“…Pennsylvania single mom Shaneen Allen was pulled over for a traffic violation and volunteered to a New Jersey police officer that she was carrying a legally-owned handgun with a Pennsylvania permit, the response of Donis and McClain was to deny her the same opportunity as Rice.

Allen lives in Philadelphia, right across the river from New Jersey. She has a Pennsylvania permit to carry a handgun. She thought it was recognized in New Jersey, just as it is recognized in over 30 other states. She was wrong. When she told the officer that she had the gun, she was arrested.

Now she faces a felony conviction and a mandatory 42 months in prison. Both Donio and McClain have been unwilling to dismiss the charges, or send Allen to a pretrial diversion program…”

via Carrying a gun way worse than beating your wife: Column.

Shaneen Allen and family

It’s been simmering for some time but, Shaneen Allen’s case has now boiled to the surface in light of the video of Ray Rice striking his wife and knocking her unconscious. Why? Because the same judge and prosecutor who essentially let Rice walk for felony assault with bodily injury against his then fiancée, have been trying to make an example of a Allen, single mother with no criminal record who simply made a procedural mistake that harmed and endangered NO ONE.

Allen is facing up to ten years in prison because she was unfamiliar with New Jersey law regarding the possession of a handgun and hollowpoint ammunition.  In an otherwise uneventful traffic stop, trying to be honest, she told the officer she was carrying a handgun and things went downhill from there. While ignorance of the law is no excuse, there’s a great deal of discretion that could have been used by law enforcement, the court, and the local prosecutor that has not been exercised. And shockingly, Allen’s case has garnered the attention of the mainstream media who usually doesn’t care to have anything to do with defending the 2nd Amendment.  It has even caused New Jersey lawmakers to take a second look at New Jersey’s draconian gun laws. With all this new time in the spotlight, it’s a wonder that the charges against Shaneen Allen haven’t spontaneously combusted. But the latest word is, that might just be what happens.

It’s too early to celebrate. A delay of trial can simply mean additional evidence is being considered. They may just want to twist the knife in a little deeper. But it could also mean they are looking for a way to back out of a case they are concerned will not garner a conviction and will be thoroughly unpopular with voters. Let’s hope it’s the latter. This is one of those times that society does not stand to gain from the work of the local prosecutor and judge. And the fact these same people let Rice walk for a far more egregious offense really should cost them their jobs.  Especially as they push to do far worse to Shaneen Allen. Thus far, they haven’t so much as offered a pretrial diversion for Allen but, they did for Rice. Something that almost NEVER happens in similar cases of domestic violence. Apparently the judge and prosecutor are big fans of the NFL and/or Ray Rice.

-GM