Back in July, James brought attention to a man who was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm while in the state of NJ to help with disaster relief.
Now that man, Brian Fletcher, has been pardoned by NJ Gov. Christie.
Also pardoned were Elizabeth Griffith of Florida and Todd Doering of Pennsylvania.
Christie also pardoned Elizabeth Griffith, of Florida, who was arrested and charged July 14 with unlawful possession of a weapon in Jersey City after she tried to board a ferry in Liberty State Park while carrying a handgun.
The governor also issued a pardon to Todd Doering, a Pennsylvania man who was charged in 2010 with unlawful transportation of a weapon and unlawful possession of dum-dum bullets while in Logan in Gloucester County.
The back story on Brian Fletcher:
When Brian Fletcher, a tower climber, mobilized his men to head up to New Jersey, he did what any law abiding gun owner in North Carolina would do when heading into unknown territory – bring his legally obtained pistol. The mission? Disaster relief for Trenton, New Jersey. According to Fletcher, him and his entire team had less than an hour to get their equipment together and proceed north. And in almost all the states in the Southeast, he would have been perfectly fine bringing his firearm with him.
On the night of June 28, Brian was waiting in a parking lot with his men and trucks to await further word on the next tower. A New Jersey police officer pulled up behind his truck and inquired as to what he was doing. According to Fletcher, they discussed the disaster relief work and so forth. It was then Fletcher handed over his ID and did what any law abiding citizen of North Carolina would do (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12A.) – inform the officer that he had a firearm in his vehicle.
And that is where it quickly spirals downhill.
The State of New Jersey does not recognize any state’s right to carry firearms – in the vehicle or otherwise. In fact, it’s a class 2 felony. Fletcher went from disaster relief to having his entire life and livelihood in jeopardy in a matter of seconds. He was arrested and charged with carrying a firearm.
