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Brian Aitken's Mistake - New Jersey man gets seven years for being a responsible gun owner
reason.com ^ | Nov. 15, 2010

Posted on 11/15/2010 5:08:03 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY

Sue Aitken called the police because she was worried about her son, Brian. She now lives with the guilt of knowing that her phone call is the reason Brian spent his 27th birthday in a New Jersey prison last month. If the state gets its way, he will be there for the next seven years.

Aitken was sentenced in August after he was convicted of felony possession of a handgun. Before his arrest, Aitken, an entrepreneur and owner of a media consulting business, had no criminal record, and it appears he made a good-faith effort to comply with New Jersey's stringent gun laws. Even the jurors who convicted him seem to have been looking for a reason to acquit him. But the judge gave them little choice. Aitken's best hope now is executive clemency. He is petitioning New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a reprieve this week.

Aitken, born and raised in New Jersey, moved to Colorado several years ago. In Colorado he married his now ex-wife, also originally from New Jersey. The two had a son together. When the marriage dissolved, Atiken's wife and infant son moved back to New Jersey. Aitken eventually decided to move back as well in order to be closer to his son. Beginning in late 2008, he took the first of several trips between the two states, a back-and-forth process that involved selling his house in Colorado, moving his possessions across the country, and finding a job and a new place to live back east. Until he could find a new apartment, he stored his belongings at his parents' home in Burlington County.

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Mr. Aitken will eventually have his conviction thrown out, just like accused day-care-molester Margaret Kelly Michaels who served eight years in prison on an equally absurd set of “facts”. But he will never be compensated for the injustice he has suffered. That’s Jersey!


21 posted on 11/15/2010 7:04:00 PM PST by devere
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To: Free ThinkerNY

If a law is sufficiently complicated that people have trouble complying with it, it should be repealed.


22 posted on 11/15/2010 7:32:51 PM PST by MadeMan
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To: Redbob

I agree with your emphasis. Look, the woman has been inundated by Liberal B. S. I was thinking the same thing, but I’ll cut her some slack. I’m sure she’s realizing what an enemy the state is about now. This is actually an excellent object lesson to everyone.


23 posted on 11/15/2010 9:35:12 PM PST by DoughtyOne (Your next chance like this? About 2044. Vote popularity and don't waste time with the details.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

That is an insane story. The crime shouldn’t even be a crime in light of McDonald, and yet it still reads like a conspiracy to make him look guilty. I hope he gets released and the law changed.


24 posted on 11/15/2010 10:52:10 PM PST by monkeyshine
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To: Springfield Reformer

egg-zackly

http://fija.org/


25 posted on 11/16/2010 1:34:40 PM PST by WOBBLY BOB ( "I don't want the majority if we don't stand for something"- Jim Demint)
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To: ThermoNuclearWarrior
 
 
What people don't stop to think about is that when you willingly consent to a search, you essentially waive away any defense. You're then looking at a guilty or a no-contest plea for whatever they may come up with to charge you over. A 'gotcha' moment waiting to happen.
 
 

26 posted on 11/16/2010 9:27:00 PM PST by lapsus calami (What's that stink? Code Pink ! ! And their buddy Murtha, too!)
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