The sign posted by “thecelt,” who is unsure whether it’s on his property or the town’s property.
While the details of this story are still emerging, it appears that a man in Somers, New York, had his pro-Second Amendment sign stolen by local police.
The man, whose name is not yet known but who goes by the alias “thecelt” on NYFirearms.com, a pro-gun Internet forum, recently discovered that his Repeal the SAFE Act sign was missing.
The NY SAFE Act, or Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, is Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s strict gun control legislation passed in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. It expanded the state’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” and made it illegal for one to put more than seven rounds of ammo in a 10-round magazine, among other inane requirements.
Not ready to be defeated, the man made another sign and posted it in his front lawn. However, this time, he mounted a trail camera near the sign but out of sight so that if this new sign was stolen he would be able to catch the thief.
Well, his new sign was stolen.
As the photo evidence suggests, it appears it was a member of the Somers Police Department who removed the new sign, which read “Protect the Second Amendment.” It’s not clear if it was SPD who removed the original sign.
In a forum post, “thecelt” explained the details of the situation.
I sent an extra $20 donation to scopeny and they give you a repeal the safe act sign… I put it up and one scumbag neighbor called the town building inspector to complain. I got a letter for being in violation of a town code. As per advice on this forum from nyshooter I could fight it on grounds of my 1st amendment rights… so I called the town BI and after telling him ill fight it in court he asked what kind of sign it was so I said a pro2a sign so he said leave it up. A week or so later he called me back because the [neighbor] cried again and I said that I’m leaving it up. A day or so later my sign went missing…So I wanted to buy a trail cam first so I could catch the thief and press charges(can’t justify spending the money on one yet) before putting up another sign but I decided to make a sign of my own with plywood and I’m going to drive a couple 2×4 stakes in the ground so someone would have to really work to remove it.. here is a picture of the sign… tomorrow ill get a pic of it installed. Btw the stencils took quite a while to make and I rushed the paint work because I didn’t want to wait for one side to dry filly before doing the back side (both sides are the same).
At first, it appeared it was one of his supposed ornery, anti-Second Amendment neighbors who was to blame for the missing sign. But upon setting up the camera, it became clear that the local police were involved, which was quite shocking to “thecelt.”
“Very strange turn of events … and im not quite sure where to go with this now,” wrote “thecelt.” “[It’s] the freaking SOMERS PD.”
In follow up posts, “thecelt” acknowledged that there may be a discrepancy over where exactly the sign was place. While he believes it is his private property, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility that the town may think otherwise.
“This is my property, although i have to find out if the town claims any rights to property on the edge of the road as this was about 4-5 [inches] from the edge of the roadway,” he noted. Additionally, he said that the building inspector had initially asked him to remove the sign but ultimately said he could leave it up, as TheBlaze, which broke the story, pointed out.
On Monday, the man said he was going to talk to a lawyer before he made his next move, though he admitted that he was “highly offended my constitutional rights are being violated and i certainly expect some action to be taken.”
One would think that if the sign was legitimately on the man’s property the police would have no right to confiscate it. Though, we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Guns.com reached out to the Somers Police Department, but a spokesman could not be reached for comment.
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