On Wednesday, The New York Post posted an article about Charles Foehner, a former resident of Kew Gardens, who is now facing four years in jail for saving his own life.

The article reports:

Foehner is a retired doorman with the gift of gab, a devoted wife, and a habit of saying “groovy.” He spends his time watching naval history videos on YouTube.

While there are many violent criminals with rap sheets the length of a CVS receipt walking our streets, Queens DA Melinda Katz decided to throw the book at this senior citizen, after he pleaded guilty to owning unlicensed guns.

…Foehner first collided with our criminal justice system in May 2023, when he went out for a pack of cigarettes in the early hours of the morning. Crime in his Kew Gardens neighborhood became a problem after a now-shuttered seedy hotel had opened in 2017, so Foehner took a revolver with him for protection.

In an eerie twist, Foehner had complained to this very paper about the disorder in 2020.

“This isn’t our nice little neighborhood anymore,” he told The Post at that time, noting the brazen drug deals taking place.

But on that fateful night, he returned from buying smokes and saw an unhinged man banging on the door of his building. It was Cody Gonzalez, who then menacingly approached Foehner, demanding a cigarette and his phone.

“He kept coming closer and clearly he was going to attack me.” Foehner said he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the ground. But Gonzalez didn’t stop. He motioned toward Foehner’s neck with an object and the senior’s instincts kicked in. Foehner shot the man dead. The ordeal was caught on security camera.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. He left me no choice,” said Foehner.

He called 911 and cooperated with authorities.

Gonzalez had at least 15 priors dating back to 2004 and a history of mental illness. Conversely, Foehner had no criminal history. But he is a lifelong gun enthusiast and a doomsday prepper, who had amassed a stockpile of approximately 26 weapons that the police found. Only a few were licensed.

It seems to me that a suspended sentence or household arrest would have been a lot more appropriate. How much money die Foehner save the State of New York by killing this person who already had 15 prior arrests? Doesn’t the Second Amendment grant Americans the right to bear arms?