Woman sues Pa sheriff over gun permit

[satellite66]

Woman who lost gun permit sues Pa. sheriff

By Martha Raffaele

Associated Press
HARRISBURG - A woman has sued a county sheriff who revoked her concealed-weapons permit after she upset fellow parents by wearing her holstered pistol to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game.

Meleanie Hain alleges in the suit filed yesterday in federal court in Harrisburg that Lebanon County Sheriff Michael DeLeo violated her Second Amendment rights and prosecuted her maliciously when he took away her permit in September.

Hain, 30, successfully appealed the revocation last month, although the judge who restored her permit questioned her judgment and said she "scared the devil" out of others who attended the Sept. 11 soccer game.

Hain said yesterday that her home-based baby-sitting service has suffered, her children have been harassed, and she has been ostracized by her neighbors because of DeLeo's actions.

"I fought for my right, and now I'm still being punished," she said.

DeLeo's office referred questions to county attorney George Christianson, who did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

DeLeo said at Hain's Oct. 14 appeal hearing that he pulled her license after fielding the parents' complaints. He said he based his decision on a section of state law that prohibits concealed-weapons permits from being given to people whose character and reputation make them a danger to public safety.

Hain has said she carried her handgun openly to soccer games and practices and other public places without any problem. Her attorney, Matthew Weisberg, said DeLeo had no legal right to take away her permit.

"The sheriff just rides into town and without any hearing, explanation or anything, takes away her license and forces her into court," Weisberg said.

In addition to statutory, compensatory and punitive damages, Weisberg said he was seeking a court order for DeLeo to undergo law-enforcement education.

"He needs to be educated that the complaints of a few do not compel him to suppress individual rights," Weisberg said.

Hain was joined in the lawsuit by her husband, Scott, who contends that he has lost his wife's "companionship, consortium, society and services" as a result of the harm she has suffered.

Link

[Insulation Tim]

If it is necessary to be "armed" for my 5 year old's soccer games....I'd pull the kid from that league. I think that there is an appropriate time and place for everything and packing a loaded pistol to a kid's soccer game ain't one of them.

This is the type of BS that gives gun owners a bad name.

[satellite66]

Would you feel the same way if it was concealed?

[CampingJosh]

Tim, I have to disagree with you. I can think of few places where it would be more important to carry. Not only are you thereby securing the possibility of protecting yourself and your offspring, you are also affording yourself the possibility to protect everyone else there, too.

If there is someplace to which you travel that you think, I must be armed to go there, then maybe you shouldn't head that way in the first place. However, if you feel a responsibility to protect yourself and your loved ones, then you should probably be prepared to do so wherever you go, including to soccer matches.

[kncrsr5r]

I respectfully disagree with Insulation Tim also.

We do know that she leagally had a concealed permit. If carrying that day was a criminal act, she would have been arrested. She was not. The ONLY thing the Sheriff thought he could do was yank her permit, which by the way in doing so was the only criminal act that day.

The Sherrif should have listened to the complaints...and informed the public that they could go through the proper legal motions that exclude public sporting events from the legal places one can carry a concealed weapon. This takes time and he obviously choose the easy way out. This was the only criminal act I see that occured that day.

Obviously we dont know the entire story. Did she have an abusive ex-husband? Was there another freakzoid dad at the "PUBLIC" fields? Who knows. Was she taunting with it? Has she made threats in the past? Again...she should have been arrested if she had done anything remotely incriminating. She was Not.

Thing only thing that give gun owners a bad name is those who dont know there rights, and those that do not stand up for those rights when they are infringed upon.


My .02

[rosierita]

meleanie is a personal friend of mine. i'm glad she's pursuing this & i'm glad scott is on the lawsuit as well!

you can open carry in PA, i'm glad she is exercising her right to do so.

[jim summers]

If you have a legal permit to carry a weapon then you should be allowed to do so, the article didn't any thing about the sheriff asking to see her permit but if he did and she produced it, that should have been sufficient for the sheriff go on about his business, because she was not doing anything that would be criminal

[ponycar17]

Originally Posted by Insulation Tim

If it is necessary to be "armed" for my 5 year old's soccer games....I'd pull the kid from that league. I think that there is an appropriate time and place for everything and packing a loaded pistol to a kid's soccer game ain't one of them.

This is the type of BS that gives gun owners a bad name.

I wouldn't 'carry openly' anyway because there are a lot of dumb people whom I'd prefer not to be required to educate on the issue of gun safety. I may not be afraid to speak my mind on issues but constantly explaining would get old. With that being said, if she had the gun concealed those upset parents would have been none the wiser and she would be equally as safe as with the gun carried open (well, for the most part).

Now, it's possible I've got the wrong mentality about this, because as people see guns less, they're more convinced that guns aren't around. That's not true at all and criminals realize it, especially in most states where concealed carry laws have been passed and violent crime has decreased, sometimes significantly. It's possible that visibility would help our rights more but I just don't know...

For instance, I know folks right now who don't understand that there are many around them armed with concealed carry weapons daily. One actually freaked out, finding out about CWP until I told him how long the law had been in effect, whereupon he calmed down and said, "you know, that might be a good thing... they don't know if I'm armed too."

As for the issue of carrying at a kids' sports game?... Yeah, I agree with the decision to do so. If there's one thing we should have learned over the past 15 years, it's that criminals seek out areas where the victims are likely to be unarmed.

I'll point to this picture, posted on here a while back...

[artabr]

I wish the Hain's good luck.


Art

[azsigman]

I do not, necessarily, agree with the open carry of a firearm at a kids soccer game knowing people would freak out. It IS her right but, I suspect, she was doing so for alot of "look at me" shock value. She got it.
That said, all the whimpy soccer moms and dads would be singing a whole different tune if an attack of some sort had occurred and she protected them and saved lives.
I really prefer concealed carry, if for no other reason, than the surprise factor. Any half smart attacker would take out the gun carrier first. As Gomer Pyle used to say " Suuprise, suuprise, suuprise" is, IMHO, the only way to go. Just my .02.

[GoodOl'12gauge]

If all these people would accept that crime IS EVERYWHERE they would see it differently. If they think it cant happen at a soccer game they are nieve and ignorant. If everyone carried there would be no crime.

[noslolo]

azsigman, you have a good point, in the video after court, she really seemed to love the attention. I live in PA and have the option for open carry, but I chose to keep it hiden, bad press is not something that we need right now.

[satellite66]

When do gun owners ever get good press? I think by hiding you just give the impression that you also believe that guns are evil. Political correctness applied to the 2A. PC has killed free speech and thought already.
All the liberals who freak out over the Patriot Act seem to have no problem with a rogue sheriff abusing his power. This is about a sheriff breaking the law not about a gun owner exercising a right. How about we focus on protecting our 2A rights instead of attacking a fellow gun owner?

[rosierita]

Originally Posted by jim summers

If you have a legal permit to carry a weapon then you should be allowed to do so, the article didn't any thing about the sheriff asking to see her permit but if he did and she produced it, that should have been sufficient for the sheriff go on about his business, because she was not doing anything that would be criminal

open carry is legal in PA w/o a permit.

[Insulation Tim]

Originally Posted by satellite66

Would you feel the same way if it was concealed?

If legal in PA, Yes. To be openly sporting a revolver at an event like this is to create a problem that gun owners will eventually lose. I think she did it just so she could do it and garner attention.

Again, there is an appropriate time and place for everything and this ain't one of them.

[satellite66]

It is only a problem because of ignorance on the part of the general public. Where is the critique of the sheriff? Why should gun owners allow themselves to be branded as trouble makers for exercising their rights?
I would not have done what she did, but making her out to be the bad guy and ignoring the real issue is not helpful to the gun owners cause either.

[younggun28]

srry about throwing this in here but i cant find a better way to ask but i wanted to know how to delete a thread that i started or if i can thanks

[jesseleiker]

I feel there are good points riddled throughout this thread. From a protection standpoint: this shouldn't be a problem, however, I think if more consideration for the views of those around us were taken (ie: holster inside a jacket, or boot holster, etc. etc. - out of sight out of mind) the situation wouldn't have been a problem. Carrying a concealed weapon, given this Great Countries laws, is a privilege, not a right. Because you have proven yourself worthy in the eyes of your peers to carry a handgun to a soccer game doesn't necessarily mean you don't need to take precautionary steps in protecting the opinions of others. I just think the whole crisis could have been averted by practicing a little discretion, keeping in mind that many American citizens don't share our views on carrying or even owning weapons. Agree or disagree, discretion can help protect our side from making the news (which we could use FAR less of).