October 10, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Q. What’s the best way to memorialize a victim of deadly gun violence? What’s the best way to raise money for orphans of a horrific murder-suicide involving a 9 mm. automatic handgun and a shotgun?
A. Why, get the whole gang together down at the gun store and shoot off a bunch of guns, of course!
If that makes sense to you, don’t miss the Melanie Hain Memorial Shoot Nov. 1st at Heberling’s Gun Shop in Prompton, PA!
No, it’s not an insensitive, tasteless joke (Or is it…?). It’s a real event. The details are posted on the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Forum:
MELEANIE HAIN MEMORIAL SHOOT — NOV. 1ST, HERBERLINGS GUN SHOP
PROMPTON, PA.
Hemlockshooters is hosting a “Memorial Shoot” for Meleanie Hain’s children.
The time is 12:00 noon till 4:00pm.
ENTRY FEE = $10.00 P.P. AUCTION WILL BE HELD EVERY HOUR
REFRESHMENTS: Hot Dogs, Hamburgers & Sodas will be available for purchase.
100% of all moneys collected will go to whatever fund is set up for the benefit of Meleanie kids.
Hemlockshooters will be grateful for all that want to help, please PM hgsw67 or e-mail Hemlockshooters @ aol.com if you wish to donate something for the raffle, or can help with logistics.
Help us help Meleanies kids
Thanks, Harry G
So come on down for some hamburgers, hot dogs, handguns, rifles and ammo… bring the spouse, kids and firearms… What better way to celebrate The Domestic Violence Awareness Month?
Who Was Melanie Hain (shefearsnothing)?
Meleanie Hain was the pistol-packing mama who gained national prominence by insisting on wearing her loaded Glock 25 to her children’s soccer games. She solidified her role as gun-rights media icon by filing a $1 million lawsuit against Lebanon County PA Sheriff Michael DeLeo for revoking her gun carrying permit (for “bad judgement”). Meleanie Hain blamed DeLeo for, among other things, emotional distress and hurting the babysitting service she ran in her loaded-gun laden house.
The story of gun-rights advocate Hain ended both tragically and ironically. According to the Huffington Post, Meleanie’s husband Scott “used his own gun to fire several shots into his 30-year-old wife, Meleanie, while her video chat was active and perhaps as she washed dishes in their kitchen, police said. Scott Hain, 33, later killed himself in an upstairs bedroom.”
According to the Post article:
Meleanie Hain’s loaded pistol — with a bullet ready in the chamber — was in a backpack hanging from the front door….
Police found several handguns, a shotgun, two rifles and several hundred rounds of ammunition in their Lebanon home, as well as six spent shell casings in the kitchen.
Friends and neighbors told police the couple had been having marital problems, but police knew of no immediate cause of the violence. Scott Hain was living at the family home at the time, Wright said.
Their three children are ages 2, 6 and 10.
Neighbor Aileen Fortna has said the children told another neighbor that “daddy shot mommy.”
The judge who restored Meleanie Hain’s concealed-weapon permit last year questioned her judgment and said she had “scared the devil” out of other parents at the soccer field.
Self-Proclaimed Gun Control “Patriots” Put Blinders on, Close Ranks
I don’t know the answer in regard to gun control. Personally, I like shooting guns. I did a fair amount of target shooting when I was younger and I’ve shot nearly every style and caliber of pistol, rifle and shotgun… and enjoyed it. While I’ve never hunted (and would rather not) I’m not opposed to or bothered by hunting. And I’ll admit that I’m not sure where the line between public (and private) safety ends and personal liberty begins.
But just because I like guns doesn’t blind me to the fact that gun violence is a big, big problem. And it seems to me that the people who could be most helpful in addressing these serious issues refuse to acknowledge that they are obvious and serious issues. These self-proclaimed “patriots” and NRA cult members use their (unfortunately) considerable clout to automatically oppose and shoot down anything that hints of gun control regulation… or anything that might lead to it.
If you read the entries on the forum where Meleanie Hain was active, you’ll see that the PA Patriots refuse (or are unable… unwilling… or scared to…) acknowledge:
… the irony of holding a memorial shoot for the orphans of two shooting victims
… the irony of a mother being killed by that which she professed would keep her safe
… the fact that those who were afraid of the potential of gun violence were, in this case, correct
… that in a country where more than half of all marriages end in divorce, homes stocked with loaded weapons are a seriously hazardous to the health of the entire family.
What’s truly scary is that the PA gun-toting patriots have really learned nothing – and will learn nothing – from the death of their friend. They will simply demonize the distraught husband (“burn in hell” is their online refrain), feel like they are caring and compassionate by donating the hot dog and hamburger proceeds to the orphans, and then stock up on guns and ammo at Heberling’s Gun Shop to bring home to their happy households.
Until the next one qualifies for their very own memorial shoot.
