BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is appalled that New York City gun laws, and prosecutors in the Queens District Attorney’s Office, have put a 67-year-old citizen behind bars for defending himself against a recidivist criminal with an unlicensed handgun.
According to the New York Post, Charles Foehner was not prosecuted for fatally shooting would-be thief Cody Gonzalez two years ago. Instead, prosecutors slapped Foehner with multiple gun law violations, Foehner’s attorney “ripped the city’s ‘draconian’ gun laws,” the newspaper said.
“We agree wholeheartedly with attorney Thomas Kenniff’s assessment of New York’s gun laws,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Almost everywhere else in the country, Mr. Foehner would be getting accolades for defending himself against a guy with Gonzalez’ criminal record, but in New York, he’s getting four years in prison. Queens prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves for using New York’s despicable gun laws to imprison a man who was defending himself from a thug who had at least 15 arrests in his background, along with a record of mental illness.
“Apparently in New York City,” he continued, “it’s more important to allow dangerous repeat offenders to roam the streets, while putting good people behind bars. We have seen this repeatedly in the Big Apple, with cases such as the one against subway hero Daniel Penny two years ago.”
Published reports say Foehner had several unregistered firearms in his residence, allowing prosecutors to file multiple charges against him. He used one of those guns to fatally shoot Gonzales, who reportedly demanded money and cigarettes before he lunged at Foehner with what appeared to be a knife, but turned out to be a pen.
“If there is true justice in the world,” Gottlieb said, “Mr. Foehner’s sentence would be commuted, at the very least, when he appears in court on Jan. 14. But this is New York City, where the good guys are treated like bad guys, and the real bad guys—who truly belong behind bars—are continually recycled back to the streets.”