On September 11th, 2008 Meleanie Hain went to her child’s soccer game with a Glock pistol in a holster strapped to her hip.
\n
\nThis was in the vicinity of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. To her and presumably others, it may have been an act of patriotism. I suspect it was an explicitly anti-Obama act given the ado about his remark during the primaries. But I could be wrong. The Lebanon County Sheriff very appropriately thought it was inappropriate for a gun owner to bring an overtly displayed dangerous weapon to a children’s soccer game, so he revoked her permit. Hain managed to get the permit restored, but sued the sheriff anyway, for one million dollars.<\/p>\n
She complained that she felt ostracized by society for her act of hubris, carrying around her gun (which she apparently did quite frequently). She claimed “The way people look at me sometimes when I am out running errands, I feel as if I am wearing a scarlet letter, and really it’s a Glock 26.”<\/p>\n
Yesterday, Hain and her husband were shot to death in their home, while their children, who were not hurt, were in the house.<\/p>\n
It was not a home invasion, a robbery gone bad, or an accident. It was a murder suicide. Neighbors say Hain and her husband had been having marital troubles for the last couple of weeks.<\/p>\n
I’m not saying anything specific about Hain or her husband. But I will assert that humans in general should not be routinely trusted with these deadly weapons.<\/p>\n