PAOC member "SheFearsNothing" sues Lebanon Co. Sheriff

[Pa. Patriot]

Fair use:

http://www.ldnews.com/ci_11004926?source=rss


Gun mom looks to sue sheriff
By JOHN LATIMER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News


A Lebanon woman who achieved national notoriety when her concealed-weapon permit was taken away after she wore a gun openly to a youth soccer match has hired a lawyer to prepare for filing a federal civil lawsuit in the matter.
Meleanie Hain claims Lebanon County Sheriff Mike DeLeo violated her constitutional rights when he confiscated her license-to-carry permit after a parent complained when Hain wore her holstered handgun to her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer game played Sept. 11 at the city’s Southwest Park.

DeLeo said Hain showed poor judgment and created a danger by wearing her loaded Glock 26 to the youth soccer game. He justified his action to confiscate her permit on a statute of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act that denies a permit to any “individual whose character and reputation is such that the individual would be likely to act in a dangerous manner to public safety.”

Hain’s permit was returned last month after she appealed DeLeo’s action.

In a hearing in the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas, President Judge Robert J. Eby questioned Hain’s judgment but ruled that she violated no law by wearing the firearm openly, and DeLeo did not prove that Hain presented a danger.

Two weeks ago, Hain said, she hired Philadelphia-area civil-rights lawyer Matthew Weisberg to represent her.

Weisberg said he has sent a letter to DeLeo and sheriff’s department solicitor George Christianson notifying them of his intent to file a suit. He has taken no other formal action while awaiting their response.
“I served the sheriff and his solicitor with a notice of my claim and an intent to pursue a lawsuit if they refuse to settle, which I fully expect they will refuse to do,” Weisberg said.

Christianson acknowledged that DeLeo received the letter and promptly turned it over to the sheriff’s department’s liability-insurance carrier. He refused further comment, and DeLeo did not return a call.

Weisberg said he believes several of Hain’s rights were trampled, including her Second Amendment right to carry a firearm and elements of her Fourth Amendment right guaranteeing due process.

“I think her case, in terms of a winning legal perspective, is more complicated than just a Second Amendment case,” he said. “It is not so easy, because it is not necessarily about the denial of her Second Amendment rights and not necessarily about the denial of due process. Rather, it is about the intent to suppress those rights. That is what makes this case so complicated.”

If filed, the suit will seek damages for pain and suffering, but Weisberg did not say how much.

“I’m not there yet,” he said. “What could be the monetary value (of the damage) is hard to decipher. ... I would say that in some respects what she has lost is worse than actual personal injury or physical injury, because she has lost forever a feeling that she was guaranteed under the Constitution. Which is: You can trust police unless you do something wrong.”

Hain, the mother of three young children, said her life has changed, and she has become a target of ridicule and harassment.

She cited an incident in which a neighbor complained to a store manager when she spotted Hain wearing the gun while shopping. When the manager checked the laws, he told her she was permitted to carry the weapon in the store, according to Hain.

“Once I explained that these people were manipulating him for their own agenda, he wasn’t very pleased,” she said.

Hain said DeLeo’s actions have also caused her to lose customers at the babysitting business she operates in her South Second Avenue home. In addition, she feels she may have lost the opportunity to become a police officer because of the publicity generated by her case. She had planned to attend the state-police academy at her own expense, she said, but now she’s afraid she might not be hired because of the controversy.

Although much of the expense was offset by supporters’ donations, Hain said she was also irritated by having to pay $3,000 to defend herself at the appeals hearing.

“It (the lawsuit) is about money, but it is not about money,” she said. “It is wrong for me to have to pay out $3,000 in attorney’s fees to get back my license when I never should have lost it in the first place.”

If she wins any damages, Hain said, she would give the donated money to a fund kept by the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association for people who must defend themselves in cases like hers.

JohnLatimer@LDNews.com

[Pa. Patriot]

As I posted in the comments section at the newspaper and elsewhere...

Good.

I was there to hear his court testimony. He obviously did not learn his lesson. DeLeo's civil rights tutor (SFN) has done what every agrieved party to a willful civil rights violation should do.
She spent real money, time and effort in fighting a willfully illegal revocation.
She is entitled to get it back, plus compensory damages for her trouble and rights being violated by a public official. Additionally, I hope they filed for punitive damages. That is what DeLeo deserves, punishment. He stil refuses to acknowledge he did any wrong.

[Pa. Patriot]

We need more "pro" posts in the comments at the newspaper article page...:
http://www.ldnews.com/ci_11004926?source=rss

[MJFletcher]

I got as far as page 2 of the comments and had to close the window, the morons and sheep were making my brain hurt, and its the same morons and sheep posting the same drivel that has already been replied to in the comments on every article about the issue. Obviously they just don't care and I'm not willing to bash my head against that particular brick wall anymore.

[normanvin]

But the children..

[Pa. Patriot]

(11-17-2008 06:12 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  I got as far as page 2 of the comments and had to close the window, the morons and sheep were making my brain hurt, and its the same morons and sheep posting the same drivel that has already been replied to in the comments on every article about the issue. Obviously they just don't care and I'm not willing to bash my head against that particular brick wall anymore.

Keep reading, I (and others) didn't join the fray until pg 3 (I think) They're getting an edumacation

[MJFletcher]

(11-17-2008 06:44 PM)Pa. Patriot Wrote:  

(11-17-2008 06:12 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  I got as far as page 2 of the comments and had to close the window, the morons and sheep were making my brain hurt, and its the same morons and sheep posting the same drivel that has already been replied to in the comments on every article about the issue. Obviously they just don't care and I'm not willing to bash my head against that particular brick wall anymore.

Keep reading, I (and others) didn't join the fray until pg 3 (I think) They're getting an edumacation

But... but... but.... the stupidity of the sheeple makes my brain hurt.

[fingers]

You must have one hell of a headache right now.
Those walls your beating your head against are hard.......

[MJFletcher]

Hey PA, would you mind the evil anti's at the topix site seeing a link here? One of the posters there seems reasonable and might be intersted in getting more info[/quote]:

john doe 0000068

Quote:I don't understand why a person needs a piece of paper to carry a handguns If you hide a handgun it's a different story. If you wear it like the woman in this story she shouldn't even need a permit. It's not concealed. Conceal means to hide. On June 26, 2008 the Supreme Court said a individial has the right to carry a handgun. This all came about because a security guard couldn't bring his hand gun home because he lived in the District of Columbia.

NEVERMIND Just saw you post to him

[Pa. Patriot]

(11-17-2008 08:07 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  NEVERMIND Just saw you post to him

LOL, great minds...

[MJFletcher]

(11-17-2008 08:37 PM)Pa. Patriot Wrote:  

(11-17-2008 08:07 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  NEVERMIND Just saw you post to him

LOL, great minds...

FYI, Im common sense over there, yes its an intentional jab at those crying about "common sense" lol

[Pa. Patriot]

(11-17-2008 08:40 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  FYI, Im common sense over there, yes its an intentional jab at those crying about "common sense" lol

Cool, was wondering who that was.

[MJFletcher]

(11-17-2008 08:58 PM)Pa. Patriot Wrote:  

(11-17-2008 08:40 PM)MJFletcher Wrote:  FYI, Im common sense over there, yes its an intentional jab at those crying about "common sense" lol

Cool, was wondering who that was.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle...

[ArmedLamb]

Your doing great!! I put it my .02

[ArmedLamb]

posted again and again..... that one lady is psycotic?

[Pa. Patriot]

That Elizabethtown chick has a mental problem. Obviously just looking for attention

Now she's using SFN's name. That's Libel.

Seriousy, she lost it. Too bad Topix lets the trolls run wild over there.

[MJFletcher]

(11-17-2008 09:30 PM)Pa. Patriot Wrote:  That Elizabethtown chick has a mental problem. Obviously just looking for attention

Now she's using SFN's name. That's Libel.

Seriousy, she lost it. Too bad Topix lets the trolls run wild over there.

Well im currently amusing myself by going back thru the comments and reporting every single one of hers.

[ArmedLamb]

"Don't feed the Troll"

did you report the abuse?

[MJFletcher]

I'm now registered as "Defend Your Rights" since every variation on Common Sense I tried was taken.

[MJFletcher]

(11-17-2008 09:48 PM)ArmedLamb Wrote:  "Don't feed the Troll"

did you report the abuse?

I did. Every single post lol