It was the phone call gun enthusiasts feared under President Obama's America, and it came unexpectedly for one South Jersey man sucking down some cold ones at the local Applebee's: Come home now, the police are here. They want to take a look at your guns.
Police in Carneys Point in Salem County, New Jersey said Shawn Moore was "ranting and waving, aggressive, and acting arrogantly" when he rushed home from the restaurant on 14 March to find them there, asking to look at his firearms because of an anonymous call they had received about his children's safety.
Moore later apologized for his behavior, police said, and his wife, Julie, told them he was still reeling from Obama's election in 2008. "While we were waiting, Julie spoke to us, stating that Shawn has not been the same person since President Obama was elected. She stated he is obsessed with gun control, owning weapons, and his right to bear arms," an officer wrote in the police report, obtained by the Daily News. "Julie seemed embarrassed at her husband's behavior, however, she did not seem surprised."
Moore made national headlines last week after it was reported that someone saw a picture on Facebook of his son holding the military-looking .22-caliber rifle he received for his eleventh birthday, and called both police and New Jersey's Division of Children and Families. Moore wrote about the incident on an online firearms forum afterward, and the story went national after Glenn Beck's conservative news site, The Blaze, picked it up.
The police report said the anonymous caller had expressed other concerns as well, claiming that Julie Moore instructed her son to shoot "anyone who breaks in to their home" and that Shawn Moore had "issues with alcohol" and multiple DUI offenses.
When Moore got home, police said he smelled of alcohol and he definitely had an issue with officers and DCF workers being there. Moore had spoken with noted firearms attorney Evan Nappen on the phone before he arrived, and immediately asked the officers and DCF workers to leave.
"I tried to explain to Shawn that no one wanted to remove his firearms, to which Shawn rebuffed that there is legislation going through Congress to ban his firearms," one officer wrote.
In a news release issued after the incident, Carneys Point police said they were required by law to check up on the calls, and a spokeswoman for DCF said the same thing. DCF workers spoke with Moore's son, the police report stated, and no charges were filed against the couple, although the complaint remains "active".
A spokesman for New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said Governor Chris Christie has asked his office to look into DCF's involvement in the case.
Police did find that Shawn Moore's firearms-identification card listed an address he hadn't lived at in more than two years. Nappen said Moore filed for a change of address when he moved to Carneys Point, but claimed the police department there still hadn't processed the paperwork. Shawn Moore has only one DUI offense, Nappen said.
Police in Carneys Point didn't return a phone call for comment Tuesday.
Moore is a National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor and range-safety officer. He's also a member of the same local sportsmen's club that many local officers belong to. Nappen said Moore bought his son the Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 for target shooting.
Julie Moore admitted telling her son to shoot intruders, the police report noted, but Nappen said it's a moot point. "How is he going to shoot an intruder if the guns are locked up?" he asked. "The only way that would happen is if those guns were out of the safe and they were under attack by violent criminals."
Rico says okay, some people are too stupid to own gubs...
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