Another 2A travesty in New Jersey, and this time it’s 100% TSA’s fault!

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Here we go again, Save Jerseyans.

The story of Mia Higginbotham is succintly communicated on her legal defense fund page:

Mia Higginbotham was charged with unlawful possession of her lawfully owned unloaded handgun, which was packed in its original box and locked in her hard-sided luggage. She was moving from her residence in New Jersey to her residence in Florida. She declared the firearm at check-in, but was subsequently arrested at Liberty International Airport in Elizabeth / Newark. She had no ammunition in her possession whatsoever, and was plainly trying to follow the law.

Mia is married and has a young daughter. She is currently facing 10 years in State Prison with a minimum mandatory of 3.5 to 5 years with no chance of parole for her attempt to lawfully transport her handgun between residences.”

The NRA is all over it:

The law is bad enough on its own merits, Save Jerseyans, but what makes this story even worse is, as lawyer Evan Nappen points out, the extent to which the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) misled this poor woman on its official website. Check this out:

tsa screenshot

Firearms must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container and transported as checked baggage only,” the page explains (emphasis added). “Firearm parts, including firearms frames and receivers, must also be placed in checked baggage and are prohibited in carry-on baggage.

The TSA’s page never specifies that they want it in a separate container.

Following these silly gun laws is difficult enough. Should we penalize obviously harmless citizens for following the government’s own online notice literally? With a few years in prison?

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Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

17 Comments

  1. Sorry to say but the website is not misleading; it just doesn’t cover idiotic New Jersey laws, only federal ones. That said, I had a friend who was similarly charged for possession of an unpacked (!) and declared (!!) Airsoft (!!!) gun by Newark airport cops; it costed him ten grand and nerve-wrecking half a year to have a judge dismiss the charges in 3 minutes.

  2. How about she doesn’t look like a threat to anyone since she is a middle aged mother and doctor with no criminal record who was not even transporting any ammunition? She also complied with all laws It appears that the PA police created their own law.

  3. “The NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) has issued a special advisory for New York and New Jersey airports. According to NRA, authorities at JFK, La Guardia, Newark and Albany airports have been known to enforce state and local firearms laws against airline travelers who are merely passing through the jurisdiction, despite federal law that protects travelers. NRA ILA states that in some cases, even persons traveling in full compliance with federal law have been arrested or threatened with arrest. As of this writing, litigation on this issue is ongoing.”

    Rooney seems more an “instigator ” rather than a “litigator”!

  4. I don’t understand your comment. Are you saying it is an FAA regulation or are you saying the PA PD was enforcing NJ state law? Either way, show me what law or regulation she violated. There is none. No where have I ever seen where anything says separate container. I know plenty of people who have traveled exactly as she did through Newark airport with no problems.

  5. A zippered suitcase is not considered a hard sided bag and instead of using a locking box designed to carry a firearm she had it in cardboard. Mistakes that still should not have gotten her arrested.

  6. The video said she had a hard sided suitcase and a hard sided suitcase is shown in the video. All that is a federal rule anyway not a violation of NJ law which just says secured or wrapped up. They say she violated NJ state law. It makes no sense why she was arrested.

  7. Like Yogi B. said, it’s deja vu all over again! The Essex County prosecutor is a CHRISTIE appointee ! The ball is in HIS backyard. Time to cut bait or fish. If he was in New Jersey instead of running around the country trying to get some Presidential face time, he should be on the hot seat and answer up to all this. It’s looks like Evan Nappen is going to score again on this one. Get on board ad back her up with support.

  8. You’re a racist ass, if that is the only comment you could think to make. She was considered harmless because she tried to follow the law. Criminals don’t try to follow the law. That is why they are criminals. Take your pathetic race-baiting ass somewhere else. No one here wants to deal with your disgusting nonsense

  9. This is what I can’t figure out. Chiropractor Mia Higginbotham is arrested at the Trenton International Airport for Transportation of Firearm Violation. While at the Same Time, a Ms. Mia Higginbotham (Chiropractor) has a Police Warrant out for her arrest by Trenton Police for Insurance Fraud. Just how many Chiropractor’s named Mia Higginbotham, are there in the State of New Jersey?

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