A Shotgun Wedding, perhaps?

Posted by Kate Flora

Newspapers these days have added a feature of great interest to writers--the opportunity for readers to comment on articles they have read. For us, who often face the challenge of trying to get into the minds and personalities of characters who are "not us," this is a chance to drop into different heads and read a variety of reactions to the report of a crime.

This week, such an article appeared in the Boston Globe and several other regional papers. The article, which briefly describes an eighteen-year-old's arrest for straying out of his travel lanes on an interstate highway, and what police found in his car when they stopped it, appears below. Although I grew up in Maine, which has a strong hunting culture and guns were commonplace in many homes, I now live in the so-called "liberal" state of Massachusetts, which actually has quite conservative gun laws. Initially, I read the article with a kind of knee-jerk "what was he thinking, what were his parents thinking" reaction. But following it up, and reading many of the more than 500 comments that appeared in his local Connecticut paper, it seemed that I was being given a window onto both sides of one of our country's most passionate debates: the value of gun control for public safety versus the passionate protection of the right to own guns--all kinds of guns and in great numbers.

As a crime writer, I am usually thinking about handguns, and about all kinds of guns and other weapons in the hands of those who are likely to misuse them. I find it a little spooky to think my neighbor might have a closet full of guns and knives, or be driving around with a lot of firepower in the trunk of the car. Although what is frequently missing from these debates is a tone of civility and/or a willingness to consider other's points of view, reading the comments opens a window onto a world that I rarely visit, and discloses a surprising anger, strongly held beliefs about an American's fundamental rights, and an unnerving passion for owning arsenals of lethal weapons just for the fun of it.

If you're still with me--read the below and share your reactions. For here, too, readers have an opportunity to comment.
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Article from the the Boston Globe:

State Police allegedly found a rifle, a shotgun, brass knuckles, knives, and numerous rounds of ammunition, including high-capacity magazines, in the car of a young Connecticut man who was stopped yesterday on Interstate 495 for a traffic violation.

Luke S. Huizinga, 18, of Danbury, Conn., faces numerous charges. But his mother, Amye, said yesterday that he was simply a gun enthusiast who was probably planning to "show off" with the guns during a trip to Maine.

"He's a real sweet kid, and he just made a mistake," she said in a telephone interview.

The traffic stop occurred about 12:20 a.m. on the northbound side of I-495 in Bolton after a trooper observed a 2000 Ford Ranger failing to stay within marked lanes, State Police said in a statement.

Luke Huizinga was charged with possession of a large-capacity firearm, a high-capacity feeding device, ammunition, and a dangerous weapon (brass knuckles), State Police said.

He pleaded not guilty yesterday in Clinton District Court, where Judge Martha Brennan set bail at $10,000 and slated another hearing for April 3, said Tim Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester district attorney.

Amye Huizinga said her son, a high school graduate who was home-schooled, was headed to Maine to lend a hand in setting up the "do-it-yourself" wedding of some friends. He has been studying at night for his certification as a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning technician, she said.

"He just wanted to show off his guns," she said. "He loves his guns. They're really just a collection with him," she said. "As a mother, I was just, like, 'What were you thinking?' "

The items found included a Bushmaster 16-inch rifle with a night scope and pistol grip, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and five knives. A .50-caliber bullet was found in Huizinga's pocket; the remainder of the contraband was found in the car, police said.

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And here are some of the comments:

So maybe the brass knuckles were 'iffy', but who didnt own something like that or a butterfly knife when they were a kid?!  the rest of his "arsenal" ****... is completely legal and protected by a little thing called the Second Ammendment, much like this newspaper, even with its infinite mistakes, is protected by the First.

Crazy parents = crazy kids

I'm surprised the kid was allowed to raid the End Times Rapture supply closet.

The Lord must be be upset because now he'll have to put off The Second Coming until the family can re-arm

3 legal guns are now an arsenal?

and one .50 cal bullet!

WOW!

"appeared evasive" - interesting..

This editor, Eugene, is as stupid as they come.

Gives a new meaning to "Shotgun Wedding"

Here is the definition of Arsenal as found on Dictionary.com
Arsenal-
–noun 1. a place of storage or a magazine containing arms and military equipment for land or naval service.
2. a government establishment where military equipment or munitions are manufactured.
3. a collection or supply of weapons or munitions.
4. a collection or supply of anything; store: He came to the meeting with an impressive arsenal of new research data.

Looks like Eugene had the correct word if you ask me, on the other hand you come off sounding like what you clearly are, an ignorant punk. Keep it up your, teachers and parents must be so proud!

Oh, there's a little more to the story than the mother is willing to admit. This is one of those scenarios where the police, by chance, stopped something bad from happening before it happened. Two months from now, the headline would have been "City Man Opens Fire at Massachusetts Wedding." A 'sporting and gun enthusiast' doesn't drive to set up a wedding with that insane amount of weaponry (knives, brass knuckles, bullet proof vest, etc.). This home-schooled child was just shy of having his mother instead say, "He's never been in trouble before. I can't imagine why he k*lled those people. I bought him the guns and knives and ammunition because he wanted to be a collector." This story scares me because I don't think people, including his mother, realize what could have happened - and hopefully won't if they get a clue and get him some help.

This appears to be a gross violation of Mr. Huizinga's 2nd Amendment rights. There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping what he had inside one's vehicle. He was a law-abiding citizen and should be released immediately. What an outrage.

I'm glad Texas doesn't have the crybabies you can find in Massachusetts or Danbury, CT. If I got pulled over up there the cops would probably piss their pants then blow up my truck.

It's a lot different in a free state like Texas. If the cops pull you over in a vehicle with Texas plates and you don't have at least two loaded firearms within immediate reach you get thrown in jail and charged with "impersanation of a Texan".

The relevant federal guidelines for transporting firearms between states reads:
Notwithstanding any state or local law, a person shall be entitled to transport a firearm from any place where he may lawfully possess and transport such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and transport such firearm if the firearm is unloaded and in a locked container. In vehicles without a locked container, the unloaded firearm shall be in a locked box other than the glove compartment or console.

Exemption (h) of the MGL ch140 sec 129B, which covers possession of firearms, reads:
Possession of rifles and shotguns and ammunition therefor by nonresidents traveling in or through the commonwealth, providing that any rifles or shotguns are unloaded and enclosed in a case;

IANAL; but with the exception of the brass knuckles and the moving violations, doesn't look like the kid broke the law. Federal law gives him the right to transport between states and MA law is actually more lenient requiring a case instead of a lock-box.

Disgusting dimwitted liberals... do you realize that in almost every state of our Union, this kid would have violated NO laws? But in your marxist worker's paradise you have him paraded around like a heinous criminal. I hope to God the vile leftist subhumans that run your state continue to screw it up. Hope you enjoy your third world cesspool.

It truly amazes me how scared and ridiculously stupid some people are. If this kid had evil intension +1 for the police however I imagine this kid was doing just what his mother said, taking the stuff to show a friend. There is nothing evil about enjoying a shooting sport or wanting to protect yourself and having the means to do so.

I suspect those who made negative comments would be in dire trouble if anything horrific happened in this country. Sounds like this kid and his family will be able to take care of themselves.....good for them.

Hopefully the police pull their heads out of their ... well you know and use a little common sense and let this kid go with an apology.

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No further information has been reported.

Sol Stein, in his book on writing, talks about taking a technique from training actors, where you put two people in a room who have been briefed to have two different agendas, and then let them interact. As a writer, I've got enough from these comments to set a number of characters in motion and imagine the discussion that follows. Imagine, for example, that you're the mother of the bride. You're worrying about the dress, the food, and crazy aunt Harriet, when your about to be son-in-law's close friend arrives for the wedding, carrying two guns, seven magazines, brass knuckles, and seven lethal-looking knives. 

Comments

[Sheila Connolly]

Any conversation about guns usually provokes a strong visceral response, both positive and negative, which says something in itself. What, I'm not sure. We are afraid and think we need to protect ourselves? We feel powerless and need a tangible way to assert our dominance, to the extreme extent of killing an animal or a human? Is either of these gender-specific?

I don't have answers, but I will soon have guns in my house for the first time--my husband has inherited some from his father. I have insisted that we both be trained in gun handling and safety and that the guns be licensed (this is, after all, Massachusetts). Beyond that, I'm not sure what we're going to do with them.

[Kate Flora]

I was given a gun--a lovely little lady-like handgun--as a gift when I wrote Finding Amy. My husband wasn't comfortable having it in the house, though--and I hadn't yet taken my course and gotten licensed, so I never brought it home.

It is interesting--we always had guns around growing up. And people say that they become much less scary when you're familiar with them.

But I don't quite understand all the opposition to registration, to restricting access in cases of domestic violence, mental illness, and prior conviction.

[Scott Curtis]

Here is the problem I have with this entire situation. First, what this kid did would have been legal in all but a small handful of states. People routinely drive around with guns in their cars in most of the United States and it is a non-issue.

Arsenal? He had two guns. I would hate to see what they'd say about the contents of my car on the way out for a day at the range. I recently drove from Florida to New England to spend time with family in Maine and New Hampshire. Part of my travel itinerary included trips to shooting ranges with family members, so I brought along my AR-15, one of my semi-auto AK clones, five handguns, a pile of high-cap magazines and about 1300 rounds of ammo. Did this make me a threat to anyone? Of course not.

The worst thing about this situation is that the kid was one padlock away from being protected under the Federal Firearm Owner's Protection Act (FOPA). FOPA states that you can transport a gun from a state where it is legal to another state where it is legal, passing through any number of states in between so long as the gun is unloaded and either in the trunk or inside a locked case in the event that the vehicle does not have a trunk. Instead of locking the gun case, this kid put a trigger lock on the gun. The stated purpose of the rule is to ensure that the gun is not readily available to anyone inside the car. The trigger lock meets the spirit of the law, but violates the letter of the law. This meant that FOPA no longer applied and he could be prosecuted under Massachussetts law. In other words, they are probably going to send this kid to jail for putting a lock in the wrong place.

[Kate Flora]

Scott...thanks for the input. One thing that reading the comments to the article made me do was go and read the federal law, and then go look up laws in Me and Ct.

I'm very interested in how getting people with different takes on the situation can inform a discussion and open our eyes and minds.

You seem to know more about this--I couldn't tell from the articles (reporters don't seem to wonder about what I wonder about) what the status of the second gun was? In the photos, one had a case, the other what looked like a cloth sleeve.

[Scott Curtis]

It is hard to tell anything conclusive from the photos. He may have screwed up by using a trigger lock and a soft-sided case instead of a hard-sided case. Again, it wouldn't matter in most states.

The part that really made me laugh was the fact that they called a keychain made out of a spent .50 shell casing that had been drilled and rendered useless "ammunition." That's just nuts.

I know about this stuff because I am an NRA Certified Pistol instructor and Range Safety Officer. I am qualified to teach the class for the Florida Concealed Weapon License. I have concealed weapon licenses in Florida and Maine and used to in New Hampshire (don't need one now, because of reciprosity with Florida). I was also the member of the board of directors of my local gun club for two years and shoot competitively as an amateur. I obviously don't live in Massachussetts now, but I lived in the Lancaster-Clinton area for more than four years. I also lived in New Hampshire for 22 years and Maine for 18 months, so I'm pretty familiar with New England gun laws.