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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Maryland Continues to Lead Anti-Second Amendment Jihad

{"uid":1,"hostPeerName":"http://townhall.com","initialGeometry":"{\"windowCoords_t\":0,\"windowCoords_r\":1600,\"windowCoords_b\":860,\"windowCoords_l\":0,\"frameCoords_t\":978,\"frameCoords_r\":941.5,\"frameCoords_b\":1228,\"frameCoords_l\":641.5,\"styleZIndex\":\"auto\",\"allowedExpansion_t\":0,\"allowedExpansion_r\":0,\"allowedExpansion_b\":0,\"allowedExpansion_l\":0,\"xInView\":0,\"yInView\":0}","permissions":"{\"expandByOverlay\":true,\"expandByPush\":false,\"readCookie\":false,\"writeCookie\":false}","metadata":"{\"shared\":{\"sf_ver\":\"1-0-1\",\"ck_on\":1,\"flash_ver\":\"16.0.0\"}}"}" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="300" height="250" data-is-safeframe="true" style="border-width: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;">In Dante’s Inferno, the gates of Hell are inscribed with the Latin phrase, “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate.” Translated into English, the iconic phrase reads, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” Today, however, this phrase would be quite apt on all signs announcing the crossover into the state of Maryland, with one little tweak: “Abandon all hope, gun owners who enter here.”

One year ago last week, Florida-resident John Filippidis and his family were traveling through Maryland when his vehicle was pulled over by a Maryland Transportation Authority police officer. Filippidis, a concealed carry permit holder in his home state, was unsure of the reason for the stop, but as he quickly discovered, little about what would happen next had to do with his driving. According to Filippidis, as reported by the Tampa Tribune, the MDTA officer tailed his vehicle for 10 minutes before eventually signaling for him to pull over. After taking his license and registration for a check, the officer returned with demands that Filippidis exit the vehicle, assume the position, and tell him where his firearm was located. Meanwhile, his family was separated in the back of police cruisers while officers ransacked his car looking for his personal firearm that he had thought ahead of time to leave at home, in case of this very situation.

An internal review of the incident by the MDTA determined the stop to have followed protocol, and the search of Filippidis’ car to be “reasonable” based on nothing more than the “conflicting” statements made by his shaken wife about the location of the gun, as well as the officer’s belief that he smelled the odor of marijuana in the car. Not surprisingly, the exhaustive search of the vehicle turned-up neither firearm, nor marijuana or related paraphernalia. Instead, Filippidis was let go, after hours of harassment, with merely a warning for speeding.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh look there's that "smelled marijuana" excuse again you see so often used on blacks. Well, I'm going to assume this is one of those gun loving white men. Welcome to everyday life for people, particularly men, of color.

Sucks eh?

You have no one to blame but yourself. You, white man, more than any other help create this police state by your continued apathy towards the plight of others.

Anonymous said...

papers please!

Anonymous said...

More and more people will be carrying illegally because they know that their name will come up on a search as a legal gun holder and if they are in a state that will not allow this.... GOOD excuse to search!! And as the above comment mentions....all it takes a a perceived whiff of something funny smelling. It frightens those of us that really don't want to own or carry a gun. Will everyone but me be packing soon???

Anonymous said...

They may harass me, once.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully I wont fart when the officer comes to the window, I may have my azz blown off for aggravating assault!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking of getting a consealed carry permit but this story has just changed my mind,I don't want to be stopped and harrased every time I go on vacation.I didn't realize that information was part of your traffic record.I just can't understand how some states can ignore our 2nd ammendent rights.