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http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_10719166
BREAKING NEWS: Gun-toting mom gets permit back
By JOHN LATIMER
and
ANDREA JOHNSON
Staff Writers
Lebanon Daily News
A Lebanon woman who lost her right to carry a concealed handgun after wearing it openly to a youth soccer game last month has had her license-to-carry returned by a Lebanon County judge.
Meleanie Hain lost her license when parents complained to county Sheriff Mike DeLeo after seeing her wear the holstered firearm to her 5-year-old daughter’s soccer game at Optimist Park in Lebanon.
A hearing was held this afternoon after Hain appealed DeLeo’s action.
Before a courtroom filled with about 20 open-carry supporters, Judge Robert J. Eby told Hain that she did not violate the law but he questioned the mother of three’s common sense in not concealing the Glock 26 in the first place.
“Society is replacing right versus wrong with legal versus illegal,” said Eby. “They are not the same thing. They never were and it is my hope they never will be. There are times when someone’s conduct may be perfectly legal, but it is still wrong.”
After the ruling, Hain said Eby was entitled to his opinion but that it would not change her practice of openly carrying her loaded gun where ever she goes, including her kids soccer games.
“He referenced the first amendment and he absolutely has the right to do that. But it’s only his opinion” she said.
Greg Rotz, 37, of Chambersburg who had organized today’s show of support for Hain, wasn’t surprised by the judge’s ruling.
“He’s entitled
to his personal opinion, but he knows he needs to abide by the law,” Rotz said. “It seemed like the sheriff didn’t want to commit to facts that justified his actions.” Rotz faced similar charges after he wore a sidearm to his voting precinct on Election Day last November. A constable initially tried to prevent Rotz from voting, but back off after learning that no law prohibits wearing a weapon open to the polls, according to Rotz.
Erik Paul, a Hain’s supporter from North Lebanon Township said he agreed with the way way Eby handled the case.
“Eby could not have put it better. I wouldn’t have carried it openly to a kid’s soccer game, but the law doesn’t differentiate where you can and can’t carry, it just says the rights of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves (and the state) shall not be questioned.”
“I like when he said ‘we are not enemies,’” he said.
For more coverage, see Wednesday’s edition of the Lebanon Daily News.
