In a show of common sense, no charges were filed against State Representative Lori Saine, R-Firestone.
Lori had forgotten that her personal, legal, self-defense firearm was in her carry-on luggage. From thedenverchannel.com:
DENVER — The Boulder County District Attorney has decided not to press charges against Colorado State Rep. Lori Saine, R-Firestone, who was arrested December 5 after carrying a loaded gun through security at Denver International Airport.This type of incident happens thousands of times a year. In 2015, the number was 2,653 firearms discovered in carry- on bags. In 2016, 3,391 firearms were discovered the same way.. The number is increasing every year. I expect the 2017 numbers to be higher yet.
In a statement released Thursday, Boulder District Attorney Stanley Garnett's office said a criminal case against Saine could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and charges “are not appropriate.” She was facing a possible class 6 felony charge.
Denver is in the top 10 airports for discoveries of legal firearm owners who are inadvertently caught up in TSA security apparatus. There were 98 of these incidents in Denver in 2016.
The U.S.A. has over 16 million people with firearm carry permits, about 6.5 percent of the adult population. With so many people legally carrying firearms, it is inevitable that a few will be distracted at a critical time, get rushed in packing a bag, or otherwise make an innocent mistake that leads to a problem such as Representative Saine encountered at the Denver airport.
Most of these situations are handled with common sense, such as the Boulder County District Attorney demonstrated.
Legal gun owners caught up in TSA security apparatus, should not be subject t o the same penalties as terrorists and assorted criminals.
Being pulled off a flight, losing the cost of the ticket, missing your appointments and family events, and going through the criminal justice system, are more than enough punishment for an innocent mistake.
The job of a prosecutor is to seek justice, not to win cases and prosecutions.
This incident serves as a warning to all gun owners in the United States, and particularly to the millions who routinely carry firearms.
When traveling by air, be extremely cautious about your luggage. Search your carry-on twice to make sure it does not contain so much as a single round of .22 ammunition.
A number of years ago, I found I had traveled hundreds of miles by air with a box of .22 shells in my computer bag. It was a wake-up call. TSA never discovered the box of ammunition, but they could have. It would have ruined my day.
Do not make that mistake. It is much easier to do than you imagine. The vast majority of people are careful and avoid problems. There are about a hundred million gun owners in the United States. 3,391 were found with a gun in their carry-on last year. It is a tiny percentage.
The numbers are rising as are the number of gun owners and people who regularly carry. Carry a gun enough, and fly often enough, and it can happen. Check your bags twice. When you are tempted to rush, slow down.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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6 comments:
The moral of this article is don't be in a hurry , never fly.
first off I think those regulations suck canal water, secondly if you only have one gun and cant remember where you put it that is pretty damned incompetent someone say two different levels of justice?
One law for the elected officials. A different law for the "common" People.
Think you or I would have been shown clemency or had "common sense" applied had we done the same thing?
I'm sorry, but it's beyond me how anyone can forget about a firearm anywhere outside of the house.
Even when I go to the range or to the farm to shoot I am hyperaware of the firearm being in my car.
When it's not locked away it's always at the forefront of my mind.
That's just me I guess.
I second and support comments by 'Librarian' 12/25/2017 12:56:00AM.
In a Bill-of-Rights culture, it would be "Common Sense" to not prosecute a non-violent minor transgression like this.
Any ordinary citizen in this situation would - and many already have - been "served and protected" out their a$$. It is "Common Sense" to hold Elected Leaders to a higher standard than the 'common man' - NOT to give them greater leniency for identical actions.
For the rule of law to mean anything, 'zero-tolerance" laws enforced against the plebes had better be enforced for EVERYONE ... that is, until we can rid ourselves of 'zero-tolerance' laws. If we find that is NOT happening, we can conclude ALL those so-called 'laws' are null and void!
BTW, belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018 to Dean and all readers/commenters here. Thank you, Dean for maintaining this blog, and allowing its use.
Be caught sleeping in your car to tired to drive safely. be awakened by two cops pointing their guns at you then get asked for permission to search your car with a 40 caliber being pressed into the back of your head fuck the cops.
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