Pregnant woman faces a felony after trying to bring an unloaded handgun back to Minnesota

[The Straight Story]

Moorhead, MN (WDAY TV) -- A Moorhead woman's flight back from New York turned into a trip to jail.

The 29-year-old pregnant military wife is facing a Felony after trying to bring an unloaded handgun back to Minnesota. But she claims she did exactly what Delta Airlines asked of her.

...

Ferrizzi/Traveler: "They said that the firearm had to unloaded and in a hard-sided, locked case. The ammunition had to be stored separated. Not separate from the gun but in either it's original packaging or some sort of a container that kept the bullets from being in contact with each other."

So she did just that.

But it wasn't flying out of Fargo that got Beth in trouble, it was coming back from the LaGuardia Airport where she was arrested by Port Authority Police.

Ferrizzi/Traveler: "They were telling me I wasn't able to transport the firearm. So, I didn't understand that I had done something wrong or that I was in any sort of trouble."

Delta and TSA claim it's the travelers responsibility to know each state's law. In New York, if you're in possession of both a gun and ammunition, the firearm is considered loaded. For Beth, her confusion turned into a crime.

http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/77862/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Just for clarification, why in the world would somebody be

flying around the USA with an unloaded gun? How can that protect her?

[The Straight Story]

2. From the article: Her husband who was coming home on leave asked her to bring it

Which she did. And no problems up until the point she got to NY.

She got there with no problems, it was leaving.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. So, she took it to her husband, he loaded it and then unloaded it,

and had her take it back?

[The Straight Story]

13. Look at it this way

You call your spouse and tell them to meet you in a city and ask them to bring something with you.

You do. Then you are heading home and take the same thing with you in the same condition you brought it.

And you get arrested.

Which is basically what this boils down to.

Now. Who was harmed in this story? Me? You? Society? NY? Anyone you can think of?

[UnrepentantLiberal]

24. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Moral of the story: If you own a gun, stay out of New York.

[stevenleser]

28. Yes please. Go vacation somewhere else if you have to bring your stupid gun. nt

[former9thward]

43. I hope you did not go to law school.

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse" is a tv show banality. It is an excuse and a defense with many laws. I don't know the wording of the NY law.

[kudzu22]

3. To load and use at your destination

You have to transport it unloaded, but it doesn't have to stay that way when you get there.

[kudzu22]

4. The article isn't clear if NY was her destination

If it was, she's in trouble. If she was just passing through, she should be protected by FOPA.

[ManiacJoe]

22. The article says NY was the destination.

[snooper2]

5. I'm trying to figure out what the state of her uterus has to do with the story?

[Wait Wut]

9. Awesome.

I'm not the only one. See my response below.

[The Straight Story]

12. From personal experience

Cops and others tend to cut certain people a little slack. They could have here, and causing her stress during this time over what is really a minor thing will be seen by some in the field as crass.

As far as the story goes and mentioning it, others may well feel the same. A pregnant lady bringing along an unloaded gun that her husband home on leave asked to her will be seen in a different light than some guy who is in some militia on a sight seeing tour. I am guessing folks would give one person a break over the other.

One may not like it or agree, but that is human nature.

[randome]

15. That's been my experience, too.

Authorities are usually quite willing to cut someone slack for a situation like this. I don't understand why it got this far. My guess is that she will be given a citation or something and that will be the end of it.

The key to dealing with authorities, I've found, is to be straight with them all the way.

They usually respond accordingly.

[Marrah_G]

7. You cannot transport hand guns through NY from what I remember

[HappyMe]

11. They take this shit very seriously

here in NY.

If she's going to drag a gun around with her, she can easily find out what the laws are in the states she will be in.

[Lizzie Poppet]

16. But not seriously enough to enact laws that actually make sense.

But yes, the responsibility for compliance was hers, no doubt about it.

[Wait Wut]

8. Horrible headline.

I don't care if she's pregnant. 'Military wife' or '29 year old woman' would have made it seem less of an attempt to pull at heartstrings. I read this article with a preexisting 'who cares' attitude just because I felt like I was being asked to feel sorry for the 'poor pregnant woman'.

Yes, she is responsible for knowing the laws of each state. This type of arrest has been in the news frequently, not any pregnant women that I remember, but a few Republican pols from what I recall. Maybe the airline should have mentioned the different laws to her.

[Demoiselle]

26. Yeah, I wondered why the fact that she's pregnant was relevant....

[Paul E Ester]

10. University president runs afoul of gun laws, sues Delta

Should an airline be responsible for advising passengers about local laws at their destinations? That argument is at the center of a lawsuit that a president of a small university has filed against Delta Air Lines.

Mark Benedetto, president of the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, is suing Delta over an incident last fall that involved a gun he brought in his checked luggage.

FULL STORY: Benedetto sues airline over gun (The Argus Leader)

Benedetto ended up spending a night in a New York City jail on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Charges stemming from the Oct. 2, 2011, incident have been dropped and Bendetto's record expunged.

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2012/06/delta-gun-lawsuit/713339/1

seems to happen all the time. You can easily fly into New York with a gun, it's checking it at a NY airport without a NY permit which will get you in trouble.

[whistler162]

38. Harry Connick Jr. ran afoul of NY city gun laws

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/28/nyregion/harry-connick-arrested.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/29/us/guns-at-airports-a-common-problem.html

and he is the son of a DA!

[slackmaster]

14. I feel safer already

[Raine1967]

17. Here is what I think:

Especially considering the hot issue of gun and gun control these past few months -- this woman -- as a gun owner should have made herself aware of gun laws in other states she travels in.

The airline is only responsible for what the Federal Government requires of them regarding firearms -- so Delta did their job -- she should have checked to make sure she could have brought that gun to NY, especially NYC before getting on the plane.

I personally believe that knowing gun laws in states that one wants to bring their gun into is a part of responsible gun ownership.

She should have known better by informing herself.

Especially knowing that NYS made their gun laws even tougher -- It was all over the news. State laws don't have an exemption for out of state people.

As an example: When same sex couples visit a state such as North Carolina, I am pretty sure they know their marriage rights are left at home.

[marions ghost]

18. I'd prefer

no guns allowed on planes. You get searched for everything that could be a weapon. Why would this even be allowed?

Transport guns by ground.

[justanidea]

27. How is a gun locked in the cargo hatch of an airplane

A danger to anyone?

[marions ghost]

34. It should not be up to the airline to police guns

and ensure their passengers' and baggage handlers--safety from them. Given the stupidity of people with the guns they own, it's prudent (I don't really trust everyone to know how to unload their guns & I don't think airlines should have to inspect guns--too dangerous).

You have to keep them out of airports. Also they can get stolen in baggage handling or in bags being picked up. And it can facilitate gun trafficking also (especially internationally).

The airlines restrict a lot of things. I have a commercial pilot in my family. He agrees.

Churches, schools, airports, shopping malls, sports facilities, and hospitals ought to be gun-free zones. Period.

[uppityperson]

35. Checked luggage.

[marions ghost]

36. And you want the airlines

to take responsibility for it. I can see why they wouldn't want the job of ensuring the safety of those guns.

Airports need to be gun free zones.

[uppityperson]

37. Just like other checked luggage with stuff you can't carry on board, yes.

[marions ghost]

41. Too much liability

Guns get stolen. They also might be used inside the terminal if the owner connects them with their ammo there, or in the parking lot.
But #1 it's not up to the airlines to police weapons. They are ultimately responsible for the dangers to passengers.

[uppityperson]

47. An unloaded gun locked in the cargo hold is a danger to passengers because someone can drive up to

an airport parking lot with a gun? Oh. Kay.

I agree that guns should be barred from airports except in checked luggage. Rather like machetes.

[krispos42]

19. In New York, if you're in possession of both a gun and ammunition, the firearm is considered loaded

The Ministry of Truth would be proud.

Well, something to keep in mind for reading the New York newspapers, I guess. Now I know where the NYPD gets their attitude from.

[cthulu2016]

20. And the significance of her being pregnant is... I dunno

[randome]

21. Contributing to the delinquency of a fetus?

[JVS]

30. Contributing the the delinquency of a soldier's fetus.

[99Forever]

23. What exactly is it about owning guns...

... that makes people feel like they should catch a break when they violate the laws pertaining to those guns and get caught at it?

[NutmegYankee]

32. Perhaps because a Class C felony charge is a tad, uh, EXTREME?

Normal law would make such a violation an infraction and issue a fine, or at worst a misdemeanor. The woman has committed no violent crime, has harmed no one else, nor stolen anything, but she's facing 1 year+ in jail.

What other than the prison-industrial complex does that serve? Not to mention that she will miss the most critical time for bonding with and nursing a child. Why? So, if convicted, we just removed this woman's right to vote, and basically ended her chances of ever getting a good job for what gain in public safety?

This is an awful law!

[marions ghost]

39. This law makes sense

and I'm sure the woman won't be convicted. But it sends a strong message. Public Safety is #1.

[NutmegYankee]

42. Strong message that Prison's need profits?

Do you support strong drug laws as well?

[marions ghost]

45. How is the prison profiting?

Judge Judy will decide.

I am for some control of drugs, yes. (Making marijuana legal like alcohol). Most other drugs--controlled. Including prescription drugs.
Because sometimes you really do have to protect people from themselves and the public from those people.

I'm tired of this wah wah about gun laws. We want better enforcement, right? That's what the wingers are always saying--enforce the laws.

[NutmegYankee]

46. That is what the right wingers are saying.

Draconian punishments are right wing ideology. I believe in writing laws with punishments that fit the crime. Her crime, infraction really, doesn't deserve being charged as a felon.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

25. This thread is just so

[mn9driver]

29. This happens all the time at New York airports.

People bring guns in via air travel, then get arrested when their bags are screened at the airport as they leave. The only reason this woman made the news is because of her circumstance as a pregnant military spouse. The dozens of other people it happens to every year rarely merit a news article.

If you want to drag your guns around the country with you, you better know the rules of the places you're visiting. No sympathy here.

[NutmegYankee]

31. How is society served by locking this woman up? Class C felony?

And how the fuck do Liberals support such a harsh crime for what is at most a mere infraction. Shit, fine her if you have to but locking up a mother for a misunderstanding? If anything, this says a lot out our fucking prison-industrial complex and the need to keep them stocked. This woman committed no violent crime whatsoever.

She certainly has my sympathy.

[JVS]

33. A lot of people on DU will be fine with it because it's making life suck for a gun owner.

That alone can be considered a service to society.

It looks like the woman in the article really stepped in it. What makes me curious is her husband's role in this. Normally I don't go in for the "my spouse put me up to it" defense, but I'm very curious about whether he had the proper permits for that handgun in NY or not. If he didn't then he was essentially tricking his wife into trafficking an illegal firearm for him. If he did have the permits, I'd think she could make a reasonable case that she should fall under the safe passage provision of FOPA because she only had possession of the gun while travelling. Technically she could argue that even if he didn't have the proper documents, but doing so would expose her to trafficking accusations.

[marions ghost]

40. And you know

unless there are circumstances we dont know about, that she won't be locked up.

This is what Liberals mean by putting some enforcement behind the laws.

Not a big hardship for lawful gun owners.

[bettyellen]

48. yes, if there's one less gun in NYC.. Hell yes!

[jmg257]

44. Enforcing gun laws already on the books...how can anyone complain?

Its simple...handguns in NY need to be registered.

Her husband sounds like he was ignorant, or just wanted his gatt despite the law.

Silly.