Gun carrier claims rights violated - Woman files suit against Lebanon sheriff over revocation [View All]

[HopeHoops]

Source: Harrisburg, PA - Patriot-News

LEBANON - A woman whose concealed-weapons permit was revoked by the Lebanon County sheriff after openly carrying a handgun to her daughter's soccer game is suing the sheriff in federal court for more than $1 million.
...
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. Middle District Court, seeks reimbursement of attorneys' fees and costs, emotional distress and lost wages -- money lost, her attorney said, because Hain's baby-sitting business has declined from full time to one day a week because of the controversy.



Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1227575414259430.xml&coll=1

---

This is definitely a case of "You can't fix stupid". What she did may be legal in PA, and she does have a right, but it is certainly not 'right'.

They don't show the picture in this article, but the one that ran in the paper originally showed her at a game with loaded gun in a holster on her hip and her kid hugging her WITH HIS HAND ON THE GUN!

What parent would allow a person with such bad judgment to baby-sit their child?

The irony is that she claims to carry the gun for her personal safety, yet one snap on a holster in reach of a child is all it would take to be reading something horrifying in the next day's paper.

Edited to add:

Just for clarification if you are not familiar with gun laws in PA, these are the facts as I understand them:
Other than in Philadelphia, as far as I understand it you can carry an open weapon pretty much anywhere as long as you aren't prohibited from handling one. You can even check them at the door when you enter a government building. Concealed weapon permits are not terribly difficult to obtain.

The following is my personal recollection of how this unfolded - I read pretty much everything in the paper every day (except the sports section):

The base history to this story is that she had it "concealed" but quite visible at a soccer game and some of the other parents found this alarming. When confronted about it she made a scene, which if you think about it, an angry parent with a gun is even more reason for concern. Based on her behavior, her permit was suspended pending review which meant she had to carry it in plain view for a while. This entire episode would have likely faded away if she hadn't continued to push the issue and made a point of prominently displaying her gun. At the time I think it was clear she was enjoying her 15 minutes. The courts will have to decide the merit or lack thereof of the lawsuit, but having followed the story closely since the beginning, I personally believe any damage was self-inflicted.

Another interesting component is the editorials this story generated. Obviously there were the expected anti-gun pieces, but what struck me were the ones from 2nd Amendment advocates, hunters, and others who carry concealed weapons - they were overwhelmingly against this woman.