Startling case against single mom gets new
look by Bob Unruh
The prosecution of a
single mother who faces up to a decade in prison for carrying a weapon for
which she had a concealed carry permit in her state is being re-evaluated,
according to a report from the National
Rifle Association.
Shaneen Allen, of Pennsylvania, already has
spent 46 days in jail because she drove into New Jersey with her weapon. She
was offered a deal that includes a mandatory minimum of more than three years
in prison.
Because New Jersey refuses to recognize
Pennsylvania’s concealed-carry permit, she was handcuffed, shackled and
jailed after she told a New Jersey officer who stopped her for an alleged
traffic violation that she was carrying. In Pennsylvania, the disclosure to
police is required by law.
Allen, who has two young children, had obtained
the weapon and the permit after being robbed twice in a year. The arrest came
during a social outing that took her across the state border into New Jersey,
where a state trooper alleged she committed a lane violation.
In a new interview with the NRA, her attorney,
Evan Nappen, said the judge has agreed to the prosecutor’s request for a delay
of three weeks to “re-evaluate” the case. A conference that had been scheduled
for this week and her trial, which was to begin Oct. 6, have been delayed.
“I think this is a great sign,” Nappen said.
“It’s about time that this … hard-ball position on firearms get a
re-evaluation. … Hopefully, [the prosecutor will] be inclined to use his
discretion … and the focus can stay on people that are a threat of violence to
us. Not folks like Shaneen.”
NRA commentator Ginny Simone obtained a copy of
the prosecutor’s letter and read from it: “I am presently in the process of
reviewing our office’s position on the appropriate resolution of this matter.”
WND
reported the campaign by NRA to
publicize the case. Here’s one report:
Said Nappen: “Is New Jersey that superior to the
rest of the United States, that their license is so sacred and sacrosanct, that
they cannot recognize a single other license based on a Second Amendment
right?”
New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Carroll, calling
the state “freedom hell,” says the law is “insane.” Prosecutors earlier had
refused permission for Allen, a medical assistant, to enter a diversion program
for first offenders, even though evidence showed she made an “honest mistake.”
“I have to worry about spending three years in
state person without my kids. Where’s the justice in that?” Allen asked. Her
advocates say a federal law providing reciprocity for recognition of gun
permits might be the only solution, since “New Jersey’s hopeless.”
Assemblyman Ron Dancer has introduced a bill
that would give judges the option of lesser penalties for visitors who
inadvertently violate state law. He said it’s “unconscionable” that Allen faces
“mandatory time in prison for telling the truth.” “This is about justice and
constitutional rights,” he said.
Source:
http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/will-legal-gun-owner-really-get-decade-in-jail/
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/will-legal-gun-owner-really-get-decade-in-jail/#IHQ8HUBUCYhXgdlx.99
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/will-legal-gun-owner-really-get-decade-in-jail/#IHQ8HUBUCYhXgdlx.99
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