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TN Woman Caught Wih Handgun at Sears Tower In Chicago

HankT

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Poor woman made a big mistake. I wonder what the charge would have been with different demographics.

Too bad she doesn't work for Jim Webb...:p



Sears Tower tourist caught with handgun

Tennessee woman thought pistol in purse legal, cops say

By Alexa Aguilar
July 6, 2007

A tourist from Tennessee was arrested at the Sears Tower on Thursday morning after she tried to visit the Skydeck with a loaded gun in her purse, police said.

Stephanie Warren, 56, of Memphis was waiting to see the Chicago skyline from the top of Chicago's tallest attraction when she placed her bag on the belt of the security machine, police said.

Inside the purse was a loaded .38-caliber revolver, police said.

Warren, whom a neighbor described as "responsible pillar of the community," is licensed to carry the gun in Tennessee, which allows its citizens to have concealed weapons.

"It didn't dawn on her that our state did not have the same gun laws as hers did," said police spokeswoman Monique Bond.

In Illinois, carrying a loaded weapon is against state law; Chicago also has an ordinance prohibiting it.

Police pulled her from the line of tourists waiting to go through the ground-floor metal detectors and later took her into custody, where she remained for most of the day. Her companion watched as the police car carrying Warren inside pulled away.

"There was no intent," he repeated to a police officer, then wondered aloud what he was going to do alone all day. The two had driven from Tennessee and are staying at a hotel in Michigan, Bond said.

No visitors were in any danger, and there was no interruption for the dozens of tourists awaiting the elevator ride to the Skydeck, Bond said. Police recommended that Warren be charged with a felony for unlawful use of a weapon, she said.

"We would like people to recognize how serious this is. ... We take our gun laws very seriously," Bond said.

Prosecutors instead decided to file misdemeanor charges, said John Gorman, spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Warren has no criminal history and had no intent to harm anyone, he said.

Rodney Ware, who lives next to Warren in Memphis, described her as a great neighbor who volunteers in her community. Ware said he works in the security-conscious airline industry, so he understands that travelers must be aware of different state laws. But he was concerned about his neighbor's trouble so far from Memphis, he said.

"Stephanie just needs to get home," he said.

About 1.3 million tourists visit the Sears Tower annually. As one of the city's most notable landmarks, security at the building has increased substantially since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A spokesman for the building management did not return a call seeking comment.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-searsjul06,1,597937.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
 

XD Owner

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This is an excellent example of why the U.S. needs a National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity law. If you have a CHP/LTCF/CHL or whatever you call your permit, it should be valid everywhere in the USA, not just the state that issued. Kind of like a drivers license. I don't need 51+ different drivers licenses to drive my deadly urban assault vehicle around the USA. (Cars kill people!) So why should I need 20 different concealed carry permits (or whatever the number is) to carry my constitutionally protected self defense tool in the US? I know, kind of revolutionary idea, to think that I could exercise my 2A rights in all 50 states, DC and terrirtories (PR, USVI, etc.) based on just one state's decision to issue me a CHP.

I am sure the purists here would rather have a National Alaska/Vermont-style Gun Law (no permits needed), but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step like the saying goes.
 
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AGAIN: each state is (supposed to be)a sovereign nation-state. Illinois is one of those states which does an end run around the 2nd amendment by claiming the founders did guarantee the right to BEAR arms, but not to CONCEAL arms. That said, this TN lady was in violation of the concealed laws of the state. Granted, the whole matter is absurd, but the last thing you or I should ever wish forare federal laws controlling anything beyond the limits of the constitution. Had this woman been openly carrying, then it would be a valid 2nd amendment issue.
 

Hawkflyer

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Last time I checked Illinois was claiming to be part of the United States. As such they are required to recognize certain acts of other states under reciprocity. WHile the current thinking there is that CHP's are not covered by that concept, so long as they recognize other official acts of other states, the precedent is set, and it would be very difficult to argue otherwise.

Tenn could always stop recognizing Illinois drivers licenses if Illinois wants to push their "independence" from the Constitution.

Regards
 

Tess

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XD Owner wrote:
This is an excellent example of why the U.S. needs a National Right-To-Carry Reciprocity law. If you have a CHP/LTCF/CHL or whatever you call your permit, it should be valid everywhere in the USA, not just the state that issued. Kind of like a drivers license. I don't need 51+ different drivers licenses to drive my deadly urban assault vehicle around the USA. (Cars kill people!) So why should I need 20 different concealed carry permits (or whatever the number is) to carry my constitutionally protected self defense tool in the US? I know, kind of revolutionary idea, to think that I could exercise my 2A rights in all 50 states, DC and terrirtories (PR, USVI, etc.) based on just one state's decision to issue me a CHP.

I am sure the purists here would rather have a National Alaska/Vermont-style Gun Law (no permits needed), but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step like the saying goes.
Unfortunately, it's likely to have the opposite effect.

I would prefer, of course, to have a "no permits needed" policy. Barring that, all the national reciprocity proposals I've seen, including the one currently in the Senate (with only 25 cosponsors, unfortunately) propose one would comply with the laws of the state in which the gun owner is carrying. In these bills, we have offered to take on the responsibility for knowing the local laws, just as we do now with those states having reciprocity with our own.

So, the fact the woman didn't know where she could and could not carry gives weight to the arguments of the anti-gunners that they would not be able to enforce their own laws. This is a valid argument. It may be arguing a premise with which we disagree, but the logic is there. It's akin to, for example, knowing which states allow right turn on red at a stop light (all do, now), or which require headlights in foggy or rainy conditions, or which prohibit radar detectors. We may not like the laws, but we do our best to obey them.
 

Sitrep

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I'm sorry, I didn't see the sign that said "Please unload your firearms" when I crossed the Illinois border.

Pa. Patriot - Bond said they take their gun laws very seriously, not crime.
 
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