Pistol-packing Pa. soccer mom loses gun permit

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Okay, take your gun to a kids' soccer game because there's potential danger. But where does it end? Where is the end to these potentially dangerous situations?

What will the world be like when we're all gun-toting vigilantes? I wil always argue the fallacy that gun-ownership = instant righteousness. Gun-users are all righteous in their own minds. Anyone who can wrap his of her fingers around the butt of a weapon always claims moral superiority, even if they've just shot up a high school or some poor schlub doing the grave-yard shift at the local convenience store.

You seem to be under the fallacy that gun owners and criminals are one and the same. Who's claiming moral superiority after robbing a store or shooting up a school? Some of the school shooters have claimed victimization as a reason, but I'm not aware of any claiming any kind of moral high ground. I certainly don't claim that my carrying of a gun gives me any sort of righteousness or moral judgment, only that it gives me options in certain situations. You assume a certain mindset for anyone carrying a gun, and you couldn't be more wrong about that. You wouldn't object to an armed police officer watching a soccer game, would you? They have a far worse safety record than legally armed civilians, yet you wouldn't expect them to disarm before being around children.

Back to the original issue though, the woman in question broke no laws, so revoking her carry permit was out of line, and hopefully a reprimand will be issued. This is a private property issue, if the soccer league wishes to post "No Carry" they can do that, and then they can ask anyone not in compliance to leave. Till then, the woman is completely within her rights.

I don't think the issue was her carrying the gun, but more that she was brandishing it, waving it around, using it as a toy... there has to be more to this story than meets the eye...

If that was the case, why wasn't she charged with brandishing, menacing, child endangerment, etc? That at least would have given the sheriff a legal foothold for revoking her permit, instead of now standing on legal quicksand. It's been my experience that while open carry is often technically legal, it's practically prohibited, through police harassment and misunderstandings such as this one. I can totally see some other mother noticing the holstered pistol and throwing a fit, calling attention to something that most people wouldn't have even noticed. As has been amply demonstrated in some of the postings above me, some people can become quite irrational when firearms are involved, so I don't think it needs to have been any more complicated than reported.

A gun is just a piece of metal...that can beat the living crap out of you.

Proper use for handguns are: Keep them loaded. Aim at target. Pull trigger. Dispose of properly.

I can see how it might be useful around children, especially since they are growing up to be criminals these days anyways.

I found his comment funny because it was so odd.

Wow. Such venom coming from WP members lately.

Maybe we need something to cool things down a bit, like a hug.....or some weed.

True... most people think open carry is illegal... in Florida, a gun in a holster or in a waistband with only the handgrip visible is considered concealed, so open carry is almost impossible here without holding the gun in your hand... i use a belt clip, which keeps the entire gun visible, but it sticks out from the side of the gun, causing problems... i don't carry it if i'm going into a store, but once in a while someone will spot me with it and give me a look like i'm either a cop or a criminal...

could be that bringing a gun to a sporting event is against the concealed carry policy in her state... in my state you can't bring one into a bar, which is a good policy...

Unfortunately, that logic is flawed for this case. You're taking a celebrated case as an example. That kind of incident is rare. I could counter with the example of the mother who hired someone to murder a cheerleader so that her daughter could get on the team and use that as a reason why someone shouldn't be allowed to carry a gun to a sporting match (as it indicates that they are competitive to the point of murder), but that would be just as false - it is a celebrated case too.

In any case, without more information, it's impossible to make a judgment on this case. I know half of my brother's soccer games are played on school grounds, and there are signs specifically stating that guns are not allowed on the property. They are not posted in every field - instead, they are located on the front doors and other main entrances, but they are applicable to all areas of school property. It also may depend on the laws of that specific county, which were not discussed.

Don’t pay any mind to slowmutant he’s just here to antagonize. We’ve been down this road with this individual before on the armed self defense topic.


Putting “NO GUNS” signs up anywhere or otherwise banning their possession is an invitation to anyone wanting to bring harm upon that area since it is now a soft target. That’s not to say that it will happen because it probably won’t but it does make that area a more tempting target for the obvious reasons and therefore increases the chances of an armed attack.
It’s not about vigilantism or paranoia it’s about the realities of society and being prepared.

Now what will we do if the King of England invades?

Shoot him, just like we do with all the other marauding monarchs... Seriously, the English can't build guns to save their lives, they had to send their Enfields back to the factory after the stocks melted if they touched bug spray...

The sheriff overstepped his bounds on this one. It was in a public park and open carry is legal in all of Pennsylvania except in Philadelphia. He took her license by citing an obscure law that says that a license may be revoked for an "individual whose character and reputation is such that the individual would be likely to act in a dangerous manner to public safety.” The kicker- she is now forced to open carry as her concealed carry license was the only thing they could take from her.

Only a silly b***h would even consider not bringing a gun to their kids soccer practice when they had credible reason to fear for their family's safety.

What is that you say? This mom couldn't possibly have had such reason to ever need a firearm to protect herself?

Then how do you explain the fact that Melanie Hain was just shot dead in her own home? And the police believe the husband she was in the process of divorcing last year killed her, right before killing himself? She was in the process of getting a restraining order against him, but everyone with common sense knows those only restrain people who don't want to approach you in the first place. Obviously this mom had very good reason for packing a gun. Too bad people were more concerned about grabbing her self defense off her, then they were about looking into the reasons why she had gun. She could be alive today if her permits hadn't been revoked for no other reason than she legally tried to protect herself when she knew she her life in danger if she didn't

She got her permit back in less then a month after it was pulled. So noone caused what happend to her other then the one with in his or her hand. We don't know that she didn't kill him then herself yet.

Does no one even recognize the tragic irony of the situation? A gun didn't keep her safe, it ended her life and left 3 young children without parents.

No no no, don't you see? No gun-owner would do that. Oh, she was a gun-owner? Well... no true gun-owner would do that.