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New Jersey Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison -- for firearms that were legally purchased

 

Images-16 Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert 
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 
http://gunowners.org

 
Thursday, December 2, 2010


Did you think that when the ban on semi-autos and semi-auto magazines sunset in 2004, that the jackboots would be removed from the necks of Americans wishing to possess those items?

Well, apparently, not in New Jersey.

Brian Aitken, 27, was convicted in the "Garden State" of possessing high-capacity magazines and now faces seven years in prison. 

What makes Aitken's conviction all the more disconcerting is that he had contacted the New Jersey State Police prior to moving his home and his firearms -- and he thought he had all his i's dotted and his t's crossed.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News (10/30/10), Aitken had two handguns in his trunk, both of them "locked and unloaded as New Jersey requires." 


Not only that:
Aitken had passed an FBI background check to buy them in Colorado when he lived there, his father said, and had contacted New Jersey State Police and discussed the proper way to transport them. "He bought them at Bass Pro Shops, for God's sake, not some guy named Tony on the street corner," his father said.

Aitken was also was charged with possessing "large capacity" magazines and hollow-point bullets.

Suffice it to say that Gun Owners of America believes this is a travesty of justice. "This is precisely what's wrong with gun control," said GOA Director of Communications Erich Pratt. "Gun laws typically target non-violent gun owners like Aitken, even while there are sex offenders who are serving shorter sentences in New Jersey!"

(For example, a Somerset man, Birut N. Patel, was sentenced in September to only three years in jail for luring under-aged girls to have sex with him.)

Aside from of all of this, there is evidence that Aitken received an unfair trial from a biased anti-gun judge -- who has since been removed. Governor Christie refused to reappoint Superior Court Judge James Morley based partly upon the fact that he exonerated a cop of animal cruelty charges, even though he had engaged in oral sex with calves.

So this judge condones that kind of activity, but he sentences a law-abiding gun owner to jail for seven years -- for owning guns he had legally purchased in another state! 

ACTION: Please contact Governor Christie and urge him to issue a pardon for Brian Aitken. Some might argue that the Governor should wait until Aitken's legal options run out. However, there is NO CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT that Christie wait for the courts to act. The Governor needs to end this travesty today.

You can contact the Governor at:

Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact/

For more information, you can check out Aitken's Facebook page at:http://www.facebook.com/FreeBrianAitken


----- Pre-written letter to copy and paste -----

Dear Governor Christie:

The people of New Jersey elected you to bring real change to the state of New Jersey. But right now, the courts in the Garden State are running totally out-of-control.

You are well-aware of Superior Court Judge James Morley, a man whom you have refused to reappoint -- based partly upon the fact that he exonerated a cop of animal cruelty charges, even though he had engaged in oral sex with calves.

So this judge condones that kind of activity, but then he sentences a law-abiding gun owner like Brian Aitken to jail for seven years -- for owning guns he had legally purchased in another state! Aitken had contacted the New Jersey State Police prior to moving his home and his firearms -- and he thought he had all his i's dotted and his t's crossed.

It is outrageous that Aitken should be serving seven years in prison -- for a NON-VIOLENT offense -- when there are sex offenders like Birut Patel who are serving less time in this state!

This is why I am imploring you to exercise your constitutional authority to grant pardons -- and to issue one to Brian Aitken.

Sincerely,

 

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