sign stating no firearms were allowed inside the building, police said.
The man told the security screener he was carrying a .40-caliber pistol in his waistband and that he had a permit to carry in his home state.
He and a friend were taken into police custody; the friend was released, but the man is facing charges for illegal gun possession in New York, according to police.
Guys who do this should suffer the full consequences of the one-strike-you're-out rule. They should lose the right to own guns. It wouldn't be enough to just send him home with a slap on the wrist because the same kind of nonchalance towards gun laws applies there too. Even in the backward State of Georgia there are places where guns are prohibited. This guy has proven he cannot be trusted to follow the rules.
We see genius gun owners do this kind of thing from time to time. Obviously they're not planning on committing a crime or doing anyone harm. But, don't their actions violate some basic rules of gun safety? Wouldn't this be part of the famous situational awareness they're always talking about?
Presumably in order to arrive in NYC from Georgia this guy had to pass through states that don't look too kindly on his being armed. He was oblivious of this fact. Then to arrive at his destination so completely unaware of the local laws - it boggles the mind.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Actually, unless he drove through New Jersey or Maryland (both of which can be avoided), he wouldn't have left America until he hit New York.
ReplyDeleteForgetting your one strike rule, people who do this get convictions under NYC and, since the gun was presumably loaded, NY state laws which probably are felonies, so I don't know what you're grousing about.
How would you drive from Georgia to NY and avoid NJ. That's a pretty good, and long, trick.
DeleteI'm not grousing. I'm holding this ignorant fool up as an example of what's out there among you lawful gun owners, although you keep pretending these types don't exist. I'll bet of all the gun owners you know, not a one would be capable of something as stupid as this, am I right?
He could have come in through Pennsylvania. But Mikeb, you're conflating here. There's a big difference between doing some negligent thing that results in the harm of someone and being unaware of the unconstitutional infringements that a particular jurisdiction imposes.
DeleteBeing from the hic state of Arkansas, you would think that it's possible to reach NYC by simply going through PA.
DeleteBeing as ignorant as this guy apparently was should be a crime.
The article doesn't say where exactly in Georgia the man is from, so let's pick Atlanta:
DeleteI-85 from Atlanta to Charlotte, NC
I-77 from Charlotte to Akron, OH
I-80 from Akron to just south of Wilkes-Barre, PA
I-81 from just south of Wilkes-Barre to Scranton, PA
I-84 from Scranton to Brewster, NY
I-684 from Brewster to New York City
That misses Maryland and New Jersey entirely.
And the word is spelled hick.
Your apologies will be entertaining.
Yeah, NYC by way of Akron Ohio. Why didn't you just take Route 66 to the West Coast and go from there?
DeleteSorry for misspelling hick.
You claimed that it's because I'm from Arkansas that I figured someone in Georgia could get to New York without going through New Jersey. That had two factual errors:
Delete1. I'm from North Carolina.
2. It's possible to get to New York, state or city, without passing through either Maryland or New Jersey.
1: As has been covered, there are routes that bypass MD and NY before you hit NY State and then enter the city. They aren't the most direct, but some visit family on road trips, and others divert to avoid construction, crazy speed traps like all through VA, see sights, etc.
Delete2: Would I or my friends do this? Probably not--we keep up with the laws because we're pretty politically active. Some folks know the law at home, don't look at the laws elsewhere, and assume that the laws are the same. Dangerous? Yes--to them, not others. Unfortunate? Very.
When I drove to New York, I had to take a keychain off because it had a bullet on it. Not a cartridge--just the lead bullet with its copper jacket. I don't have the permits required, in NJ, to possess any ammunition components there. I had to hope that all of the cleaning I did in my car managed to find and vacuum up every piece of brass that was in there, or I would have been in violation for those too.
It's pretty sad when the laws in some states are written so that you can get into deep trouble for tiny things like that when you are just passing through.
He didn't violate any rules of gun safety, he did violates another states laws. There is a bit of difference here. A licensed gun owner (any gun owner) should always check the laws in the states in which they travel before planning their trip. Assume nothing in a nation that violates your second civil rights in varying degrees from state to state.
ReplyDeleteThis fellow, who didn't think beyond his nose, just lost his conceal carry license in his home state if he gets convicted, likely forever.
This person violated no rules of safety. He was, in fact, exercising his constitutionally protected right that New York presumes to violate. Unfortunately, injustice sometimes wins.
ReplyDelete