And, I don't want no lip from ya either!!!"
Posted on 12/16/2011 6:04:03 AM PST by marktwain
NEW YORK – A leader of a tea party group was arrested after he took a gun to LaGuardia Airport.
Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler was taken into custody Thursday morning after he tried to check in for a Delta flight to Detroit with a locked gun box containing a Glock pistol and 19 cartridges of ammunition, Queens prosecutors said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This type of incident shows why we need federal legislation requiring states to honor the permits of other states, in order to uphold the Second Amendment.
If federal law does protect him, why did they charge him? And the article mentions that others are prosecuted and usually pay fines.
If he was just changing planes in LaGuardia, that's true. But, the article doesn't indicate if NYC was simply a connection point, or if he stopped in NYC for any amount of time.
If it was a connection, then the Port Authority screwed up, big time. Meckler was complying with the law, and has grounds for a tort action against the arresting officer and the law enforcement agency.
Dumb of Meckler. Since when did the Tea Party have leaders?
meh
I thought at first perhaps since it was Foxnews, they might have checked into what they were reporting regarding “cartridges” but then saw it was a scum AP article.
So was he carrying 19 loose “cartridges” or was he carrying one or two magazines with a total of 19 “bullets” (the usual AP lingo for rounds)?
Tea partiers arrested for a felony are promoted by Big Media to tea party “leaders”.
Kind of like since Hussein’s regime, Big Media reports our troops capturing or killing Taliban/AQ “leaders”.
Because the prosecutor can, has deep pockets, and will not be held personally responsible for his actions.
Most people pay fines because the cost of the fine is much less than the cost of council to fight the charge over time.
Some people have fought the charges and won, but it typically takes months or years, and many thousands of dollars.
Anyway, while returning from overseas I went through JFK airport. So I had to pick up my checked bag at the international terminal then go through the xray scanner on the domestic side. I wasn't concerned as I had my paperwork in hand. Of course the bag was clearly marked as stated above. Soon as my bag went into xray this moron screener started yelling, "GUN! GUN! GUN! I was immediately surrounded by about 5 police officers. It was embarrassing as people were scattering all around me. One police officer maintained some composure and asked me if it was my bag. I said Yes Sir, produced my papers (military ID) and went on my way the NC. The screener had to sit down for a minute as she was obviously in a high state of anxiety. Guess guns in NYC are scary to many eh?
Yep, that is what I mean. AP probably couldn’t wait to report this as a way to smear all Tea Party people.
They don’t care if the guy did nothing wrong.
FEDERAL LAW ON TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS A provision of the federal law known as the Firearms Owners` Protection Act, or FOPA, protects those who are transporting firearms for lawful purposes from local restrictions which would otherwise prohibit passage.
Under FOPA, notwithstanding any state or local law, a person is entitled to transport a firearm from any place where he or she may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he or she may lawfully possess and carry it, if the firearm is unloaded and locked out of reach. In vehicles without a trunk, the unloaded firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. Ammunition that is either locked out of reach in the trunk or in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console is also covered. Travelers should be aware that some state and local governments treat this federal provision as an “affirmative defense” that may only be raised after an arrest. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has also recently held that FOPA`s protections only apply while the firearm is not readily accessible to the traveler, and that a firearm is readily accessible during a hotel stay.
While this decision is only binding in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all travelers in areas with restrictive laws would be well advised to have copies of any applicable firearm licenses or permits, as well as copies or printouts from the relevant jurisdictions` official publications or websites documenting pertinent provisions of law (including FOPA itself) or reciprocity information. In the event of an unexpected or extended delay, travelers should make every effort not to handle any luggage containing firearms unnecessarily and to secure it in a location where they do not have ready access to it.
This is the same BS that got the president of a local university recently arrested on gun charges in New York. He had a concealed carry permit in this state and also had his gun unloaded in a locked case in accord with information from the airline website about traveling with a firearm. New York’s gun laws go beyond what even the federal laws allow and he too was arrested on gun charges. I am sure New Yorkers are so safe with these laws that cause law abiding citizens seeking their own protection to be arrested while the criminal element goes about fully armed.
This may backfire on them. It is this sort of abuse that house bill 822, dealing with reciprocity of carry permits between states, is designed to deal with.
Well ... have you ever gone to a Tea Party meeting? If so, who organized it? What was the name of the group? Does the group have any affilitations with other Tea Party groups?
The Tea Party Patriots is the largest of the organized Tea Party groups out there, and Mark Meckler is one of the founders. Here in Washington State, if you go to a Tea Party meeting, I can pretty much guarantee it is a Tea Party Patriot group.
Mark came and spoke to our local chapter last month. He regularly liases with congress members about issues that are important to the membership, and he was the first tea party member to meet with Speaker Boehner back in 2010 to discuss what is important to us.
If you dont know that the Tea Party has organization, leaders, members, meetings, and activities, then I would suggest that you probably are not part of the movement.
Who goes to Detroit with only 19 rounds of ammo?
Police detention?
I am aware there are organizers. Organizers aren’t leaders.
The idea was always to keep from having announced “leaders”.
That was the reason the left had so many problems knowing how to attack the Tea Partys.
Looks like they are figuring it out now, doesn’t it? This shouldn’t really be news, but it is.
I wasn’t knocking Meckler for being wrong, but face it, this is exactly the type thing the left uses to brand the Tea party as bad guys.
The article needs more information.
If in a locked box and being transported, was it because his ammo was in box too?
Was he transferring baggage between flights? If so, I have read never touch your bag. Make the airport touch it.
I travelled once from PA to NY for a firearms class. Most nervous time in my life although complying with law.
From TSA’s website:
“Firearm magazines and ammunition clips must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm.
Small arms ammunition, including ammunition not exceeding .75 caliber for a rifle or pistol and shotgun shells of any gauge, may be carried in the same hard-sided case as the firearm, as long as it follows the packing guidelines described above.”
Also, the NYT said he had been in New York since Sunday. He legally traveled to NY with his firearm and then *stopped* in NY for a visit. Meckler did not have a license to posses a handgun in New York City, as is required. See http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/nyc.aspx
As soon as Meckler stopped in NYC to conduct personal or professional business, he became subject to their retarded laws. He should have skipped NYC.
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