Gun Madness at the State Line | National Review Online
Why do states treat ordinary citizens as gun criminals?
Earlier this year, a 27-year-old medical professional named Shaneen Allen drove peacefully out of her home state of Pennsylvania and into neighboring New Jersey. Today, she faces the prospect of three years in prison.
When she crossed the state line, Allen was carrying a concealed weapon. “I work two jobs and I work late, and getting up at that time of night I got robbed twice last year,” Allen told MY9NJ’s Bill Anderson. A friend recommended that she get herself a concealed-carry permit. This she did, fulfilling not only the requirements established by the state of Pennsylvania but the tougher restrictions that her city of Philadelphia imposes on top. Pulled over near the border by New Jersey police for an “unsafe lane change,” Allen informed officers that she was carrying a pistol. Her honesty landed her in serious trouble. Immediately, she was arrested and charged with both illegal possession of a firearm and possession of hollow-point ammunition. It was, her lawyer, Evan F. Nappen, tells me over the phone, “the most technical of errors. She thought her permit was treated like a driver’s license and was valid everywhere. And why wouldn’t you?”
Ignorance does not constitute a defense, and Allen is not exempt from state laws. If New Jersey wishes to prosecute her for her mistake it has every legal right to do so. But the aggressive manner in which county prosecutors have pursued a conviction is little short of bizarre. “The prosecutor has complete discretion in this case,” Nappen explains. “He could drop the charges. ...
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