January 12, 2012
NYC Gun Charges Dropped. Now I Can Speak Out.
On December 15, 2011 at approximately 5:15 a.m., I was at LaGuardia International airport preparing to check in for a flight out of the city. During a routine check-in, I requested a firearms declaration form from the ticket agent. It was my intent to declare and check my unloaded firearm.
I purchased this firearm legally, and I have a valid concealed carry permit for it issued in California. The unloaded gun was locked inside a TSA-approved travel case, and the case was locked inside my checked luggage. I carry the firearm for my personal safety, having received numerous threats due to my role in the Tea Party Patriots. I have checked this firearm at airports dozens of times before, all across the country.
As I traveled through LaGuardia that morning, I passed TSA signs telling me I had the right to check this unloaded firearm in my luggage, and that I am required by law to declare the firearm to the ticketing agent. This is exactly what I did.
The ticketing agent provided me with the declaration form, and I signed it and returned it to her. She advised me that she would need to call Port Authority police to inspect. This is not unusual when traveling with a firearm. Procedures vary from airport to airport, from airline to airline, and even from day to day, and as a law-abiding citizen, I have always been happy to cooperate.
Unfortunately, that day, I didn’t realize that I was about to cross paths with New York City’s anti-Second Amendment stance. Upon showing my case and the weapon to the officer who arrived on the scene, and after a few brief questions, she advised me that she was placing me under arrest for violating New York City’s firearms laws.
To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. I am from a law enforcement family. My mother is a retired correctional officer, and I have spent my life around folks from the law enforcement community. I have always considered myself a law-abiding citizen. I have never been arrested before. I have never been in police custody. I can never say those things again. On December 15th, 2011, I was arrested, handcuffed at the ticket counter, and taken to a waiting squad car for transport to the Port Authority Police station at LaGuardia.
I was subsequently transferred, in handcuffs, to the Queens Central booking facility in New York City. I was charged with felony possession of a firearm with intent to do harm. I spent the day in Queens…in jail.
It was a nightmare that I can scarcely describe to you. Until you have felt the handcuffs on your wrists, and until you have heard that cell door close behind you, it is impossible to understand what it means to actually lose your liberty. And since that day, my liberty has been at stake, and because of that threat, based upon the advice of counsel, I’ve been unable to publicly speak about this case. Today the silence ends.
I am pleased to announce that the criminal case against me has been dropped. Although I was originally charged with a violent felony, the case against me was resolved with a plea to “disorderly conduct. ” Disorderly Conduct is not a felony or a misdemeanor, or even a crime. The facts underlying my plea are that I declared a legally purchased, properly licensed and unloaded firearm at an airport counter. Apparently, much to my surprise, in New York City, it is considered “disorderly conduct” to exercise your constitutionally guaranteed, Second Amendment rights.
Strangely, now that the case against me is over, the authorities refuse to return my firearm. There is no law that allows them to confiscate a weapon in this manner. They simply say “no” when you ask for your weapon back. This is apparently their “policy.” It is done regularly in New York. This is government robbery. Not only is New York City anti-Second Amendment rights, but they are depriving citizens of their legally owned property. My lawyer has advised me that I can attempt to pursue the return of my firearm, but that to do so would cost me more than the firearm is worth. I am not alone in facing this tyranny. It has happened to hundreds of people in the New York metro area. My lawyer, Brian Stapleton, has handled over 400 of these cases himself, so he is an expert on the subject.
While the end of this case is the end of a horrible nightmare for my family and I, it is not the end of this fight. It is just the beginning. Since the original incident, I have received more emails, phone calls, texts and tweets of support than you can possibly imagine. To those people, I want to say heart-felt thanks on behalf of my entire family. We have come to know that we are not alone in this particular fight. Apparently, this happens to hundreds of people per year in New York City. And New York City is not alone in its attack on our rights. This sort of Constitutional abuse, Second Amendment and otherwise, is taking place all over the nation. And we as citizens must stand against it. We must protect our rights, or we will lose them.
Many of you know me as someone who is willing to stand and fight for self-governance in this country. I’m no politician, and I’m not from a powerful or connected family. I’m an average American citizen. And I stand shoulder to shoulder with millions of other Americans who, despite enormous obstacles, and despite the politicians and ruling elite who oppose us, intend to return this country to the bounds of the United States Constitution.
The politicians and ruling elite will try, but we must not let them label us Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal. We cannot let them make us fight against each other. Too much is at stake. We the People are losing our sovereignty to the government. We the People, must stand and fight for our inalienable rights.
I’m not alone in this fight. There are so many laws, that no one can possibly know or understand them. We are all affected. From the inner city to the farm, from the heartland of America to the coasts, people are under pressure from a government that no longer serves them. From my home in California, to the farmland of Kansas… from the small towns of South Carolina to the metropolis of New York, every year the legislatures pass thousands of laws and regulations that do not serve the people.
The legislators don’t read the bills they pass, and even if they did, they couldn’t understand them. Our criminal justice system is terribly broken, and no longer serves the people and the communities it was intended to serve. Our regulatory system is broken; small businesses and the communities that rely on them crushed under the weight of unnecessary regulation.
We are, step by step, destroying the heart of America. And we are doing so because we are not governing ourselves according to the Constitution. It’s up to us…the People.
It’s time to stand for self-governance. It is time to stand for the plain meaning of the Constitution. Every word of the Constitution is important, and we must fight for them all. We must fight for every inch of this country, from the inner city to the smallest rural town. We are, all of us, first and foremost, American citizens. We’ve always governed ourselves…and we always intend to. And we’ve always been willing to stand when freedom is at stake. It is time to stand…time for all of us, every race, every religion, every gender, every American to stand up and fight for liberty and take responsibility for governing ourselves.
No one should ever have to go through what my family has been through, simply for exercising a fundamental right, specifically enumerated in the United States Constitution. I am committed to making sure no one does. And I’m willing to work with anyone…anyone, who agrees that it’s time for the people to govern themselves once again.
Will we as citizens fight for our inalienable right to govern ourselves, or will we quietly allow ourselves to be “governed” into submission by a ruling elite, disconnected from our citizens and our communities? Only history will tell, but I intend to fight.
(Note: Every law enforcement officer I dealt with through the process was polite and professional. They are not to blame for NYC’s unconstitutional or tyrannical behavior. From my experience, they seem to be good people, just doing a difficult job.)
116 Responses to “NYC Gun Charges Dropped. Now I Can Speak Out.”
DC Handgun Info said...
So sorry to hear about your treatment! New York City law is among the worst in the nation on firearm regulations. (Ill., Mass., and Hawaii are also very bad.) That said, you might have avoided this incident by reading J. Scott Kappas’ annually updated book, “Traveler’s Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States, 2012 Edition” (Google a vendor online). Not sure what the ideal course of action would have been, but you could have used a federal firearms licensee (FFL) (available at 99 percent of sporting goods stores or gun shops) to ship the handgun to yourself at your destination. Hope that you get your handgun back.
muffler said...
I agree that the NYC police handled this wrong, but I also contend that NYC is a known area for zero tolerance related to handguns and firearms. NYC has very strict regulations and I think people should be aware of the local regulations when traveling and not just assume that your interpretation of the 2nd amendment applies. I live in NYC and know the regulations… these may not be what they have in California or Texas, but NYC is a dense populated city.
emdfl said...
File a stolen firewarm report when you get back home. Then wait for the fun when the thief tries to unload the gun.
Unless he does the ATF thing and sells it to a criminal…
James Morris said...
Seems the way to fight this would be to seek return of the weapon and sue the city of new York for violation of your constitutional rights. Otherwise don’t travel to NYC.
Glenn Neal said...
Mark:
I hope you will reconsider your decision not to try to get your weapon back. If no one challenges the law, New York will consider to harass citizens who exercise their Second Amendment right. You don’t have to bear the burden of this alone. Have you contacted the NRA? Have you considered soliciting funds for your legal fight through TPP? Many of us would be willing to help you with this fight, and with your face familiar because of your involvement with the Tea Party, I believe the support would be overwhelming.
I am a retired lawyer (former prosecuting attorney) and the NY law will not change unless someone is willing to take it to the Supreme Court. Because of the legal concept of “standing” someone like you must begin the fight. The rest of us do not have a cause of action to get into court. We could; however, finance your fight if you are willing to put up with the hassle.
John Aurentz said...
In case your Attorney neglected to tell you this, that weapon that was confiscated By NY needs to be removed from the official record of firearms owned by you in CA.
Here is the link to the DOJ to download a PDF to turn in to the DOJ. This will remove that weapon from their database as belonging to you.
oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/pdfs/firearms/…/BOF4546NLIP0209.pdf
Lee said...
Any chance that you and the hundreds of other victims of this could file a class action suit? It would cut down o the individual cost and you could perhaps recover your weapon – or at least to cost of it.
Troy said...
Mark,
You need to go get your firearm back! It’s not the cost of the firearm that matters, it’s the point that you make in getting it back. This is theft as far as I’m concerned. File a civil suit against them and as a term ask the judge to pay your attorneys fees as a punitive measure.
Troy said...
Ment to say “Ask the judge to order NYC to pay your attorneys fees…”
David Haberfeld said...
Thats an insane story. It’s amazing to me that could happen.
Rick Humphreys said...
I’m retired military and part of my land in WV was taken, damaged and destroyed by a private company, against my objections but by approval of the state.
There were no declarations of emanate domain or condemnation, they just took it. There was no due process, just compensation or equal protection, they just took it.
I believe and have repeatedly stated this is a clear violation of our inalienable, self-evident right to property ownership but, it’s happening all over the state and in plain view.
Robert Vaughan said...
I truly understand what you have gone through. I have walked in your shoes. I was unlawfully arrested, treated poorly by the justice system, went through the hassle of paying an attorney when you are innocent, endured the public humiliation, pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct when you were nothing more than rightfully exercising your rights as a citizen, endured the expense and experience of the loss of faith in the system, wanted to shout, but having to keep quiet. And, not one official who says, “I’m sorry – we made a mistake.” Oh, yes, I truly understand how you feel. Look me up and call me sometime. The sickening feeling of using money that would have gone to pay for your children’s college only to protect your earning power for your family. Yes, I know oh so well.
As government grows, our freedoms decrease. We have created a monster – government – that cares nothing about people.
Jackit said...
What they are doing is theft, pure and simple.
Why don’t you file a complaint with the FBI, the ATF and the US Marshall’s office.
Also the NY State Police.
Oh, and against the NYPD office who refuses to return your property.
NY Gun Owner said...
The Second Amendment Stops at the New York State Line.
New York City has become a fiefdom of the Mayor.
More State Legislators live in NY City than in the rest of the State. They do what he says or they won’t be invited to the Mansion.
It all dates back to simple NY City corruption which beget the Sullivan Laws.
Named for its primary legislative sponsor, state senator Timothy Sullivan, a notoriously corrupt Tammany Hall politician, it dates to 1911, and is still in force, making it one of the oldest existing gun control laws in the United States.
Big Tim Sullivan, was a notorious Irish gangster street thug and politician became an influential figure in the corrupt Democratic machine there known as Tammany Hall. He made the transition from thug and political ward heeler to New York state senator in 1894.
Pamela Shinnick said...
This is outrageous! Sorry you had to go through this but thank you for alerting all of us to the dangers ahead of us within our own government. This makes my blood boil to think this can happen to a law-abiding citizen of the U.S. Is it worth writing letters and to whom?
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it is an interesting topic but i cannot agree with the last paragraph. what exactly do you mean there?
Wylie Kyote said...
Pursue the matter further. Don’t let them get away with what they have done to you and get your gun back.
RonF said...
Mark, there have been many people whose civil rights have been violated but who are unable to afford recourse in the courts. The ACLU is well known for acting on behalf of people who have had their civil rights violated. Have you tried contacting them for assistance?
I’m serious. I’d love to see what their answer is. Who knows? They may surprise us.
RonF said...
I’m talking about assistance in getting back your handgun that is being withheld from you in violation of your 2nd and 4th Amendment civil rights.
Ben Burke said...
After a local east Tennessee resident experienced the exact same injustice, I wrote Bloomberg and his idiot mayors against guns group. These idiots are the real criminals! And they are guilty of treason! I say no state can ignore the 2nd Amendment unless they secede from the union! And any local or state official that ignores the 2nd Amendment should be tried for treason, convicted, and put in front of a firing squad! And the only way I would ever visit NYC would be if I were on the firing squad.
wally said...
and so it goes, we are embarking on anarchey. keep loved ones close to you. have plenty of ammo!!
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Mike said...
Mark,
I’m glad the charges were dropped, as they were bogus charges in the first place. And yes, you’re absolutely right, NYC (along with NY, NJ, Ill and CA) are tyrannical in their oppressive “laws” denying our enumerated rights.
For those reasons alone, the oppressive laws, are the exact reasons I will never live in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California. I refuse to live in a state that denies its citizens their Constitutional Rights.
I will not fight for those states citizens either. They choose to live there, they choose to deny themselves their Constitutional Rights. Plain and simple. Until they choose to fight for their rights, why should I waste my time and breathe doing it for them — they’ll never appreciate it until they do it for themselves.
Peter W. Nichols esq. said...
As you can see I am a lawyer for county government.(I handle child neglect and abuse cases in family court) You need to check to see if you are now barred from entering Canada since you were charged with a felony and took a plea. If this were a misdemeanor DWI I know you would have lost the privelege of entering Canada for at least FIVE YEARS! We need a test case to fight this ridiculous law but I understand your reluctance to risk a felony conviction. Good Luck ! Peter Nichols
terry irby said...
Sue the city and the port authotity
Peter said...
(Note: Every law enforcement officer I dealt with through the process was polite and professional. They are not to blame for NYC’s unconstitutional or tyrannical behavior. From my experience, they seem to be good people, just doing a difficult job.)
You couldn’t be more wrong.
1)You got the treatment you did because you submitted. Had you resisted you would either still be in the ICU or dead.
2) *Of Course* they’re to blame for NYC’s behavior! Sullivan’s Ghost didn’t arrest you; the City Council didn’t arrest you, the effing PAPD/NYPD did. Last time I checked, the NYPD has 31,000 people in uniform. If the NYPD doesn’t want to enforce a law, it doesn’t get enforced. Every single one of those “polite and professional” people violated your Rights, your Liberty, and your person.
“Only history will tell, but I intend to fight.” Well, that’ll be a change, since you haven’t fought yet.
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Patriot said...
“Every law enforcement officer I dealt with through the process was polite and professional. They are not to blame for NYC’s unconstitutional or tyrannical behavior.”
Yes, they are. “I was just following orders” didn’t work at Nuremburg and it doesn’t work here. Enforcing unconstitutional laws is immoral. Cops are moral agents, just like the rest of us. They make a moral decision to enforce unjust laws. That make them part of the problem.
michael eiseman said...
I don’t own a gun (yet) and I am 100% behind you in this fight to uphold what is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT!
In fact, I’m going to buy a gun and arm myself just to fight the fact that the powers that be are telling me I can’t.
Ivan said...
“Being polite” or “Just following orders” is NOT an excuse (did not worked for Nazis eh?). Sue individual officers for false arrest etc. Make individual officers to refuse to enforce such laws.
Ryan Waxx said...
It seems to me that the problem of government abusing confiscation rules because the cost of recovering the property exceeds the value of property cries out for either a “loser pays atty fees” rule or class-action lawsuit.
Ann said...
This is an outrage, and a violation of Our Constitutional rights which the Supreme court has agreed our right to carry. Meantime the Governor of N.Y. carries a weapon in spite of the fact he has private body guards, while outlaw guns in N.Y. leaving the citizens unprotected from both the criminal element and the commie politicians. Why is it that you cannot take action in the courts that your constitutional rights were violated and sue the shit out of them? Or contact the NRA in regards to this matter?
The protesters were allowed to do millions of dollars of damage and physical harm in N.Y. and its citizens and received no punishment and the taxpayers had to pick up the costs. Yet when the Tea Party attempts to protest they are accused of all kinds of crimes they did not commit and any member of the tea party is harassed by the idiots who run the city Of New York.
Americans better take action against this kind of unconstitutional harassement before it is too late.
Better dead than red, still applies.
Greg Zotta said...
I guess since you plead guilty to a crime you can not sue for false arrest. Your lawyer has handled about 400 of these cases so far, has he thought about a class action suit? King Bloomberg is a tyrant and the law needs to be challenged by someone like you who has been affected by it. Good Luck. Let me know what I can do to help.
Gary said...
Although the police may have been polite and professional, they did take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, so absolving them of responsibility for enforcing NYC’s laws is akin to accepting the Nazi’s excuse of, “I was just following orders”.
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Jim Lee said...
Outrageous.
The NRA needs to step up to the plate on this one and go after these thieves who stole your firearm.
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sal said...
The cops are just as much to blame as the legislators. They probably would have turned a blind eye if you were connected, or liberal, or of the appropriate ethnic group – whatever that is.
As to getting your gun back, I would suggest that if one attorney has represented 400 cases, then that is a group large enough to get a class action lawsuit going for violation of the fourth amendment rights – deprived of property without due process. Get a couple more attorneys in the pool, and that could add up to an “arsenal”!!!
I do think you should file a stolen gun report – then the cop or councilman who pocketed your gun will have some explaining to do. Of course, they will only have to explain if they take it outside of NY, since the thin blue line will stick together.
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Rainey said...
Thats crazy, i travel with my firearm all the time, i’ve now eclipsed 17 states and had no problem, i know now not to exercise my rights as a concealed carry permit holder in the state of new york
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Chuck Kuecker said...
Please sue to get your gun recovered. Don’t let the traitors win at all.
If it was me, and I had the money to pursue the case, I would fight the disorderly conduct charge all the way, too. They likely dropped the heavy charge because of the publicity you could draw, and the likelihood of you winning in a higher court if you pressed the matter. They will likely drop the felony charges against that woman from Tennessee since she’s gotten all the national attention – and then their illegal laws will go unchallenged.
Someone has to take Bloomberg and his get down. Someone has to make the sacrifice of time and money, or he wins.
Definitely file a stolen weapon report at home. It is the truth.
Ray Swan said...
NYC should at the very least ship the firearm to a registered FFL Dealer of your choice if they don’t want to hand it to you in NYC. As a former news photographer I have seen what happens to these “nice” firearms, they are allowed to be bought up by policemen. Only the scrap arms are melted down and you won’t see anything of value in the pile, just junk.
Good luck and thanks for fighting for everyone’s rights.
Paul Rusin said...
I was hoping that you, a lawyer from what I’ve read, would take this to the Supreme Court to get NYC, and NYS for that matter, to stop doing this. A NYS resident could do it in NYC, but not someone with a permit in NYS doing it elsewhere in the state. Someone has to make a stand, and apparently, you were more interested in getting off by pleading to a lesser charge than seeing to it that all persons are not encumbered thusly by the NYC/NYS police.
To whit, there are two very important cases which should be addressed, and taken into account. One is Shuttlesworth v Birmingham, and the ruling is partially taken from the SCOTUS ruling in Staub v. Baxley. The ruling notes that permits for rights are “unconstitutional censorships or prior restraints.” As such, “anyone faced with such a licensing law may ignore it & engage with impunity in the (right) for which the law purports to require a license.”
Now, NRA’s legal staff should have been notified of this ruling years ago,, as I personally submitted it to Wayne LaPierre, and Alan Gottlieb of SAF, too, at a Shooters’ Committee On Political Education (www.scopeny.org) banquet. We, along with NRA, and perhaps, tho’ I cannot speak for NYSR&P, or NY (Long Island) SAFE, could have provided some aid to someone wishing to take this to its preferred end: a SCOTUS judgment making it plain that permits for individual civil rights are unconstitutional. Now, I understand NRA would be seen as something of a pariah after that given that they have fought tooth and nail to get permits for the right to carry in many states over the past decades. However, in order to do the right thing, they should have adhered to my warnings, a decade or more ago, that pursuing that path would lead to eventual failure in their stated (see NRA bylaws) of protecting the whole constitution, but in particular, the 2A right to Keep & Bare Arms. Unfortunately, my pleas have fallen on deaf ears, and I’m afraid Wayne will not likely attend any future SCOPE banquets for fear of me asking why they have not yet pursued this course. I think we all know the answer. If 2A became a SCOTUS denoted right, without permit, without encumbrance of any kind, then NRA would have to cut back on operations and its legislative lobbying would be lessened. It’s merely a money maker now, run by mostly law enforcement, or former law enforcement, on the BoD. The same cannot be said of SCOPE, most of whose BoD members are upstanding citizens of the community. By the way, SCOPE aided Alan Chwick in Nassau County, NY =, with a gun ban on guns which were various colors besides, blued, stainless, and a couple other colors. Pink, blue, and other colored pistols would have been prohibited under the Nassau County law. We won that fight, and would like to win more in NY in the future, but it requires a Political Action Committee fund to defeat incumbent legislators who are anti-gun, as well as a Legal Fund well endowed. We are solely a NYS organization, but would hope that others with deep pockets from around the country would join with us, whether as members, or as contributors to these two funds so we can further gun rights for all Americans here in NYS.
Sick of Marxists said...
This is a case of interstate commerce. Only the Federal Government can regulate Interstate Commerce. This is on the same level as traveling through Marxist areas in a car. You are safe as long as you stay on the interstate. You should be safe as long as you stay in the Airport. What is the difference, there is none. I was in the Gulf War, and to be honest, if I were 18 all over again, I do not know if I would put my life on the line for this nation unless from drastic changes are made and I mean drastic, as in going to look for a rope.
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Stephen P. Halbrook, Attorney said...
Federal law preempts state law when you’re only traveling through, as you were. 18 USC 926A. The federal courts recognize this as a complete defense to a state criminal charge, although they have been reluctant to recognize a civil rights action against the police who make arrests contrary to the federal law. Torraco v. Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, 615 F.3d 129 (2nd Cir. 2010). Anyone who transports a firearm in compliance with 926A, including through airports, cannot be convicted of a state gun charge.
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James said...
Before this happened you were probably one of the majority convinced that this kind of thing could never happen. I travel a lot and this is nothing compared to everything else that’s going on. But until more people realize we’re not safe from our own government in our own country, we’re just a bunch of crackpots and your story is just an isolated incident. Best of luck to you!
ILLHUNTER said...
Holy S–t, Stephen P. Halbrook commented on your 2Am case. My advice is to LISTEN TO HIM! Google his name and find out that he is probably the preeminent gun rights attorney in the country. Part of the team that won HEller and McDonald. Your name could be among those. The 2nd Am is a civil right and yours were violated. A federal lawsuit is your appropriate response. If you are a member of NRA, contact them or Cal Guns or the Second Amendment Foundation etc. If you didn’t support these groups, you are partly responsible for the condition that exists in the country. I was born and grew up in Queens County and I apologize for the pinheads I left behind who allowed this to happen. I hop you publish every cops name, every prosecutor and everyone remotely connected with this travesty. Including the rat who called the cops in the first place. I don’t want anyone too stupid to read and understand the Constitution to have a badge a gun or position of authority. As another poster wrote:”I gonna look for some rope”.
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Mark Meckler said...
Stephen,
Do you think there is a class action in here somewhere? What about the seizure of the weapon. Hundreds have been seized in NYC without due process. It is virtually impossible to get them returned.
Mark
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me said...
The German murderers were only “doing their jobs” too.
And it will come to that here too if they are not stopped.
Austin Ford, Jr. said...
Mark,
I like the class action idea; maybe 100-200 souls sue NYC for return of stolen / confiscated property. Use legal recourse to secure 2nd Amendment rights. Could become a landmark case.
Teabeans said...
You need to sue to them for false arrest and harassment. It was a bogus charge! And until someone stands up to them, they will continue to falsely arrest people. Plus, I wonder if this could actually become a class-action lawsuit. Sounds like to me it should be.
David said...
Use this law to go after them;
TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 21 > SUBCHAPTER I > § 1983
§ 1983. Civil action for deprivation of rights
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.
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Michael Paterno said...
Dear Mr Meckler,
This past December I went through a similar experience although I did not spend a night in jail. I have a CC permit for the state of NY which was issued from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department located in Riverhead NY.
I also have a CC permit for the state of Florida. I called the sheriff’s office inform them that in January I was going to Florida and wanted to take my 22 target pistol down with me. I wanted to make sure I was following all the rules to transport a firearm. I was told I was not allowed to take my pistol out of state for any reason. Even if I have a valid permit for the point of orgin and final destination.
I emailed my local legislature and he in turn emailed the sheriff’s office and the county attorney’s office asking them which point of law or court decision supports their policy. It finally ended with the county sheriff’s office calling me to tell me that the officer who told me I could not take my pistol out of state was “miss-informed”.
We must all be vigilant when it comes to our 2nd ammedment rights. Good luck.
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Aaron said...
Mark, I live in New York State right outside of the City.
My “pistol permit” which I took time and effort and money to obtain doesn’t even allow me to posses and/or carry anywhere in NYC.
I went to a gathering of gun bloggers last September, but was afraid to fly with my guns because my “permit” isn’t good anywhere in NYC, including the airports!
Donald Gaines said...
They are doing a difficult job and one many of those Officers do not agree with. However we support Mark and his family. If we can help please let us know we will do what ever we can.
Don
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Colleen said...
I spent 7 years in 5 courts trying to fight for my constitutional rights to own a business, plans and a home. I watched as the government shut down my business and gave all my company plans to their favorite corporations. The very same judges that heard my cases sat on the board of director roster with the defendants; who would benefit financially from my company.
The defendants had shares in the Federal Reserve.
As much as I wanted to be a member of the Tea Party, and stand up for Americans, and find my place in America, I was so tired of fighting. I learned the hard way that courts, lawyers, judges, law enforcement (I spent 4 years in LE) and corporations are connected in a way that if Americans knew how little rights they really have, they wouldn’t be so shocked when they hear stories like yours. The truth is, they don’t know our true system yet because they haven’t faced it.
I lost everything, and others were threatened by the government not to do business with me. So, I had to move on. New state, new life. I am no party…don’t care to vote because the senators and congressmen in my state told me they depend on the defendants to raise funding for them. So, where do Americans stand when our judicial system and Congress is owned by the corporations?
I just have move on and hope I never end up in their system again.
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j. hodd said...
Read “Molon Labe” by Boston Tea Party for a blueprint on how THE PEOPLE CAN TAKE BACK THIS COUNTRY.
This book deals with defying those in power and standing up for FREEDOM…. both from government intrusion and on a personal level.
Briefly, Molon Labe means ‘Come and Get them”……..
Every person who has read this book loved it, and understood what the stakes are.
Bruce Smith said...
Have you contacted the Institute for Justice, a libertarian organization of attorneys that exists to sue the crap out of governments that trample on the legitimate rights of citizens? http://www.ij.org
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John McDermott said...
Sounds like it is time for a complete boycott of New York. No purchasing of items, no travel, no spending on anything from New York. The easiest way to get someone to change their ways is to remove an incentive. Take away money from New York and maybe they’ll make a change in who their leaders are.
Lorraine said...
I’m sorry, but I am from NYC and I am a gun owner. I bought my first gun in Ohio and now I live in NC for obvious reasons. My father was also NYPD and I know better than to have a gun or bring a gun to NYC. One of the reasons I no longer live there. Moral of the story is to to check the laws! If you check, re-check! Do your homework-it will save you time and money.
ron said...
I believe you can credit your loss of your firearm to the Federal Drug War confiscation rules. As usually happens, local governments incorporate federal laws into local rules to suit their desires. Many people reported that while traveling in airports with more than $2000 on them, they were arrested and the money confiscated in the name of the Drug War. Even after charges were dropped, they could not get their money back. You can bet the Patriot Act is being interpreted the same way. I still do not understand how a person in interstate commerce can be subject to local laws while in the airport. Fight It.
Elaine said...
As a parent of a child that was arrested under false pretenses, held in jail for 12 hours until he was able to go to court, worrying that he would not be released, I can tell you from experience that it was a nightmare that will not be readily forgotten. Knowing that your child is in custody because of a NYC law that is unconstitutional, in a cell with professed violent criminals, afraid to look at them or speak to them, is beyond terrifying. How we allow this to continue is beyond reprehensible. It’s time to make a difference. Let’s stand up and be counted. Each and every one of us can make a difference by taking the time to become involved in what our government does or doesn’t do, what laws they pass or don’t pass, and to take note of the liberties our elected government officials choose to deny us in our everyday lives. How far does this have to go before no one will be free?
areopagitica said...
Mark, please friend me, as Facebook discourages our own outreaches to those they somehow imagine we would not know. You are a fine individual and have won the hearts of all who heard this horror story.
areopagitica said...
I second the motion to declare NY CA IL and MA as off limits. I also add NV because of Reid, and VT. The fools who abide the people they elect and send to our US congress need to experience all the hardship we can allow them to visit upon themselves, with no pity.
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Holly Lamb said...
I don’t care what it would cost, I’d sue them and get my weapon back. I’m sure if you ask for donations people will be willing to donate. I wonder why the NRA is not all over this
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They couldn’t just let him go – there is a price to pay for being in Herr Bloomberg’s city.
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