Can I Tell You That I Never Really Had a Gun?

No you can’t, cause now you ‘bout to get done.

How far would you go to help out your friends if you thought they were in danger? Recently, a Woodlands student found out the price of being loyal. "Sean" (not his real name) is facing police charges after trying to protect his friend from threats of violence by providing him with a stolen gun. "Sean" has been charged with possession of an unregistered restricted weapon, sale of an unregistered restricted weapon, and possession of stolen property. The situation arose after Sean's friend, "Roger", told him that he feared for his life. Roger was dating a girl, but the girl's father, "George", disapproved.

At first, George and Roger were friends, according to Sean. However, as George learned that his daughter was going out with Roger, the relationship between the two men soured. "He (became) extremely unfriendly, and he was not happy with my friend's involvement with his daughter, at all". According to Sean, the father began to threaten and harass Roger. These threats began to be taken seriously. As Sean says, "It seems to me that this man is capable of doing some dangerous things". Sean claims that George was "a pretty powerful man, who was, I've told, known to do some pretty nasty things. He was none too nice, from what I have heard". George's girlfriend began to accuse Roger of making threatening phone calls, but Sean claims that she was actually the one who was instigating. " Personaly, I know this allegation to be false, because in the period of time in question, I happen to have been with [Roger]. And he was receiving numerous phone calls, from this woman, in fact, that were none too pleasant." Roger claimed that he needed a gun to protect himself from George, who was unhappy that Roger was dating his daughter.

Roger began to pester Sean for some form of protection, as "he feared for his life". "He told me that he was in danger, that there was nothing the police could do about it, because he was not being directly threatened. He told me that it would be dangerous for him to go without any sort of protection". Sean suggested that Roger buy a can of pepper spray, but Roger continued to ask for a gun. Finally, Sean relented. "What turned the crank for me was that [George] knew who I was... and if this man knew who I was, then he might try to get at my friend through me. At that point in time, (Roger) told me 'If you want to be safe, then you should let me handle the situation.'". Roger planned to use the gun for personal protection, in case he was attacked in his house. "He did not plan at all to go after this guy. He planned on keeping it, and he told me where he planned on keeping it. It was in his dwelling at the time. He planned on being able to use it should his home be invaded, which was what he feared directly. In fact, he feared it so much that he actually moved in this period of time." After considering the situation, Sean got a gun for Roger.

Sean is unsure how the police became involved. Somehow, they realized what was going on, and found out that Sean had gotten Roger a gun. Soon, the police contacted Sean, and he was charged. His court date is approaching, and he plans to plead guilty to all the charges levelled against him. Sean does not know what type of punishment to expect. He hopes that he will not be sent to jail for what he did. "If I'm lucky, the sentence won't be harsh... It all depends. It's a severe charge we're talking about here. What could happen... is that I could be seeing some major jail time." He is presently busy organizing his defence and preparing for his upcoming trial. One of the more irritating consequences of his actions (besides the threat of serious jail time or a fine) is the huge number of rumours going around the school about what he has done: that he is a black-market importer of firearms, that he is a hired assassin, or that he sells guns to everyone and anyone, as long as they promise in writing never to shoot the weapon at a person. Sean feels that even if he is acquitted of some or all of the charges, the shadow of what he has done will continue to darken his life and project a negative impression of the kind of person he is.

Now that he has had some time to think over what happened, what would Sean do if his friend approached him again with a request for a gun? "Personally, I think he was trapped. I regret the way that things happened. I regret the course of events. But, I still do not see any way out of it. There was no way for him to get away. He certainly believed, and still does, much as I do, that we are in danger. Even now, I believe that I am in danger." Sean fears that George will still try to harm him or Roger. However, he won't be trying to instigate anything; Sean promises that, if acquitted, he will stay out of trouble in the future. The crimes that Sean committed ruined lives, harmed reputations, endangered the public, and ultimately solved nothing. Few friendships are worth criminal charges and jail terms.