Posted on 10/08/2011 5:35:59 AM PDT by marktwain
Eatontown, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Calvary Scout Jamie J. Kiklis was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Tal Afar, Iraq during June of 2005.
Part of the mission was to take a terrorist stronghold. While engaging the enemy in the pursuit of the objective, Kiklis was hit twice from enemy rounds fired from a terrorist’s AK-47. One bullet struck him in the abdomen and the other struck him in the thigh. Kiklis then crawled into an uncleared room and proceeded to conduct did his own medical treatment and “pulled security” with his Beretta 92 9mm pistol. While bleeding and trying to ignore the excruciating pain, his fellow soldiers “put the Bradley” through the building creating a potential escape route. He gathered all his strength and hopped out on one foot, while heavy enemy fire of bullets and grenades came in from everywhere. Calvary Scout Jamie J. Kiklis
Calvary Scout Jamie J. Kiklis
Roughly 10 days prior getting shot by the enemy, Kiklis had been wounded by two daisy chained IEDs. For his service to his country, he received 2 Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star with Combat Distinguishing “V” for Valor, 2 Army Commendation Medals, an Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Combat Action Badge. These are just to name some of the decorations, medals, badges, citations, and campaign ribbons awarded to him.
Kiklis knows first hand that a pistol can save lives. After his honorable discharge from the military due to his combat wounds he came home to New Hampshire and applied for and received from his local Chief of Police a New Hampshire Carry License. In December of 2008 he went to visit his girlfriend in Massachusetts. Being so accustomed to carrying a sidearm from both his military experience and living in New Hampshire, he forgot that he had his handgun with him and crossed the border into Massachusetts.
He had pulled to the side of the road to text his girlfriend (now his wife) to inform her that he was lost and going to be late. This war hero with a valid New Hampshire Carry License then encountered the police in Massachusetts. The police discovered Kiklis’ sidearm and arrested him for being in violation of Massachusetts notorious gun laws.
After a long, stressful and embarrassing ordeal of court appearances and spending thousands in legal fees, he eventually had no choice but to plead guilty to violating the Massachusetts’ law of Carrying a Firearm without an I.D. He was placed on probation for two years and had to give up his New Hampshire Carry License and not possess firearms as part of his “punishment” dished out by Massachusetts. After his probation was discharged early because of his (not surprisingly) excellent behavior. He reapplied to get his New Hampshire Carry License issued back to him.
His reapplication for his license was denied by the Chief because:
The investigation done in connection with your application reveals that you have a criminal record, specifically your arrest and conviction of Carrying a Firearm without an ID Card in Somerville Massachusetts.
He hired the Nappen law firm to appeal this denial. The appeal was successful. On July 14, 2011 the District Court issued the following Order:
After hearing the Court finds that the Defendant failed to provide clear and convincing proof, as required RSA 159:9-C, that would justify the denial of the Petitioner’s license application. Therefore pursuant to RSA 159:6-C, the Defendant is directed to issue said license to the Petitioner.
Kiklis was thrilled to get his New Hampshire Carry License back. However, he had been put through the meat grinder of the Massachusetts criminal justice system. He had to go though a further court process in his home state to regain his rights. This after he served and sacrificed for his country to protect all of our rights, including the Second Amendment.
Unfortunately states like Massachusetts do not respect the individual’s Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, even those persons with a lawful carry license issued by a neighboring state.
Gun control victims like Jamie Kiklis should not lose their freedom, property, hard-earned dollars and self-respect for actions that are 100% legal in one state and unreasonably criminalized in another. National Right‑to‑Carry Reciprocity will stop states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, California, etc. from turning honest, licensed citizens into criminals and putting them through a legal nightmare. The patchwork quilt of gun carry laws must be stitched up by Congress with a National Right‑to‑Carry Reciprocity law.
This is vital to protect honest citizens like Calvary Scout Kiklis from being abused by xenophobic and unreasonable gun control laws.
About:
Evan Nappen (www.efnappen.com) is a criminal defense attorney who has focused in firearms and weapons law for over 23 years. He is the author of New Hampshire Gun, Knife, and Weapon Law and the New Jersey Gun Law Guide. He is a director and the General Counsel of Pro-Gun New Hampshire, Inc. (http://www.pgnh.org/).
Now we have to regain our rights and restore the Constitution. We will not be able to do it in one bite, as much as we think we should. It will be a long, hard struggle, but we can win it. This is a good step in that direction.
Calvary scout? Shouldn’t it be Cavalry scout?
This story would as valid without his military story. MA laws simply suck. 99% of the police I know would not have arrested anyone in this situation.
How did the cop know he was carrying? in MA the cops do not normally ask you to get out of the car. Nor is there a requirement to announce you are carrying to the police. There is a lot more to this story. In my personal experience the police, on a routine traffic stop would never know if he was carrying.
In MA if you have a restricted class A license you may transport a weapon, but it must be under your control and not loaded.
My guess is he either gave the cop a reason to get him outnof the car, or the handgun was sitting, loaded with a large capacity magazine, on the seat next to him. That would get a cops attention in a state that really does not like to see handguns in the open—even if you have a full class A LTC.
I don’t disagree with the premise, I just find this side of his particular side of the story to be lacking.
This tells me that as in the rest of the country, MA has too many cops, with too much power.
It has become difficult to avoid contact with law enforcement on road trips. They are everywhere. Behind bushes, at diners, traveling back and forth, sitting on top of bridge overpasses with binoculars and radar guns.
The world is going to hell and these hero’s are crapping on roadways from sea to shining sea routinely using petty traffic laws to subvert the 4th amendment.
You talk about the MA gun laws as though they do not blatantly ignore the 2nd amendment. Individual cops, many of whom are military veterans have taken an oath to protect and defend the constitution of The United States. For some punk MA trooper to bring all hell onto the back of this man, war hero or not is despicable. I don’t give a rats smelly poop shoot what MA law is.
I can read the constitution. It says “to keep and bear arms”. What does “keep” mean? That means he can own them, buy them, sell them, fix them. What does “bear” mean? That means he can carry them. Loaded or not.
Lexington and Concord where about military grade, crew served, large bore weapons. They were not about “sporting arms”. I say that police, all over this country are too powerful, too well funded and exist in numbers and expense that far exceeds any conceivable contribution to society.
Are women required to take a safety course and obtain a permit prior to voting in their home state, and repeat the process if they move to another state?
Can you be hung, drawn, and quartered as punishment in Massachussetts but not in Vermont?
Are you required to testify against yourself in Massachussetts but not in Rhode Island?
Why is the Constitution selectively applied and enforced in different states??
2. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
It's slow-going with one case at a time -- regaining your rights on an individual basis. The jackbooters don't mind contending with such a slow trickle up liberty. A massive, nation-wide uprising must occur before the lawmakers/givers lose control of their sphincters.
Perhaps we can take a page from the Wall Street marchers, whose piles of poop on squad cars is starting to get noticed in the press after seven days of a national media blackout.
I agree, it is an annoying and common misspelling, annoying because it can fundamentally change the meaning. This is a real problem for speed-readers.
Every time I see it I think -
“Is this some sort of Evangelical thing?” and I risk passing it by.
You have to read on to figure out its about the military.
What I am saying is that in 40 years of driving in MA, having been stopped at least ten to fifteen times, I have NEVER been asked to step out of my car—so how did the cop know he is carrying?
And it is pretty basic and common knowledge that you can transport a weapon over state lines en route to another state as long as the weapon is unloaded and secure.
My point is not to defend the horrible laws in my state. I don’t defend them. My point is that I think this guy DID something to get the cops attention. His story does not match any experience I have had or heard of in this state. 99.9% of cops would never know if you had a weapon in the car if it is carried properly. And, cops in MA do not ask the driver to step out of the car. So, my question is what were to steps that lead to the cop finding the gun? I suggest that this hero is not telling the real story.
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