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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Jackson: Gun Owner Unarmed, Unwelcome In Maryland

John Filippidis, showing the pistol he sometimes carries in his pocket, recounted a story of being stopped by a Maryland police officer recently.

HUDSON – John Filippidis, silver-haired family man, business owner, employer and taxpayer, is also licensed to carry a concealed firearm.

He’d rather he didn’t feel the need, “but things aren’t like they used to be. The break-ins, the burglaries, all the crime. And I carry cash a lot of the time. I’m constantly going to the bank.

“I wanted to be able to defend my family, my household and the ground I’m standing on. But I’m not looking for any trouble.”

Filippidis keeps his gun — a palm-sized Kel-Tec .38 semiautomatic, barely larger than a smartphone in a protective case — in one of two places, always: in the right-hand pocket of his jeans, or in the safe at home.

“There are kids in the house,” Filippidis says, “and I don’t think they’d ever bother with it, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

He’s not looking for any trouble, after all.

Trouble, in fact, was the last thing on his mind a few weeks back as the Filippidises packed for Christmas and a family wedding in Woodridge, N.J., so he left the pistol locked in the safe. The state of Florida might have codified his Second Amendment rights, but he knew he’d be passing through states where recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirming the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms have been met by hostile legislatures and local officials.

“I know the laws and I know the rules,” Filippidis says. There are, after all, ways gun owners can travel legally with firearms through hostile states. “But I just think it’s a better idea to leave it home.”

So there the Filippidises were on New Year’s Eve eve, southbound on Interstate 95 — John; wife Kally (his Gulf High sweetheart); the 17-year-old twins Nasia and Yianni; and 13-year-old Gina in their 2012 Ford Expedition — just barely out of the Fort McHenry Tunnel into Maryland, blissfully unarmed and minding their own business when they noticed they were being bird-dogged by an unmarked patrol car. It flanked them a while, then pulled ahead of them, then fell in behind them.

“Ten minutes he’s behind us,” John says. “We weren’t speeding. In fact, lots of other cars were whizzing past.”

“You know you have a police car behind you, you don’t speed, right?” Kally adds.

Says John, “We keep wondering, is he going to do something?”

Finally the patrol car’s emergency lights come on, and it’s almost a relief. Whatever was going on, they’d be able to get it over with now. The officer — from the Transportation Authority Police, as it turns out, Maryland’s version of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority — strolls up, does the license and registration bit, and returns to his car.

According to Kally and John (but not MTAP, which, pending investigation, could not comment), what happened next went like this:

Ten minutes later he’s back, and he wants John out of the Expedition. Retreating to the space between the SUV and the unmarked car, the officer orders John to hook his thumbs behind his back and spread his feet. “You own a gun,” the officer says. “Where is it?”

“At home in my safe,” John answers.

“Don’t move,” says the officer.

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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

my guess is Martin O'Malley yearns for a yacht --like the one John Kerry got for his 10 million dollar surplus in his campaign fund coffers -- matching funds what a scam

Anonymous said...

So, I guess I'm next. I just got my 30 state CCW and live in MD. Will I get strip searched every time I drive to work?

Anonymous said...

The wife is as much responsible as the officer.

Anonymous said...

7:36 excuse me, how about we start with why was he pulled over, we can go from there

Anonymous said...

7:36 - The way I see it is the HUSBAND is responsible for NOT telling wife where the gun was to start with. Why didn't he tell her he left it home in the safe? And 7:51 is correct, why was he even pulled over - just because the officer ran his tag and saw that he owned a gun? I swear MD is totally up BHO's a$$.

Anonymous said...

he should have just said "is there a problem officer". and then he should have said that he does not consent to any searches or seizures.

Anonymous said...

Maryland transportation police.Can you say " Barney Fife ".

Anonymous said...

FYI:
If you have a CCP it is noted on your driving record! Think about that and you will understand what actually happened to this family. I guess certain types of profiling are OK.

Anonymous said...

So glad we left Maryland years ago!

Anonymous said...

My question is if he had a CCP what difference did it make where the gun was. He had a permit to carry it. Was he a MD resident?

Anonymous said...

Md dose not recognize a ccp from any other state also NJ would not have accepted it either

Anonymous said...

Nothing but Maryland Communist Storm Troopers at their best. Have we had enough yet????

Anonymous said...

This is scary.. I hope he sues..

Anonymous said...

well now the rest of you know what to do when you run up against this barny!

Anonymous said...

So what was the probable cause for pulling them over?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like some typical "Profiling" The crap happens in Smallbury and on the by-pass everyday. The cops wonder why people hate them. I am all for criminals being treated like criminals. I cant stand cops who hate poor people or people of color. Criminals are criminals no matter how rich or how poor. Everybody in this town knows who the ring leader is. If you are Black better not drive down the highway. His boys will stop you and search you period. It is not right. I still want to be an officer one day. Some of them are good people.

Anonymous said...


Another feather in the cap of Governor Rain Tax. Should play well during the primaries!