David Codrea, a gun rights columnist for Examiner.com, was alerted by a reader to the plight of Brian Aitkin, in a New Jersey jail “for seven years for owning legal guns.”
Codrea looked into it. And, unfortunately, it seems that Mr. Aitkin has indeed been incarcerated for the crime of … well, of driving from one place to another in a perfectly legal manner.
Aitkin’s real sin? Bad luck. The bad luck to be stopped on the road by police ignorant of or indifferent to the law. And the bad luck to have a judge knowledgeable about but indifferent to the law, and unwilling to tell jurors about it.
Also unluckily, his jurors reluctantly went along with the vicious charade even though they weren’t getting straight answers.
Atkins was moving from Colorado to New Jersey with firearms in his possession, and which he had purchased after passing relevant background checks. The firearms were disassembled and locked in his trunk in accordance with New Jersey state law. Atkins had even contacted the New Jersey State Police to make sure of his compliance. Alas, as reported at BrianDAtkin.com, “The jury returned from deliberation three times practically begging the judge to tell them the law that protects an individual’s rights to transport firearms — [but] the judge outright refused to tell them!”
There’s much more to learn about this disturbing case. Codrea has the links. And no corrupt judge can stop you from clicking on them.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.