Gov Christie pardons Pennsylvania mom who brought her permitted concealed handgun into New Jersey

Shaneen Allen's life isn't going to be the same.  This mother of two was arrested in October 2013 for having her loaded .380 handgun in her car.  When she was pulled over by the police she immediately informed the officer that she had a gun.  Worse she had hollow point bullets, bullets that are illegal in New Jersey.  But bullets that make a lot of sense for a small woman who wants to make sure that she is able to stop a large man who attacks her.  I can only image the costs that have been imposed on her over 2.5 years.  From Fox News:

. . . Christie, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, initially said he would let the case play out in the state's judicial system. He said recently he would consider changing the state's gun laws, but that the Democratic legislature has no appetite for that and instead he would do what was in his purview, such as pardons . . . .

The case drew national attention, in part because the same Atlantic County prosecutor and judge who signed off on pre-trial intervention for former NFL star Ray Rice, who knocked his then-fiancee out in an Atlantic City hotel elevator last year, denied the opportunity to Allen. 

At least the pardon will end her legal problems. 

Follow up on Philadelphia mother who unintentionally violated New Jersey's gun laws

The penalty for this mother of two children is out of all proportion to any possible harm that she did.  The point of these laws in New Jersey is to make people so afraid of violating the laws that they are worried about owning guns.  More background on the case is available here.  The new article from Fox News:

Allen, who has no prior criminal record, said she acquired the gun legally just a week prior to her arrest. She was headed to Atlantic City, N.J., in the early-morning hours to prepare for her son’s birthday party, which was being held three days later. 

“I was bringing a cake and the dog to the hotel room to surprise him,” she said. “That’s what I was doing out there and I got pulled over at 1 in the morning because I was sleepy and I swerved.” 

Allen purchased the gun for protection after being robbed twice in the past year, she said, adding that she never even fired it and feels somewhat snake-bitten by the entire ordeal.
“It’s definitely a freak thing,” she said. “I was trying to do a good thing and it turned out so bad — and just like that. I don’t know how to explain it, I really don’t.” 

Allen reiterated that she immediately told the officer she had a gun in her 2007 Chevrolet sedan, as well as a concealed carry permit for neighboring Pennsylvania. 

“The officer knew there was a gun there, she was completely honest and open,” her attorney, Evan Nappen, said. “There are no aggravating factors in this case; she’s a single mom of two, working in the medical field who was robbed twice and that’s what inspired her to get a gun license in the first place.” . . .

Young woman's life likely destroyed because of NJ's bizarre gun laws

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

Fox News in Dallas-Fort Worth has this story from New Jersey:

27 year-old Shaneen Allen wanted to protect her family. She took a gun safety course, applied for and was granted a concealed carry permit and she purchased a gun. 

“One of my family members, he thought it was appropriate for me to get one because I’m a single mother and I have two children and I work two jobs and I work late and getting up at that time of night I got robbed twice last year and he felt the need for me to get my license to protect me and my kids,” Allen explained. 

However, while Allen, from Philadelphia, was covered to carry a gun in Pennsylvania, she made the mistake of crossing into New Jersey with the weapon and now she's facing a mandatory minimum of three-years in jail. 

Allen said that she didn't know her permit didn't apply to New Jersey so when she was stopped for a minor traffic offense she told the police about her gun and her permit to carry. In this case, being honest may have cost her. 

“The judge tried to tell me that telling the truth messed me up, my life up and the cop said the same thing. Me opening my mouth and speaking out he said I’m one out of ten people that spoke up and was honest and that got me in trouble,” she said. 

Allen was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of hallow-point bullets which were in the gun. Under New Jersey gun laws, the illegal possession of a gun is a second-degree felony which holds a minimum sentence of three-years in prison. . . .

Note that when there was a related travesty with Brian Aitken in 2009 and 2010, Governor Christie commuted his sentence.  From the Star-Ledger:

Brian Aitken, who was convicted of illegally possessing three handguns he had legally purchased in Colorado, will be out of prison in time for Christmas.
Gov. Chris Christie commuted Aitken's sentence Monday, from seven years to time served, according to an order signed by the governor. It was Christie's first commutation since taking office almost a year ago. . . .
In 2009, Aitken was arrested for possessing three handguns and ammunition — the guns were unloaded — after state police found them in the trunk of his car. Aitken was visiting his mother in Burlington County when she became concerned about his well-being and called the police.
Aitken, who had recently moved from Colorado where he bought the guns, faced felony charges the same as if he had used the guns to commit a crime. Supporters of Aitken began a Facebook campaign to get his sentence commuted. . . . .

Blacks' views on concealed handgun permits in Illinois

Mick Dumke with the Chicago Reader describes a class of ten African-Americans in Illinois who are taking a class to get there concealed handgun permits.  With the views of Detroit's Police Chief James Craig and Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, I think that there is starting to be a sea change on blacks views on guns.

. . . State senator Kwame Raoul, who helped write the new legislation, says he isn't worried. "Particularly in northern Illinois, there's a sense that the sky is falling," says Raoul, who represents a liberal district stretching from downtown Chicago to the southeast side. "But people who've traveled the country probably haven't thought about the fact that the places they visited had conceal and carry. In fact, in a lot of the places they traveled to, they probably felt safer." 

Raoul stresses that he's never been a gun-ownership advocate. "But it can't be as simple as, if you're a true fighter against gun violence you're for everything on this side of the line, and if you're a proponent of gun ownership rights, you're somehow for gun violence." . . .  

Most of the participants in the class were wary of giving their names or talking to me on the record about their interest in guns. But afterward I received an e-mail from Karl Hubert, a 63-year-old attorney. "If the 2nd Amendment had actually been available to African American citizens in the past, all over our country, then past atrocities committed against Black citizens, such as lynching, rapes, tortures, and many other horrible atrocities, would not have been visited upon our African American mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, children and friends," he wrote, "as these citizens would have had the ability to protect themselves, and not be at the mercy of societal bullies." 

Vernon has the same view. But, he says, that's not the ideal. "In theory, it would be good if we didn't need guns at all. It would really be good if the world could be at peace and people could treat other people with respect and dignity. That's the world I want to live in. But that world don't exist. Not on this planet. So I have to prepare myself to live in the world that exists."

I would have said much of what is written here word for word if I had been asked. 

What is covered in class to get a concealed carry permit?

In case you ever wondered what a concealed carry class was like, Mike Dumke at the Chicago Reader has a nice summary here:

. . . Vernon's two-day conceal-and-carry course is detailed and intense. Before heading to the range to shoot, participants spend a full day in the classroom. On the day I sat in, Vernon focused on basic firearm safety. "Number one, treat every gun as if it was loaded," he said. "Number two, never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy." 

One of the men in the class nodded. He recalled how his aunt once waved her gun at another car that cut them off in traffic. After she was able to pull away, someone in the other car shot out her back window. "My mom was like, 'Bitch, what are you doing?'"
"That's right," Vernon said. 

He told that class that he takes at least one gun everywhere he's allowed, but he repeatedly stressed that a gun should never be pulled unless it's a matter of critical urgency—and in those instances, you need to be practiced enough to put the threat down. You don't shoot for the legs, like on TV—you aim for the central nervous system, and you can't afford to miss. 

As the participants took notes or typed on iPads, Vernon demonstrated the proper ways to hold and load a weapon, then had the class practice repeatedly with dummy bullets. He dispensed advice of the most practical sort. He said the best gun to own is one that's reliable, fits your hand, and feels right to shoot; he prefers a semiautomatic Glock 22. Women don't need to limit themselves to tiny guns—"Oh hell, no!"—and just need to find one that's comfortable to handle. When leaving a gun at home, he said, make sure to lock it up someplace thieves won't think to look—definitely not under the mattress or in a nightstand drawer. 

And then there was the question of what to do when you're packing and have to use a public toilet. "Try to find a single-use bathroom, or a stall next to the wall," Vernon suggested—adding that it was a bad idea to set a gun on top of the tank, where it can slide into the toilet or be forgotten. 

He also methodically reviewed the specifics of the new law, such as the prohibitions on carrying guns in government buildings, in bars and any other business that posts a sign out front, and on public transportation—a provision that he found so absurd that it inspired him to act out how he would have to unload and break down his gun when he sees the bus coming and then reassemble and reload after reaching his stop. 

One of the women in the class wondered what would happen if she accidentally carried a gun into a Starbucks that banned them. "They could charge me with a misdemeanor?"
"If you stick around for the police, sure," Vernon said. But he pressed them to comply with all the provisions of the law, however illogical they might seem. . . .

Video of my CNN discussion on Detroit police chief saying that arming residents will act as a deterrent

My discussion on CNN over the Detroit police chief's comments is available here.

Milwaukee Co. Sheriff David Clarke educates Milwaukee Police Chief on Guns and Crime

Here is part of a press release put out by Sheriff Clarke:

. . . “Ed Flynn can stop with his arrogant way of lecturing me on what I need to do. I take my orders from the collective public, not from him. He takes his orders from Tom Barrett. 
This from a guy whose ‘fool-‘em-with-statistics-crime-strategy’ turned out to be a house of cards. Now the people of Milwaukee are paying for that snake-oil with fewer cops on the street.  

Why is it only a substantive conversation when he’s involved? He and Tom Barrett’s conversation is one-sided and it centers on stricter gun control for law-abiding citizens.  

I’m not interested in joining his blame-the-gun conversation whose goal is to browbeat me into believing that fewer guns equal less crime. That myth has been debunked in a study done by author John Lott.  

I am on the side of victims of crime and law-abiding citizens. I’ll converse with them. He, on the other hand, is on the anti-gun, anti-second amendment, lenient judiciary side. I have not heard him say one word about the role of the revolving door nature of the Milwaukee County criminal justice system and how that negates what officers do to keep repeat criminals off the street." . . . . 

Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke educates Piers Morgan and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett

The link is also available here.  The mayor explains that he has been assured that reductions in the number of police will have no impact of people's safety.  He also notes that people should just call 911 when they are in trouble.  Sheriff Clark notes the obvious: that the police can't protect people all the time and the question is what people should do when they have to defend themselves against criminals.

Race and concealed handgun permits

Here are a few states with high fees to get permits
Texas 2012 permit fee $140
Black share of population 12.2%
Black share of permits issued 7.2%

Louisiana 2009 permit fee $100
Black share of population 32.4%
Black share of permits issued 12%

Oklahoma 2011 permit fee $125
Black share of population 7.7%
Black share of permits issued 2.8%

Some other relevant information is available here.

Wisconsin sheriff urges citizens to arm themselves

It is difficult for me to understand how recognizing that police won't immediately be there when a victim is facing a criminal is controversial.  Nor is it clear why advising that the most effective way to defend themselves when they face a criminal is with a gun is also controversial.  But surely there is a huge difference between self-defense a criminal who is attacking a person and vigilantism?  From Fox News:

A sheriff who released a radio ad urging Milwaukee-area residents to learn to handle firearms so they can defend themselves while waiting for police said Friday that law enforcement cutbacks have changed the way police can respond to crime. 

In the 30-second commercial, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. says personal safety is no longer a spectator sport. 

"I need you in the game," he says. 

"With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option," he adds. "You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back. ... Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there." 

The ad has generated sharp criticism from other area officials and anti-violence advocates. The president of the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association, Roy Felber, said it sounds like a call to vigilantism. . . .

A video of his appearance on Fox is available here.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this discussion:

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. set off alarm bells Friday with a radio spot some view as a call for citizens to arm themselves.
In the radio ad, Clarke tells residents personal safety isn't a spectator sport anymore, and that "I need you in the game."
"With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option," Clarke intones.
"You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back."
Clarke urges listeners to take a firearm safety course and handle a firearm "so you can defend yourself until we get there."
"You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We're partners now. Can I count on you?"
The spot aired at least once - during the last hour of the Mark Belling show on WISN-AM (1130) on Thursday. Clarke spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin posted it to the department website on Friday. She said she did not know where else or how often the spot would be broadcast, or how much the department spent to air it.
Clarke has served as lightning rod before, most recently when he called for schools to arm teachers after the Newtown, Conn., massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school. News of the sheriff's gun ad quickly generated feedback. . . . .