LEBANON, Pa. -- A mother who angered fellow parents when she openly carried a pistol to her 5-year-old daughter's soccer game got her concealed weapons permit back Tuesday after a Pennsylvania judge overruled a sheriff's decision to revoke it.
Meleanie Hain lost the permit after other parents complained about the presence of the gun during a soccer game on Sept. 11. Lebanon County Judge Robert Eby, who said he also is a gun owner with a concealed weapons permit, said the law required him to return Hain's permit.
But he questioned her judgment, saying she "scared the devil" out of others at the soccer field.
"Fear doesn't belong at a kid's soccer game from any source," Eby said.
Hain testified at the Tuesday hearing that she did not intend to intimidate anyone but felt she had to carry the gun openly because warm-weather clothing made it difficult to hide a firearm. She said her husband's line of work, which was not disclosed, made her a "greater target" than the average person.
"I'm certainly not looking to shoot anyone over a goal," she told Eby, also adding that she had carried an unconcealed firearm without any problems in the past.
George Christianson, a lawyer for the Lebanon County Sheriff's office, said the decision would not be appealed.
Hain said she was satisfied and plans to take her gun to a youth soccer game in the future.
"People have the right to voice their opinion ... and I have a right to my Second Amendment right," she said. "A gun-free zone says to a criminal: 'Easy target.'"
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Meleanie Hain lost the permit after other parents complained about the presence of the gun during a soccer game on Sept. 11. Lebanon County Judge Robert Eby, who said he also is a gun owner with a concealed weapons permit, said the law required him to return Hain's permit.
But he questioned her judgment, saying she "scared the devil" out of others at the soccer field.
"Fear doesn't belong at a kid's soccer game from any source," Eby said.
Hain testified at the Tuesday hearing that she did not intend to intimidate anyone but felt she had to carry the gun openly because warm-weather clothing made it difficult to hide a firearm. She said her husband's line of work, which was not disclosed, made her a "greater target" than the average person.
"I'm certainly not looking to shoot anyone over a goal," she told Eby, also adding that she had carried an unconcealed firearm without any problems in the past.
George Christianson, a lawyer for the Lebanon County Sheriff's office, said the decision would not be appealed.
Hain said she was satisfied and plans to take her gun to a youth soccer game in the future.
"People have the right to voice their opinion ... and I have a right to my Second Amendment right," she said. "A gun-free zone says to a criminal: 'Easy target.'"
Source: Link Removed
