Incidents of firearms CONFISCATION continue. The latest is in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Arthur Lovi had 3 antique firearms confiscated because he sought grief counseling in August 2012 due to several losses in his life going back almost 10 years, including his wife 9 years earlier. He admitted to anger over a misdiagnosis of his wife's condition but acknowledged it probably wouldn't have saved his wife. The psychological counselor perceived a threat to the doctor and felt obligated to inform local police but also told them she didn't think Lovi was a danger to himself or others. Regardless, that cover-your-ass (CYA) phone call set the wheels in motion resulting in threats, intimidation, illegal search and seizure, a denial of due process under the law, 'encouraged' (forced) psychological evaluation that lasted less than a day before determining he was not a threat, and months of withholding his property that he only got back (damaged) after getting (and paying for?) a lawyer. This is not the America we all studied in high school.
"Lovi told the therapist about Cindy's death and his bitterness over the incorrect diagnosis.
"I'll have hard feelings about it until the day I die," Lovi says now. "Not that a day would make a difference, but maybe it would have. I'll never know."
After the session, Lovi's therapist was concerned. She called the Arlington Heights police to report he had made a threat against the first doctor who saw his wife.
She told them she didn't think he would carry it out or that he was dangerous to himself or others, but she just wanted to do her job and report it."Without knowledge of all the specifics of the case, one person's general opinion was "if it had ended violently, people would be asking questions about why the police didn't take Lovi's weapons". That's true enough. But by what 'reasonable' standard are we measuring things? The misdiagnosis he was bitter about happened 9 years earlier and he'd shown no outward aggression. The counselor who reported the 'threat' also said she didn't think he'd carry it out or that he was a threat to himself or other. The forced psychological evaluation said he wasn't a threat to himself or others. And they still refused to return his property! They lied to him in the process. They sent him to 'get a note' from a counselor. They didn't return his property until he got a lawyer, months later. What's the statute of limitations on depression being used to infringe on multiple constitutional civil rights?
The article isn't too long but goes into much greater detail describing the whole ordeal.
Good luck, Mr. Lovi, in your pending lawsuit. While you only be pursuing fair compensation and may not be interested in financial gain or penalizing the Arlington Heights Police Department, I'm sitting on the sidelines hoping it hurts them and sends a powerful message that this is NOT acceptable.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130609/news/706099896/
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Related blogs:
http://us2ndamendment.blogspot.com/2013/06/illinois-firearms-confiscation.html
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