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One of my friends got charged with weapons possession

SovereignAxe

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Jul 29, 2011
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Elizabethton, TN
I've known her for about a year and a half and from what I can tell she one, made a dumb mistake, two got scapegoated, and three probably wouldn't be in such bad shape if she'd kept her mouth shut.

http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=98339

An East Tennessee State University student was charged in connection with a loaded high-power rifle found on campus Friday, according to a police report.

Brittany Shope, 24, had loaned a British Enfield .303-caliber rifle to someone for use in a movie a few months ago, according to the ETSU public safety report.

The person she loaned the rifle to returned it to her recently at her job at the school newspaper office. Shope placed the rifle behind a couch in the office and it remained there until Friday night, when Shope sought to retrieve the firearm.



Read more: http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=98339#ixzz1myKz5m35

What I don't understand is why the guy she loaned the rifle to, the one that actually brought it to campus, isn't getting charged with anything.

She was a graduate student but was forced to withdraw from the school, and will have to continue her graduate degree at another school. I told her she should go to a state like VA, AZ or UT that doesn't have this law. It just sickens me to think that she'll be considered a felon now because of a ridiculous law.
 

Nascar24Glock

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Johnson City, TN
I've known her for about a year and a half and from what I can tell she one, made a dumb mistake, two got scapegoated, and three probably wouldn't be in such bad shape if she'd kept her mouth shut.

http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=98339



What I don't understand is why the guy she loaned the rifle to, the one that actually brought it to campus, isn't getting charged with anything.

She was a graduate student but was forced to withdraw from the school, and will have to continue her graduate degree at another school. I told her she should go to a state like VA, AZ or UT that doesn't have this law. It just sickens me to think that she'll be considered a felon now because of a ridiculous law.

Is she getting charged with "possession with intent" or just plain "possession?" It's my understanding, based on my reading of TCA 39-17-1309 that "possession with intent" is the felony charge and just plain "possession" is a misdemeanor.
 

thebigsd

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I also hope she gets a good lawyer. I can't but wondering why the gun would be loaded though? If someone returned a gun to me that I had let them borrow that would be the first thing that I would check.
 

SovereignAxe

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she doesn't strike me as the gun type-not many people in journalism do, so it doesn't totally surprise me that she didn't check the magazine. but I thought it was interesting that either 1. she actually had a .303 Enfield (and it saddens me to think that such a great historic rifle is sitting in an evidence locker somewhere at JCPD) or 2. someone she knew had one and was confident enough in both parties to let it be loaned out for an extended period of time.

but I hope you're right-that they charged her with the worst offense they possibly could, and are going to let the courts figure it out. If that's the case, I have no doubt she could get enough character witnesses to prove she had no ill intent towards the university or anyone there.

I almost quit the paper over this. I'm still a photographer for them and it really irritates me that they treated her this way. The night I found out I came really close to just sending a text to the photo editor saying "I'm done." But I realize that once word got to the advisor that her hands were tied and had to call campus security. It's also going to look good on a resume, so it's a bridge that I can't afford to burn.
 
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09jisaac

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Louisa, Kentucky
What I don't understand is why the guy she loaned the rifle to, the one that actually brought it to campus, isn't getting charged with anything.

Are you honestly saying that you think TWO people should get charged with this instead of one? She shouldn't be charged with anything and neither should anyone else.
 

Oh Shoot

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Is she getting charged with "possession with intent" or just plain "possession?" It's my understanding, based on my reading of TCA 39-17-1309 that "possession with intent" is the felony charge and just plain "possession" is a misdemeanor.

If it's loaded (which it was), that's what determines "intent to go armed" with a firearm.

With any luck, and/or an expensive lawyer, chance that they'll settle for the lesser 'meanor charge, but probably have to plead to it, unless they take great compassion and drop them all together.

- OS
 

ecocks

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USA
Being responsible for carrying a gun is inconvenient for many.

I feel sorry for her but the fact remains she should have immediately notified campus security that the guy walked in carrying a weapon. If she had done so she would still be in school, still be working at the paper, still have a clean arrest record and the guy would be up for the charge where he could plead ignorance of the law with a bit better chance of success.
 
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Nascar24Glock

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Johnson City, TN
If it's loaded (which it was), that's what determines "intent to go armed" with a firearm.

With any luck, and/or an expensive lawyer, chance that they'll settle for the lesser 'meanor charge, but probably have to plead to it, unless they take great compassion and drop them all together.

- OS

I have an interesting question on that. Was it loaded with actual ammunition or blank rounds? If it was the former, then why was a loaded gun being used in the production of a movie and being transported in that manner? If it was the latter, then do blank rounds count for the purpose of "intent to go armed?"

I realize hindsight is always 20/20. But, if it were me and I were there, I would have told the guy who brought it in to march right back out the door and meet me somewhere it would be legal to get the gun back. If he dropped it off when I wasn't there, I would at minimum tell him: "you took it there; you can go fetch it," and that's if I felt in a nice enough of a mood to not call the cops on him.
 

09jisaac

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Louisa, Kentucky
What the is wrong with some of you? I thought we want more rights, not just rights until you're on a college campus. She shouldn't be charged with anything and he shouldn't either. I really don't get why anyone thinks that he should take the fall for this. It was her gun, delivered to where she worked and she went to retrieve it. I don't see anything wrong with any of that. Until she did anything harmful to anyone then I don't think she committed a crime and he is just as innocent as she is. And don't argue "well it is the law" just because it is against the law/ within the law doesn't make it right. And in this case, I think the law is wrong.
 

ecocks

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What the is wrong with some of you? I thought we want more rights, not just rights until you're on a college campus. She shouldn't be charged with anything and he shouldn't either. I really don't get why anyone thinks that he should take the fall for this. It was her gun, delivered to where she worked and she went to retrieve it. I don't see anything wrong with any of that. Until she did anything harmful to anyone then I don't think she committed a crime and he is just as innocent as she is. And don't argue "well it is the law" just because it is against the law/ within the law doesn't make it right. And in this case, I think the law is wrong.

What's wrong with us? We abide by the law. We are responsible for living in this world of reality, not the world that we wish we lived in.

Sure, many of us believe students should be able to carry guns on campus, along with the faculty, admin staff, janitors and visitors as well. Personally, I believe I should be able to belt on my guns in the morning, check that there is sufficient ammo for the rooftop howitzer and then climb in my Apache and head to work. However......

Guns are ILLEGAL on campus.

Illegal. Whether you like it or not. Don't agree with it? Well, if you feel so strongly, feel free to take your gun and go tell the President of the University, the Governor and the legislature how silly you think they are to have a law so wrong. Drop in and let your postmaster know what you think of their ban on firearms too. Don't forget the offices of your Senators and Representative. While you're at it, drive your car at 100 mph down the interstate cause that's wrong too you know. That road and your car are capable of 100, maybe 110, that law is simply wrong too.

The reality is the guy broke the law by bringing a gun on campus. The action was made worse (for both of them) in that he didn't have enough sense to unload it and she didn't have enough sense to check it when he gave it to her. Then she tried to carry it out of the building.

Get motivated by this raw injustice! Write your state legislators! The Governor! The Regents! The Trustees! Don't work where you can't carry and exercise your rights! Don't send your child to a school where they will see their rights denied on a daily basis! Withhold your business from places that don't support carry, Open or Concealed! Don't vote for anyone who doesn't believe that the 2A is a sacred concept and should be IN NO WAY INFRINGED!

The world will be a better place if you do.

In the meantime, expect to be charged if you do any of those things that violate laws you think are wrong.
 
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09jisaac

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Do I really have to bring up bad laws to prove that just because it is legal/illegal doesn't mean it is right? And to be honest with you, I DO carry my gun on a collage campus when I go see my girlfriend. But I am commenting on how you all think it is wrong but that it should ruin two peoples lifes (as opposed to one).

Blindly following the law isn't the best idea, you know? It is illegal for most to have a gun in NYC, but it seems like we have a strong backing for the marine who was arrested for possession. It was illegal for that NH man to fire his gun into the ground to stop a criminal and yet the charges were dropped against him.

You need to think of why the laws were made, whether that is right or wrong then you need to think of what they law is being used for and whether that is right or wrong. The law was imposed to stop/limit/lessen school shootings, a noble goal (misguided in my opinion), not to turn a girl into a criminal for trying to retake possession of her gun. And that is what this law is being used for in this case. If the situation would have progressed I am sure you would have found that gun off of campus without the taking/attempt to take a human life or without any other form of damage. You shouldn't be a criminal JUST for breaking the law, you should just be a criminal when you do something wrong that happens to be against the law.

Disagree with me all you want. But I refuse to follow blindly just because the government commands it.
 

SovereignAxe

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Elizabethton, TN
Are you honestly saying that you think TWO people should get charged with this instead of one? She shouldn't be charged with anything and neither should anyone else.

does it sound like that's what I'm saying?

no, alls I'm saying is that she got thrown under the bus for this when it seems to me that the person that brought the weapon on to campus should be charged-under current law.

personally, I think the law is ridiculous. Just a couple days ago we had an armed robbery in one of the campus apartments http://johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=98509. IMO, that robbery probably could have been prevented if those living in the apartment were allowed to defend themselves with a firearm. But instead, everyone living on campus will be sent straight to jail for arming themselves.
 

MilProGuy

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Jul 7, 2011
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Mississippi
What's wrong with us? We abide by the law. We are responsible for living in this world of reality, not the world that we wish we lived in.

Sure, many of us believe students should be able to carry guns on campus, along with the faculty, admin staff, janitors and visitors as well. Personally, I believe I should be able to belt on my guns in the morning, check that there is sufficient ammo for the rooftop howitzer and then climb in my Apache and head to work. However......

Guns are ILLEGAL on campus.

Illegal. Whether you like it or not. Don't agree with it? Well, if you feel so strongly, feel free to take your gun and go tell the President of the University, the Governor and the legislature how silly you think they are to have a law so wrong. Drop in and let your postmaster know what you think of their ban on firearms too. Don't forget the offices of your Senators and Representative. While you're at it, drive your car at 100 mph down the interstate cause that's wrong too you know. That road and your car are capable of 100, maybe 110, that law is simply wrong too.

The reality is the guy broke the law by bringing a gun on campus. The action was made worse (for both of them) in that he didn't have enough sense to unload it and she didn't have enough sense to check it when he gave it to her. Then she tried to carry it out of the building.

Get motivated by this raw injustice! Write your state legislators! The Governor! The Regents! The Trustees! Don't work where you can't carry and exercise your rights! Don't send your child to a school where they will see their rights denied on a daily basis! Withhold your business from places that don't support carry, Open or Concealed! Don't vote for anyone who doesn't believe that the 2A is a sacred concept and should be IN NO WAY INFRINGED!

The world will be a better place if you do.

In the meantime, expect to be charged if you do any of those things that violate laws you think are wrong.

Outstanding post!:dude:
 

Citizen

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quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by 09jisaac What the is wrong with some of you? I thought we want more rights, not just rights until you're on a college campus. She shouldn't be charged with anything and he shouldn't either. I really don't get why anyone thinks that he should take the fall for this. It was her gun, delivered to where she worked and she went to retrieve it. I don't see anything wrong with any of that. Until she did anything harmful to anyone then I don't think she committed a crime and he is just as innocent as she is. And don't argue "well it is the law" just because it is against the law/ within the law doesn't make it right. And in this case, I think the law is wrong.

What's wrong with us? We abide by the law. We are responsible for living in this world of reality, not the world that we wish we lived in...

...In the meantime, expect to be charged if you do any of those things that violate laws you think are wrong.

Yeah! John Lilburne shoulda just wrote Parliament.

And, Peter Zenger shoulda just wrote the colonial govenor and legislature. (Well, he did, in a way. They just disliked his words so strongly they charged him with seditious libel.)

And, Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hancock, and the boys shoulda wrote Parliament, again. And, again. And, again.

And, Rosa Parks should just gone to the back of the bus.

Because that's the law. And if you break the law, you should expect to be arrested. But, certain people here writing about it won't actually say that they equate breaking the law with expecting to be arrested with deserving to be arrested.

How do you think we got some of the rights we have today? By people writing legislators? By people breaking the effing bad laws!

While we at OCDO do not advocate breaking the law, lets not pretend breaking bad laws equates with deserving to be arrested. How many historical figures have written that an unjust law is of no force? Which historical figures went further, writing we are duty-bound to refuse to obey unjust laws?
 
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09jisaac

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Go get 'em Spartacus!

But don't solicit your bail here, eh?

- OS

What bail? In Kentucky it isn't illegal to carry a gun without a permit or carry a gun on university property against their rules. They can ask me to leave, if I don't then I am trespassing.

Most likely because we don't say "Well, I guess it is illegal lets leave it alone." I would rather rot in for jail standing up for my rights (and others') than to have them stripped away because I refused to challenge the law.

While we at OCDO do not advocate breaking the law, lets not pretend breaking bad laws equates with deserving to be arrested. How many historical figures have written that an unjust law is of no force? Which historical figures went further, writing we are duty-bound to refuse to obey unjust laws?

Thanks Citizen, this is exactly how I see it. It has more to do with right or wrong than within or against the law. If it Tennessee said women couldn't be on campus, would that be fair? No. How is firearms too much different?

We have to challenge unjust laws. If we can just petition people and get them overturned then we are best because no one is sacrificing their freedom if we lose, but we do all need to fight for what is right.

I was just saying, we're all in this together. It is best that we don't turn people into criminals just for breaking the law, but for doing something wrong.
 

09jisaac

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Louisa, Kentucky
I feel sorry for her but the fact remains she should have immediately notified campus security that the guy walked in carrying a weapon. If she had done so she would still be in school, still be working at the paper, still have a clean arrest record and the guy would be up for the charge where he could plead ignorance of the law with a bit better chance of success.

A second solution, and a more agreeable one, would have been to tell him to take the gun back where he came from. That way no one would have been any wiser to what happened so no one would have been arrested for possession. If someone was a good enough friend that I would lone them a gun I probably wouldn't turn them in just because I would get a figurative government cookie and a pat on the head. I probably would try to keep them out of jail every chance I could.
 
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