More stupidity

[Colombe]

http://www.boortz.com/nealznuz.htm

Her name is Allison Reed. She's a student at the University of Arkansas.

Allison got married last weekend. She and her husband boarded an airplane at the Little Rock airport. They were
on their way to a honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.

Allison borrowed a carry-on bag from her mother. Her pistol-packing mother, it turns out. Her mom forgot to
remove a little .22 caliber pistol from the bag. Not only that, but the security folks at the Little Rock airport didn't
see it when she passed through security.

Next stop --- Hartsfield. She gets off the plane form Little Rock and heads for Concourse E ... where her flight will
leave for Mexico.

While waiting for the flight Allison goes through her carry-on. Oops! There's a gun in there! What to do?

Well, there are several choices. Keep it! After all, you're already through security. But then those pesky customs
people in Mexico might find it. Nope, not a good idea. You could always dump it in a trash can! But then
someone else with a dark mind might find it. Not good. So ... tell a security officer!

That's what Allison did. She went to find a security guard to tell him of her find. The police are summoned, and
Allison finds herself in jail. Hours later she's in the Atlanta City Jail .. instead of on her honeymoon in Cancun.

 

[USP45]

Hello Ms. Reed. Thankyou for flying the Amicable Skies with us this afternoon. Now i just have a few questions to ask you before you board. Did you pack your own bags? Yes? Good. Has anyone other than you had access to your bags? No? Good. Has anyone asked you to carry anything on the flight? No? Good. Do your bags have any hidden compartments which may contain firearms? Yes? ok, please step this way. Thankyou.

~USP

 

[C.R.Sam]

Mother and daughter together still bout a load short of havin a full brick.

------------------
Sam I am, grn egs n packin

Nikita Khrushchev predicted confidently in a speech in Bucharest, Rumania on June 19, 1962 that: " The United States will eventually fly the Communist Red Flag...the American people will hoist it themselves."

 

[bookkie]

I don't know if this is a case of stupidity or not. Sh** happens sometimes. We all try to be as careful as we can, but still there are days....

What I object to is the fact that she is in jail for trying to stand up for her mistake and do the right thing. What should have been done is security to ask her where she wants it sent to upon her return. Then beg her a good day.



------------------
Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!

 

[Jeff Thomas]

Well, the mother was foolish for leaving a sidearm in the bag. But, if she has only full grown children, this is not an incredible breach IMHO.

The daughter tried to do the right thing. She forgot that she in the nearly fascist and brainless U.S. of the year 2000. Easy mistake to make, since we still have the remnants of freedom around us ... Star Spangled Banner at ballgames, Constitution, etc. Anyone not paying attention could be fooled into believing that we still believe in freedom, fair play and so on.

Obviously her best course would have been to leave the security area, and mail the thing to herself (unloaded, of course). Perhaps not technically the correct course, but it will sure be on my list of possible responses should I ever confront such a situation ... live and learn - don't trust the authorities, ever.

Regards from AZ

 

[dZ]

unload it
mail it back to mom from the airport
no fed ex office?

what about putting it in a locker?

dZ

 

[Tommy.Gun]

Yeh , a locker or Fed Ex. ANYTHING but call the police! Hay I'm in the airport and I got a gun! The cops are not your friend, period! They work for the gov. and inforce the law.Having a gun in an airport is illegle, period. Thats why she went to jail..

 

[gRAVEdgN]

Least she did not get caught in Mexico with it.

 

[Herodotus]

Yes, Mexico would have been theoretically worse, and she was on her way to Cancun.
But in Mexico, there is a decent chance the $10 American can get you out of any jamb.

 

[chink]

depending on the value of the gun, i would have said to a a cop "ahh... there was a stange man next to my bag. can you check out the bag for me?" sure, you may loose the gun, but you don't end up in jail.

------------------
It ain't mah fault. did I do dat?
http://yellowman.virtualave.net/

 

[Danger Dave]

I read an article on this in the Atlanta paper. She spent Sunday night in jail (Sunday is a bad time to be arrested) but a municipal court judge threw out the charges Monday morning. She should be on her honeymoon now.

It's another version of the zero-tolerance - the security/police had to report it, they had to press charges - nobody's allowed to make a decision until it goes in front of a judge. In this case, she got lucky and got a reasonable judge (Fulton Co. does have some good ones, but there are the dictators among them). If she were a high school student caught on school grounds under similar circumstances, it would never go before a judge - she'd never have a chance. Sucks, don't it?

 

[Phil]

The truly pathetic/scary thing about this and all these other "zero tolerance" rules is that it actually encourages generally law abiding citizens to break the law and fear the police. Once you start encouraging this, general contempt for the police and most rules follows. Look at the 55 MPH speed limit. A whole generation of drivers grew up watching their parents ignore a ridiculous law and try to avoid the police. It ultimately encouraged a lot of these people to have contempt for all traffic laws.

I knew a guy who inherited a revolver. It was a fine gun and had sentimental value. There was no will and nobody else wanted it.
The deceased had verbally indicated this guy was to have it. So he took it and brought it back to his home state. The death had been sudden and there was no time to get the proper permit. Owning other handguns and having been checked out multiple times by local and federal (NICS) authority he wasn't worried. He checked the law and discovered there was NO way to make the gun legal. He hadn't got the permit first and that was that. He was now faced with throwing the gun out or breaking the law. You have someone who is legally ok to own this gun. Wants to do the "right" thing, but is told, "Nope. Can't be done. Just isn't possible. We just aren't allowed to use our brains." Sheesh.

 

[jeffer]

Sorry but this is the kind of irresponsible gun ownership (on the mom’s behalf) that makes us look bad.

 

[Dennis]

Bookkie says, “I don't know if this is a case of stupidity or not. Sh** happens
sometimes. We all try to be as careful as we can, but still there are days....”

If all of us were perfect, none of us would ever have accidentally let a gun
muzzle cover someone. There would be no such thing as an AD/ND. As
bookkie says, stuff happens.

Sadly, Jeff hit the nail on the head noting we only have “the remnants
of freedom around us.” Our freedoms, our Rights, are largely historical.

Some time ago, a Brit e-mailed me and noted he had no RKBA but he
considered himself to be free. I guess some people would consider
themselves to have “freedom” even in a concentration camp, “... for those
who in their hearts are free”, etc.

However, when such freedom exists only in our minds or spirits, that leaves
us no physical defense against tyranny - whether it’s by a government or
other rapists.

Yet, We the People supported, even encouraged the loss of our Rights,
and continue to do so.

Now, even those who try to comply with the law are unable to comply without
violating some other aspect of the law. As a nation, we deserve the tyranny
we continue to bring upon ourselves and our children.

Danged shame there’s so few real Americans left.
Danged shame there’s no place left for believers in the real America.

[This message has been edited by Dennis (edited May 25, 2000).]

 

[Kirk D]

There was something on the local (Atlanta) news radio this morning about this case.

I was slightly wrong in what I posted a few minutes ago... here's an actual update of the story:

Before an Arkansas newlywed was arrested at Hartsfield International Airport last weekend after telling authorities she had found a gun in her luggage, Atlanta police had some obstacles to overcome --- namely one of their own police officers, who refused to charge the woman, and a Clayton County judge, who refused to issue a warrant for her arrest.

"The officer became very emotional and he said he would not arrest this girl," said Maj. M.L. Brooks, commander of Atlanta's airport unit. "He yelled at his supervisor."

The officer, whose name was not released Wednesday, did not agree that 20-year-old Alison Reed of Alexander, Ark., should be arrested Sunday at Hartsfield.

Reed, who had just gotten married eight hours earlier and was on her way to Cancun through Atlanta, had discovered a .22-caliber pistol wedged in her carry-on bag.

The gun belongs to her mother, Tommie Reed, who had forgotten the weapon was there when she loaned the bag to her daughter.

When Reed, a student at the University of Arkansas, found the gun, she immediately reported it to a security guard who in turn called police.

"The officer called his supervisor and told him he was faced with a situation he did not know how to handle," Brooks said. "His sergeant called a lieutenant, and the lieutenant told them to arrest Ms. Reed. He should have followed the order and discussed it with his supervisor later."

That didn't happen, and Sgt. S. Hutchins had to send in a second officer to arrest Reed.

The first officer in the meantime was relieved of duty for the day, Brooks said.

But the Atlanta officer wasn't the only one on Reed's side.

Clayton County Magistrate Judge John Campbell said Atlanta police called him shortly after they nabbed the newlywed. The officer was seeking an arrest warrant from Campbell so Reed could be taken to the Clayton County Jail.

"I did not feel there was probable cause for an arrest warrant," Campbell said. "The police did nothing wrong or unusual, but there was no probable cause."

The officer is now under investigation for refusing to follow an order and possibly for insubordination, said Chip Warren, vice president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

"The officer believed he was receiving an improper order," Warren said Wednesday.

"My concern is, the girl did the right thing. What's going to happen to other people faced with this same situation?"

Reed --- honeymooning at last in Cancun with her husband, Jason Combs --- laughed about her experience Wednesday.

"At least I know there was one person in that Police Department that wanted to help me. I tried do do the right thing, and they put me through hell. This makes you wonder what to do the next time."

[This message has been edited by Kirk D (edited May 25, 2000).]

 

[Jeff OTMG]

For a crime to be committed criminal intent must be proven. Without the intent there is no crime. Her actions were completely above reproach, when whe realized something was wrong she worked to correct the situation. The officers actions were correct as were those of the judge. Sounds like the brass at the PD needs to go back to police school or be sued for false arrest. He may have just been trying to make points with the mayor hoping for a promotion, but my hat goes off to the officer who knows what he was doing.

 

[Dennis]

Jeff, "For a crime to be committed criminal intent must be proven."

That was only true in free America.

A: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."
B: Make a simple math error on your federal tax return. You run the risk of interest, penalties, and fines.

We no longer live in free America.