Family: New Jersey man serving 7 years for guns he owned legally

In between jobs, his well-oiled life was running ragged, and on Jan. 2, 2009, when his ex canceled his visit with their son, he became distraught, muttered something to his mother, and left his parents' home in Mount Laurel, N.J.

"He said something that scared her, things that a guy will only say to his mom, like . . . 'Life's not worth living anymore,' " said Larry Aitken, Brian's father.

Sue Aitken, a trained social worker, decided to play it safe and called police, but she hung up before the 9-1-1 dispatcher could answer. Police traced the call and showed up anyway, and found two handguns in the trunk of Brian's car. And now Brian, her middle child, a graduate student with no prior criminal record, is serving a seven-year prison sentence for weapons charges.

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.

- Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

This man was not harming anyone else and the police in New Jersey had absolutely no right to arrest this man and to make things worse he will now sit in prison for 7 years for guns that he legally owned and they were both locked and unloaded just as New Jersey law requires. This is a very serious violation of this man’s Constitutional rights and protections.

This goes beyond just him though as this sets a precedent that the police are permitted to arrest you for owning perfectly legal guns that abide by state law.

www.philly.com...
en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Misoir


This is totally insane and wrong and illegal.

This man should be held in a safe phsychiatric facility until he is deemed ok not to kill himself.

Surely some-one can protest? What has his mother done?

Posted a couple times already..

Here's the links so you can read em.

Thread 1

Thread 2

check out the original thread on this topic:

ats thread

The second amendment doesn't apply to Mr. Aitken because he's not in a militia or the military.

That said, it sounds like he got a raw deal from the judge. Seven years seems kinda harsh, good thing the judge won't be around much longer.

OK,

Here's the skippy in a nutshell :

Being from NJ (Jersey City/Hudson Co specifically) and being incredibly well versed in state items compared to the average person I must back the state in this case, NJ law specifies and emphasizes that if you must carry in the state you must get a carrying permit from the MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) as if you do not within the first 15 - 45 days of moving your mere possession of them can and will warrant arrest. That is what he was convicted on. The fact that he said "life is not worth living anymore" alone is the deciding factor of the determination of mental competency. When he placed the call he made to his mom she had reported he was dispondent and possible inebriated. It is a low end felony to possess a firearm, loaded or not while being under the influence of anything as well as being forbidden to possess one period if you are either mentally, physically or psychologically deficient or incapacitated. That is ruled as a misdermeanor.

NJ will not however endorse and is an option for the state to recognize any out of state carrying permit. The only permits the state fully recognizes is that of any Federal Agent working for any of the Alphabet Agencies or military.

NJ however does allow you to travel through the state while carrying a firearm but if you are pulled over and are asked if you have any firearms you must disclose and produce not only the weapon but your permits. The LEO responding cannot take your weapons from you but can only in the event you fail a field sobriety test or are a danger/hazard to other drivers, have the serial numbers for the guns completely intact and not shaved and are to remain fully cooperative during the entire stop. If your documentation comes back clean (id, registration, insurance, carrying permits, serial number cheques (every gun that you buy and register requires the serial number be registered and that info is then issued to the national weapons owners database) they will (in 90% of cases) let you go with your mini arsenal. But you cannot travel with large caches of either weapons or munitions as that will most definately warrant Federal attention!

I read this article a few days ago, it does seem like this guy could have been close to going off his rocker and gone crazy due to what he had been through. But, he had safely packed his firearms unloaded and safetied within NJ laws and was in the process of moving. It appears he made comments about killing himself, I think? but really, 7 years? What was the actual charge for this guy, because it seems like he was following all the rules

reply to post by lernmore


I want to apologise to people who think I should have read it - just can't get broadband for some reason, and dial-up doesn't work.

So, sorry, but please be patient.

Originally posted by links234
The second amendment doesn't apply to Mr. Aitken because he's not in a militia or the military.

That said, it sounds like he got a raw deal from the judge. Seven years seems kinda harsh, good thing the judge won't be around much longer.

First, that's not an Original Intent interpretation of the second Amendment.

Secondly, The SCOTUS has ruled twice affirming ownership of firearms as an individual right tied in tandem with the Natural Right of self defense, an inalienable right.

I'm sorry but your assertion is factually inaccurate. What happened to this person is a violation of the Constitution and should probably be reviewed. Police should start getting charged with violating civil and individual rights as a result of this. But because of undeserved stigma, this man rights will probably remain trampled under the foot of New Jersey "justice".