© NRA NewsGordon Van Gilder.
Millville — A retired schoolteacher is facing felony charges for owning an 18th century relic firearm in the state of New Jersey.
Gordan N. Van Gilder, 72, was pulled over by a Cumberland County Sheriff's Deputy on November 20, 2014 for a minor traffic violation.
"The deputy, Joshua Sheppard, started screaming at us," Mr. Van Gilder
recalled to NRA News. "He wanted to search the car."
"You're going to give us your consent, or do I have to get the dog?" Deputy Sheppard allegedly challenged.
"You don't have to get any dogs. Help yourself," Van Gilder recounted saying to the deputy.
When asked, Mr. Van Gilder told the deputy that he had an unloaded, antique pistol wrapped up in a cloth in his glove compartment. The collectible pistol was made in the mid-1700s and would require the manual loading of gunpowder and spherical projectiles in order to actually fire.
His cooperation with the police ended up being his undoing.
The Sheriff's Deputy nailed him with felony charges because of the antique.Mr. Van Gilder elaborated on the situation in his interview with NRA News. "They were trying hard to nail me," he said. "I don't get it."
The Cumberland County Sheriff himself signed off on the arrest, Van Gilder stated. His charging document spelled out his offense:
THE DEFENDANT... DID KNOWINGLY AND/OR PURPOSELY HAVE IN HIS POSSESSION A WEAPON, SPECIFICALLY A "FLINT GUN" WITHOUT HAVING PROPER PAPER WORK ON HIS PERSON AND IMPROPERLY STORED IN A MOTOR VEHICLE; IN VIOLATION OF N.J.C. 2C 39-5B
New Jersey's gun control laws are notoriously draconian. It is one of the few states that enforces gun registration and explicitly does not exempt antique firearms, as many states do. According to the law, there is no legal distinction between a three-century-old piece of history and a modern, operable firearm. All of these — regardless of the presence of a victim or malicious intent — are considered prohibited items without acquiring government permission, and carry grave legal consequences.
© AmmolandGordon VanGilder’s 300 year old flintlock pistol.
Comment: Seems like this tragedy could have been prevented or avoided. Odd that a similar tragedy happened in a Carnival parade on the same day in Rio de Janeiro.
Three Brazilian revelers died after being electrocuted early on Tuesday while standing atop a Carnival float that hit a power line, officials said. The Light power company confirmed the deaths that happened during a Carnival celebration in Nova Iguacu, a city of 800,000 people on the northern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Firefighters said at least one other person was taken to hospital and three others were aided on the scene. None appear to have life-threatening injuries. Police are investigating the incident. During Brazil's 2011 Carnival, 16 people were killed at a packed street party in Minas Gerais state when a power line fell atop the crowd.