‘Honest mistakes’: Tourists face jail time for declaring legal handguns at NYC landmarks

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Elizabeth Elderli never leaves her Houston home unarmed. So, when the 31-year-old former U.S. Marine visited Manhattan's September 11 Memorial, two guns were in her backpack when she saw a "no firearms" sign at the security checkpoint.

 

Elderli told a police officer about the loaded 9-mm. and .380-caliber semi-automatic guns -- both covered by her Texas-issued concealed weapons permit, which she believed was valid in New York, her attorney claims. But she quickly learned that the Empire State's gun control laws bear no resemblance to those in effect back home. Elderli was arrested in the Saturday incident, charged with felony possession of a weapon and left facing 3 ½ to 15 years in prison.

 

"She did what every responsible gun owner would do," her attorney, Amy Bellantoni, told FoxNews.com. "If she thought she was doing something wrong, she would have turned around and walked out.

 

"There's absolutely no criminal intent here," the lawyer added.

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Yet another reason to stay out of New York.