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The Russel Laing Story |
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The Russel Laing Story |
At last! Closure to a very perplexing, and disturbing matter! So many of today's generation want to believe there is no hope left for the "system", and pro-gun grassroots activism is at best, a waste of resources.
It is, and has always been my firm belief that the reason grassroots activism does not work, is because not enough are willing to make the necessary and much needed "sacrifice" of being involved! Too many wait for someone else to do the work, instead of being the much needed leader they should be.
After you read BELOW, the tremendous victory that Russ Laing has now received, it will be rather difficult to make the charge that grassroots activism is dead!
Several have asked me to have the Russell Laing nightmare put in Chronological order, the events focusing on the day he was taken into custody, to the day he won in court, that lead to his tremendous victory against one of the most hideous "NRA" backed laws of the 20th century.
You may find Russ Laing's original struggle at:
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/NRA.htm
Russ Laing does have a new e-mail address if you wish to contact him:
Russ Laing <rlaing@itxm.org>
May his letter below letter to you, the grassroots strength of Gun Owners Alliance, be witness to ALL, that we can prevail, IF WE DARE BELIEVE!
With Respect,
Gun Owners Alliance
Chris W. Stark - Director
"..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.." -Samuel
Adams, Founding Father & American Patriot
July 27, 1999
Chris Stark
Director, Gun Owners Alliance
In Re: Russell Laing Case (Gun Confiscation
Based on Non-Adjudicated
Detention for Psychiatric Observation)
Dear Chris,
Last night I picked up my entire, totally
intact gun collection from
the local township police station, where
it had been held for the past
three years while I fought my way through
eight different court
systems, and three different criminal prosecuting
attorneys from the
Allegheny County District Attorneys Office
here in Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania. I fought for the return of
my property, and the right to
keep and bear arms, which had been taken
from me under the pretext of
an involuntary mental health commitment
which I was subjected to in
April 1996 by a local township policeman
acting without a warrant.
The return of my property was the final
step in a hard-fought battle
waged against the Allegheny County District
Attorney's Office,
represented by Assistant DA Dan Fitzsimmons.
Three years ago my first
attempts to obtain justice were rebuffed,
as DA Fitzsimmons
characterized my gun collection as a "veritable
arsenal" and argued
that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and
bear arms did not apply to
private citizens. Subsequent appeals to
higher courts were denied
without ever being heard, based on procedural
filing technicalities.
An initial attempt to legally challenge
the mental health commitment
actions by the police was at first rejected
by the courts, and then
pending for more than a year while deciding
whether my petition had
been filed on a timely basis.
Completely frustrated by a court system
that was alternatively hostile
or indifferent to my case, I turned to
the grassroots supporters of
freedom. Gun Owners Alliance joined the
cause by posting several
Alerts on the GOA website, which culminated
in a flood of e-mails to
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge urging
justice for my case; I have
received copies of such messages from virtually
every state in the
union, and some from overseas. What followed
was nothing less than
miraculous:
1. Pennsylvania amended its Uniform Firearms
Act (Act 17 of 1995) with
PA Act 70 of 1998, which instantly removed
the state provisions
barring me from the right to keep and bear
arms. (June 1998)
2. I tested the revised law by successfully
purchasing firearms and
passing PA State Police Insta-check System
(July 1998)
3. My previously revoked License to Carry
Firearms is reinstated by
court order (August 1998)
4. The United States Department of Treasury,
Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, issues a written
ruling on my case in which they
declare unconstitutional the Pennsylvania's
Firearms law barring gun
ownership for individuals who have been
subjected to a non-adjudicated
detention for psychiatric observation.
In their ruling, the BATF
states that such laws deny the basic constitutional
right of due
process under the law, a right so fundamental
that it pre-dates the
formation of this country. (September 1998)
5. The police officer who ordered the seizure
and confiscation of my
firearms is fired, based upon 21 different
charges brought by his
supervisor, the Chief of Police. One of
these charges is referred to
as the "Laing charges" and other allegations
include accounts of
making false or misleading police reports
on other local residents.
(early 1999)
6. A lawsuit which I had filed against the
police department and the
hospital involved in my case is settled
in a manner which I found to
be very satisfactory. (May 1999) I have
no criticism of either the
police department or the hospital. I have
since spoken directly with
the Chief of Police and believe him to
be a good and honorable man, as
I believe others of his department to be
in my interactions with them
during the recent return of my property.
7. A court ruling is made that overturns
(vacates) the mental health
commitment action taken against me, under
a statute which states that
there was insufficient evidence to support
my being detained at all.
The same court also orders that my record
be expunged, thereby
clearing my reputation. (June 1999)
8. In a final dramatic showdown, I renew
my original petition for
return of my gun collection in the same
court where I had started out
three years ago, which had then denied
my petition. This time, under
an avalanche of evidence and testimony,
the anti-gun Assistant DA
Fitzsimmons is reduced to making a series
of sniveling references to
my "assault rifles". Judge David Cercone
isn't buying any of it,
however, and becomes visibly frustrated
and angry with DA Fitzsimmons
absurd technical arguments, finally asking
him questions like: "What
constitutional principle are you basing
this on?", and... "What about
fairness?". DA Fitzsimmons closing arguments
are hardly more than a
barely audible muttered whimper, spoken
even as Judge Cercone is
reaching over to sign my court order to
return my property.
I search for a way to thank you, Chris,
and the numerous members of
Gun Owners Alliance who wrote to Governor
Ridge with such power and
sincerity. No need anymore to ask Governor
Ridge about where Russell
Laing's guns are -- they are right here
in his lawful possession,
along with all of his other constitutional
rights. These many
freedom-loving patriots brought me the
due process that the
freedom-robbing anti-gun-hysteria laws
of Pennsylvania had denied to
me. The weight of the combined voices of
free men became so great that
even the most untouchable and arrogant
gun-grabbers in the District
Attorney's Office were shaken right out
of their safe little tree of
state authority, and believe me they landed
on the ground with a
resounding thud that was heard all the
way from Pittsburgh to Texas!
Let's make no mistake, we really clobbered
them. And in the end, even
though I had a legal means of avoiding
it, my case was finally
resolved in the very same court system
where it had first been
initially lost. This time we met the opposition
head on, straight up,
and with no apologies of any kind. And
we won by an overwhelming
margin.
Please accept my sincere thanks, on behalf
of all your members, for
their support in my pursuit of justice.
May we all be united by our
common yearning for freedom.
Russ Laing <rlaing@itxm.org>