This Might Be The Perfect Lawsuit

I used to kid my gun rights lawyer friends that to win a lawsuit against the DC gun law, we would need the ultimate sympathetic defendant: "A disabled black lesbian, defending herself with an unregistered handgun against a neo-Nazi with a long history of hate crimes against women." Now, from the September 9, 2007 Southern Oregon Mail-Tribune, we seem to have a very nearly perfect plaintiff in a lawsuit:

MEDFORD — A high school teacher wanting to carry a gun on campus is fueling a challenge against a Medford School District policy that prohibits possession of a weapon on school grounds.

Portland-based lawyer Jim Leuenberger, with backing from the Oregon Firearms Federation, said in an e-mail sent Friday to the Mail Tribune that he intends to ask a Jackson County Circuit Court judge to declare the policy "illegal and void" for holders of concealed handgun licences.

"There is a state statute that prohibits local governments — including school boards — from restricting possession of firearms by concealed firearm permit holders," Leuenberger said. "The state statute says any such local restrictions are void."

Leuenberger identified the woman only as a high school teacher and said he will file the complaint using "Jane Doe" as the plaintiff.

The issue arose when rumors swirled that a Medford teacher was carrying a weapon on campus. School officials approached the teacher and she denied the accusation, said schools attorney Tim Gerking.

The district declined to name the teacher because of personnel privacy laws.

The teacher was reminded of district policy and asked not to carry the firearm and she said she would comply, Gerking said. The teacher then contacted the firearms federation and Leuenberger.

It is not clear whether the teacher ever brought a weapon onto school grounds.

Her attorney said she has divorced her husband and obtained a restraining order against him.

"Notwithstanding the restraining order," Leuenberger wrote, "she has reason to believe he visited her home when she was absent."

When contacted by the Mail Tribune, the teacher asked to remain anonymous because she feared for her and her daughter's safety.

Even gun control advocates often start to backpedal towards sanity when it comes to a woman being stalked by an ex-husband.