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Blind NRA Member Caught Bringing Gun And Knives Through Newark Airport
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 4, 2013
Modified May 4, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 4, 2013
Modified May 4, 2013
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A blind NRA member was caught by authorities trying to bring a handgun, hollow point ammo, and seven knives through Newark Airport on Tuesday. Raymond Whitehead, 53, was travelling from New Mexico with his two grown kids and his wife when TSA screeners noticed the hollow point bullets in his luggage, which then led them to notice the other weapons. As for why Whitehead was carrying them? The Post reports he told officials it was because he had just arrived in the NYC area, a "strange place" where he wanted to be able to protect his family and property.
Whitehead was found with a .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver and seven illegal knives in his checked luggage. He was arrested at the airport, but was eventually released on $15K bail; he has been hit with various gun charges. Whitehead is threatening to sue, claiming that cops denied him a lawyer or food for 10 hours, and allowed him to bang into walls. “In my opinion, what happened to me was unconscionable and unforgivable,” he said.
In case you were wondering, blind people are allowed to have legal guns in NJ, although it's often taken protracted legal fights to keep them. Last year, a judge has ruled that a blind New Jersey man who has been fighting for his right to bear arms would get his guns back, despite once accidentally shooting himself in the leg.
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newark airport
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raymond whitehead
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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