It is the kind of legal nightmare one only imagines from a Hollywood script writer, but right now in New Jersey, a man sits in prison who should not be there and his case has so outraged firearm civil rights activists that Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, will be flying to the Garden State in several days to join in a demonstration in Toms River, N.J.
Gottlieb will join Scott Bach, president of the New Jersey Association of Rifle & Pistol Clubs, radio personality Dennis Malloy and at least two membrs of the State Assembly, Michael Patrick Carroll and Allison Little McHose.
The aim is to petition Gov. Chris Christie to grant clemency to Brian Aitken, who – if one can believe this – is in prison essentially because he legally owned a couple of handguns. His story has flashed across Internet gun rights forums, and has been reported by the Philadelphia Daily News.
What has happened to Brian Aitken underscores why gun owners all over the country, including here in Washington State, are so bitterly opposed to the kinds of gun control initiatives we repeatedly see offered by the gun control lobby as “reasonable.” Their so-called "common sense" gun control measures are invariably carefully crafted legal minefields designed to strip as many citizens as possible of their firearms rights. Had Initiative 676 passed back in 1997, Washingtonians would be living under a statute not unlike that which has put Aitken behind bars; a law born from the same kind of gulag mentality that seems to inspire gun prohibitionists everywhere.
As an aside, it seems bizarre that people like Aitken should be imprisoned when the press is reporting that the City of Newark has to lay off police officers. Government can afford to jail Aitken but it cannot afford to keep cops on the street.
“…his father and attorney claim that the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office and the former Superior Court judge who tried the case ignored evidence that proved Brian had the guns legally. The family has asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for clemency and has garnered a great deal of support on a "Free Brian Aitken" Facebook page and among gun-rights advocates.-Philadelphia Daily News
Long story short: Aitken had separated from his wife and moved out to Colorado to pursue his career. About two years ago, he moved back to New Jersey to be closer to the couple’s young son. On Jan. 2, 2009, according to the newspaper account, his ex-wife canceled his visit with their son. Aitken “became distraught,” the newspaper said, and “muttered something to his mother before leaving his parents’ home in Mount Laurel. Whatever it was Aitken said, his mother – a “trained social worker,” according to the newspaper, called the local police but hung up before the dispatcher answered, so the call was back-traced and police were dispatched.
Here’s where Aitken’s life took a turn due south, thanks to the Draconian New Jersey gun laws and a prosecutor and judge who come from the wrong side of the Mississippi River, if you get my drift. The cops found a couple of handguns in the trunk of Aitken’s car that he had legally purchased in Colorado. The guns were unloaded and locked in a box, but under New Jersey statute, the newspaper noted, Aitken needed a purchase permit from the state to own the guns and a carry permit to have them in his car.
Stop there for a moment. Here in Washington – which is part of the United States rather than a police state – there is no such thing as a “purchase permit” for a handgun, and even if there were, how could that possibly apply to a previously-owned handgun that was purchased in another state? One does not require a carry permit to transport unloaded firearms in a vehicle.
New Jersey allows exemptions for gun owners to transport weapons for hunting or if they are moving from one residence to another. During the trial, Aitken's mother testified that her son was moving things out, and his friend in Hoboken testified he was moving things in. A Mount Laurel officer, according to Larry Aitken, testified that he saw boxes of dishes and clothes in the Honda Civic on the day of the arrest.-Philadelphia Daily News
And then (gasp!), the police also found so-called “large capacity” magazines and hollow-point ammunition, which, according to the Daily News, “one state gun-control advocate found troubling.”
Oh, yeah? If CeaseFire New Jersey Executive Director Bryan Miller finds that “troubling,” he’d faint dead away if he ever peeked inside some cars out here in the Evergreen State. No telling how many aid cars would have to respond if Miller suddenly found himself at a certain Open Carry picnic down in Seatac!
As it turns out, Aitken had the guns in his car because he was apparently in the process of moving, a contention that his supporters insist was essentially ignored by the prosecutor’s office and by former Superior Court Judge James Morley, who was not reappointed to the bench by Gov. Christie.
So now Aitken sits in prison. He is being represented by crack gun rights attorney Evan Nappen, who is also speaking at the Dec. 12 rally, and there is no telling how this case might end. An appeal is in the works, but in the meantime, if Gov. Christie should provide clemency to Aitken, that somehow doesn’t seem like enough. The conviction should be expunged, and Aitken’s full civil rights – including his gun rights – should be restored immediately and his property returned. Somewhere in the process, he ought to get an apology.
Aitken’s supporters even have created a Facebook page for him, and the outpouring of support has been overwhelming. It has not, however, been enough to get this guy out of prison, where he clearly doesn’t belong.
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Comments
Right out of the leftist dreambook!
"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the supply of arms to the underdogs is a sine qua non for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or native police. German troops alone will bear the sole responsibility for the maintenance of law and order throughout the occupied Russian territories, and a system of military strong-points must be evolved to cover the entire occupied country." --Adolf Hitler, dinner talk on April 11, 1942, quoted in Hitler's Table Talk 1941-44: His Private Conversations, Second Edition (1973), Pg. 425-426. Translated by Norman Cameron and R. H. Stevens. Introduced and with a new preface by H. R. Trevor-Roper. The original German papers were known as Bormann-Vermerke.
Every Communist must grasp the truth, 'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.'
-- Mao Tse-tung, 1938, inadvertently endorsing the Second Amendment.
Seems to me that this man was denied his rights and sold out by a nosy mother.
Hopefully, karma will kick in and free an innocent man.
I'm glad to see this going viral. This is a travesty.
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
-Thomas Jefferson
Sounds like New Jersey.
For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.
-Thomas Jefferson
Not so in New Jersey.
History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.
-Thomas Jefferson
Exactly, and New Jersey is a prime example!
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
-Thomas Jefferson
The people in New Jersey want to be 'taken care of.'
Liberty is to the collective body, what health is to every individual body. Without health no pleasure can be tasted by man; without liberty, no happiness can be enjoyed by society.
-Thomas Jefferson
New Jersey: Physician, heal thyself!
No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.
-Thomas Jefferson
Not so in New Jersey!
This case demonstrates exactly why Constitutional Civil Rights need to be the same from coast to coast. 50 different sets of laws for one Constitutional Right is absolutely freakin' retarded.
Spot on.,,,,,this is the purpose of the 14th amendment after all,
From what I understand of the Laws if you are transporting a weapon across the Country and it s in a Locked box as I guess his were, then I see no violation here. At the same time, I'm not clear on the statement of the Phone call or its intent that initiated this Police action in the first place.
The Court proceeding sounds like a Circus rather than a Court of Law and there was no Justice served in it, for this man to be in prison is just wrong.
I think he should be cleared of any charges against him, the record removed as a wrongful conviction, his freedom returned immediately, his property returned and he should suit for wrongful arrest and prosecution and imprisonment.
An apology just won't get it.
Oh, and Dave?
If you think your story is bad, check this one out:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334752/Bungling-police-arrive-c...
Excerpt:
Police officers wolfed down pizzas at a crime scene without realising they had been ordered by the very suspects they had been hunting, a court heard.
They bought the two deep pan pizzas at a reduced price from a delivery boy after the gang who ordered them refused to answer the door.
The Old Bailey heard the food had been ordered by the gang from the Hertfordshire house they were holding a drug dealer hostage, in April.
The victim was beaten and bound to a chair and battered across the face with frying pans
He lived there for TWO YEARS.
He didn't jump through the hoops and have the required FOID or some such ridiculous document.
He had a normal capacity magazine - a No-No in NJ.
He made a statement to his Mom that prompted a call to the LEOs.
He had the weapons in his car where they could be easily found.
He screwed the pooch and all that will be accomplished by Alan of SAF going there is a waste of jet fuel.
Yes the NJ laws are total bovine excrement, but if you are living there, not following those stupid laws is an invitation to DISASTER.
BS, you have moral and civil obligation as an American o break such laws. If everybody broke these bad laws since they could not arrest everybody they would have to throw out the bad law. The founding fathers risked their lives, fortunes and scared honor so you could have these rights. Trust me they not only "would" but "did" break similar laws and so should every freedom loving American alive today.
Unfortunately, Brian has highlighted for everyone how nonsensical the gun laws are in New Jersey. Maybe this is a good thing that he is exposing this for everyone else?
Ok, let’s say you have a firearm that you legally own, you're moving from one city in NJ to another within NJ. The firearm is unloaded and it’s locked in a hard case that is also in your locked truck of your vehicle. There is nothing illegal about this if you are transporting the firearm legally per NJ law which you are.
Now you have the ammunition (hollow points) locked in an ammunition can. Nothing illegal about this either per NJ law being that your transporting them from your old residence to your new residence. Now this is where the problem (and Brian’s) comes into play.
You have a high capacity magazine (19 round) also in the vehicle.
New Jersey law defines “large capacity ammunition magazine” as a box, drum, tube or other container which is capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition to be fed continuously and directly into a semiautomatic firearm.
Clearly having this “high capacity magazine” is illegal, and is a crime of the 4th degree in NJ.
So being that you have committed a crime (possession of a high capacity magazine) and that you are in possession of hollow point ammunition, makes having the hollow point ammunition a 4th degree crime because being in possession of hollow point ammunition is illegal if used in the commission of a crime (possession of the high capacity magazine).
Finally, it is also illegal to possess a weapon (firearm, even if you legally own it) while committing a crime (possession of a high capacity magazine and hollow point ammunition).
There are two sides to every story and we are only hearing one side of that story, the one from Brian Aitken.
Proponents who push this cause in an effort to help Brian will be surprised at the non-outcome from the state. Alan G. should go green and stay home. The less jet fuel wasted the better. Why groups like NJ2AS are in support of Brian’s issue will bring them no credibility. And Mr. Christie will do absolutely nothing to help when petitioned. He’s well aware of the law. He was the AG in a previous life here. To do so would set an odd precedent contradicting the silly law so many others committed and were convicted of BEFORE poor Brian.
PS - If you are in the throes of a custody dispute and want to move back to New Jersey, leave your guns at home. You don't need them right away. And don't make flippant comments to mommy before leaving which may raise cause for alarm. I'm sure Brian's ex-wfe's parents feel more comfortable that he's in jail rather than running around with his firearms. Lesson learned.
No Ish, the law that says having a 19 round magazine is what is illegal, not having the magazine. It is an unconstitutional law, and therefore a nullity. ARMS, includes ammunition and "feeding devices" (magazines) that are a part of the arms. ALL of these items are protected by the second amendment. It is YOU who needs a lesson.
"...leave your guns at home. You don't need them right away."
So glad your precognition works better than mine. Can I hire you?
New Jersey's gun laws are entirely unConstitutional and that is why they must be fought. Civil Rights are always worth fighting for.
P.S. "...keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
What part of "The right of The PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" do >YOU< not understand?
.
You'll be telling the rest of us all about that, won't you, ish?
.
Or will you?
The courts are obliged to consider and not ignore legislative intent. The crime in this case is victimless as it is a regulatory one and so I do not think it should be interpreted to be commission of a crime in this context as I would venture to say that the crime defies legislative intent wherein a crime would be any offense involving bringing harm to another, committing robbery, kidnapping or transporting controlled substances etc.
The courts are obliged to consider and not ignore legislative intent. The crime in this case is victimless as it is a regulatory one and so I do not think it should be interpreted to be commission of a crime in this context as I would venture to say that the crime defies legislative intent wherein a crime would be any offense involving bringing harm to another, committing robbery, kidnapping or transporting controlled substances etc.
Dave, please contact me. I tried to find your email but could not. The New Jersey Second Amendment Society is sponsoring this event. you can reach me at
tom@nj2as.com
Thanks
Tom
www.nj2as.com
Mikey,
You can pontificate all you want about what is "unconstitutional," but the law is the law that we have to follow here. I don't agree with it either. But those are the laws in New Jersey. The mere possession of a hi-cap magazine whether in the gun, loose in your back pocket or locked in your safe at home is still breaking the law in New Jersey.
An older Marlin M60 .22 with the original 19 rnd. tubular magazine is considered an assault weapon in N.J. and owners have been convicted of such for possession. (State v. Pelleteri; 1996)
Still don't believe me? Go to the NJSP website or state Attorney General's website and review these codes that Brian was found guilty of: 02:39-3F, 2C:39-5B, 2C:39-3J (high-capacity magazines.) They are published for all to read and understand. Unless you've been asleep for the last fifty years, each state in the U.S. interprets the Consitution in their own special way today. New Jersey is no exception.
ONCE AGAIN: WHERE --in the Second Article of Amendment-- do YOU see ANYTHING regarding regulating the possession of magazines of a certain capacity?
.
WHERE --in the U.S. Constitution, Article, Section, Paragraph/Clause-- is there ANY enumerated power to regulate the exercise of INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS?
.
WHERE --in the Fourteenth Article of Amendment— do YOU see any authority for the states to create a subclass of citizens possessing of fewer rights than the rest?
.
The Second Article of Amendment says in part: "The RIGHT of the THE PEOPLE to KEEP AND BEAR ARMS shall NOT be infringed.
.
The U.S. Constitution is COMPLETELY SILENT on that matter of INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS regulation. ERGO, THERE is NO enumerated power to regulate INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS.
.
The Fourteenth Article of Amendment says that ALL shall be treated EQUALLY under the law.
.
Therefore and therefor, the NJ law is COMPLETELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
.
Yet there YOU are defending that unconstitutional law.
.
THAT says MUCH about YOU.
.
Will you next be pushing for the reinstitution of slavery?
If the founding fathers had thought like you and obeyed the law you would be a British subject.
Since the MacDonald v. Chicago case last year, each state no longer has that option. Keep at it though. Maybe this will all click soon. SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
Since the MacDonald v. Chicago case last year, each state no longer has that option. Keep at it though. Maybe this will all click soon. SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
Can somebody please point me to the "national outrage?" I have not seen it.
Sorry Mikey but Ish is correct. Heller and McDonald have no bearing on this case at all. No matter how high people jump in delight over those two decisions, all they really did was to further enforce the idea of reasonable restrictions. Anybody with little or no knowledge of firearms, most jurists, will agree that a magazine of 15 or fewer rounds is a reasonable restriction.
I do agree with you that New Jersey law is Unconstitutional. We can scream that from the highest mountains but until we have a population that actually cares about upholding and defending the Constitution our screams will not be heard because they will fall on ears that are being overpowered by American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, Monday Night Football, or there owners are to drunk to give a damn. We are allowing ourselves to be entertained into National Socialism.
Your statement is nonsensical. Capacity is not a reasonable restriction except in the mind of a gun grabber. A Henry H001 .22 one of the the most popular target and plinking rifles holds more than 15 rounds. Should this gun be outlawed too?
That everybody who is commenting here, who is supporting NJ, is from NJ. No wonder NJ gun owners blow.....
They have been brain washed
New Jersey.
Occupied territory.
Be sure you give them everything they want. That way maybe they'll give you some of the crumbs, if you're not still to busy kissing their "behinds." Be sure and ask um if the wife can do um any favors too! Maybe keep a couple extra c-notes for um too!
New Jersey isn't free. It's occupied territory.
EJT/Figures/BowDownBT!OE,
Pretty easy for you guys to throw stones. No one is defending New Jersey or her asinine gun laws. But that's the law here. As a gun owner here, you need to know what you are up against because what happened to Brian can happen to ANY gun owner in New Jersey. If you want to own and use guns here you need to be compliant and within the confines of the law. We live in a police state where any township can delay or deny a firearms ID card for purchase. There is no such thing as "mandatory 30 days" for a response/wait once you apply. The NJSP manages our NICS process. For a fee too! We go through them first to go through the Federal route. How did that ever happen? Federal NICS checks average only 4,000 transactions per month in N.J. in a state with 8.7 million people. Not too many people legally buying guns here. And based on those numbers, politicians know they can manipulate anything because resistance will be minimal. Did any of you ever look at what other states buy on a monthly basis? The FBI has all that info posted online for everyone to read. There are not a lot of gun-buying, gun-toting people here to begin with; only the gang-bangers with illegal guns. Do some research. And walk in our shoes so you might understand. The only other alternative is move to another state. But my life doesn't revolve around owning a gun. Sounds to me like you are subservient to your gun fixation.
So where is the NRA, Wayne LaPierre and their chosen disciple Ted Nugent? Why aren't they vocal about the travesty that occurs in N.J.? What is our telegenic, portend Governor-in-a-GOP-suit-I-may-wanna-be-President-someday doing about changing gun laws in N.J.?? He's declared war on teachers in this state. N.J. = #3 in total debt in the nation. We've got other problems to worry about.
It really shouldn't matter if you life revolves around owning a gun or not. Our live should revolve around whether we are free or not. If our government, state or local, is infringing our rights at will we are not free. If people in NJ, NY, CA, .etc continue to live in those states without fighting against Tyranny, Tyranny can only thrive.
I shoot in High Power rifle matches. I live PA near NJ and am told there are good matches close by. I don't shoot in them and I don't go there. I think my AR match rifle is illegal there. Moving to NJ once you have escaped is like moving to East Germany. No body with a pea brain would do it. Atkins was convicted of aggravated stupidity.
Last I checked, which was when Gov Florio rammed thru the "assault weapons ban" 20 years ago, a banned weapon and its components, transportation, etc was also banned. Sling shots are banned. Thus, two fingers, a post office rubber band and a paper clip, is also banned.
Go figure. I am afraid lsh is right, NJ is worse than you could imagine. I love Ocean City, hate the state!
My friend was forced to prosecute a 14 year old in town a few years ago for shooting a slingshot.
If you read how the gun laws are scripted in New Jersey, the nomenclature breaks down to read that they are illegal to own provided you don't break any of the guidelines necessary for ownership. That's how Evan Nappen will descibe it. Ask him.
In Brian's case, IF he had hicaps which are criminal in NJ, it all goes downhill from there. The HPs become a crime because of being in conjunction with the mags and then the firearm becomes illegal possession AT THAT TIME even though he purchased them legally. Any rookie patrolman knows this. Find any article of any arrest in N.J. that involves guns. Invariably you will read that if guns were involved they were confiscated because they were "illegal", "unregistered", "possession of hollowpoints," etc.
I shoot high power and bullseye. I travel with firearms. My club is registered with the NJSP. The NJSP has a list of all our club roster. I carry a match schedule with me whenever I have firearms in transit that denotes our schedule. The NJSP has a copy of our match schedule. If I'm transporting firearms elsewhere I better not be doing anything wrong. Everyone should be paranoid when transporting firearms in N.J.
Every legal purchase of a handgun is registered in this state. Every patrolman with a mobile unit with online access can look up whether you have a handgun that's registered to you before he knocks on your door. It's for their protection, not yours. This system has been in place since 1999. More big-brother paranoia.
BTW - there are hundreds of "Brian's" in prison who fell to the same fate. He didn't know the law. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
Nobody can be forced to do anything. It was a choice for your friend to prosecute the 14 year old. He choose his job over freedom.
I stand my ground when I say NJ gun owners are chumps. Unwilling to fight to change the law, vote for 2A candidates when they come around, or even stand up for their rights. I look at PA, they get hundreds of people to go to the Capitol for their 2A right. Even IL has their IGOLD day. NJ'eans fight for their rights....lol....I can hear the crickets from here.
Figures,
If you want to use PA as an example, consider the demographics. Let's look at firearms purchases: NICS totals for the state of PA since the inception of NICS (1998) notes 6,471,456 firearms sold as of October 2010. NICS totals for NJ since 1998 tally only 488, 413. I'd say they have a "gun culture", supported and surrounded by their outdoors and wide open spaces. NICS checks in PA for the month of Oct. 2010 totaled 57,446 firearms sold for 12.6 million residents. NICS checks for NJ for the month of Oct. 2010 totaled 4,423 firearms sold for 8.7 million residents. This disparity does not indicate a gun culture in New Jersey, nor does there seem to be people interested in guns here altogether. I agree with the crickets chirping.
This past Monday was Pennsylvania's opening day of deer season with rifle/shotgun. PGC estimated 750,000 hunters in the woods on Monday based on license sales. New Jersey's deer season opens next Monday. An estimated 56,000 hunters will be in the woods for deer & bear this year. Quite a difference culturally between the two states. Yes, PA is vast and quite a bit larger in square miles than NJ. But, there is a big difference between the two.
New Jersey hasn't had a pro-2A anything run for office in over 40 years. None exist. No Senators, Assemblymen, no one.
New Jersey now ranks as the most densely populated state in the U.S. New Jersey ranks 1st in the nation with most agricultural farmland lost over the last twenty years. 2/5th's of our tiny state are already categorized as "developed."
No, we don't have a lot to crow about over here.
Well, I guess there is only one thing left to do. Kill all of the lawyers! Who else could take one "crime" and roll it into 3 or more crimes, take people's property, and throw them in jail? All based on no complaint (but stupid mom's phone call). Each crime should stand on its own. Why do we have "In the commission of X crime, if the man had a left testicle (Y crime), then he is subject to a 3rd degree felony and removal of said testicle" type laws? "The law is a ass".
I presently live in Massachusetts and we have a somewhat similar culture to Jersey. It's a bunch of liberal douchers that think nothing but bad can come from guns. I have such a friend, but she expressed interest in going shooting, so I took her. She really enjoyed herself and started to understand some of the exceptions and outrage that I have with our politicians concerning gun laws.
I have been a victim of the MA gun laws for a similar "crime" and can tell you defending yourself against this kind of BS is no picnic. MA gun laws permit it to do the same thing wherein it makes "criminals" out of otherwise law abiding citizens and yet GOAL has sat on its thumbs and done little to oppose these crazy laws. It is time for GOAL to take a more aggressive stand against these draconian laws so people like me can have their good names restored.
I would hope that someone has petitioned for bail and in the meantime filed a federal lawsuit both for criminal action against the prosecutor and former judge for ignoring evidence and for damages. I live in California and thought we were screwed up beyond all recognition. I guess New Jersey, alleged home of the mafia, has us beat.
A good listen - Brian's father and Evan Nappen on radio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnmVNsI3xI
Seems Brian pulled his support of the cause and upcoming rally. So much for the national outrage.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/12/the_rallys_off_interesting_...
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