Fantasy and Mystery Writer Joel Rosenberg Arrested

Joel Rosenburg is a renowned fantasy and mystery author whose "Guardians of the Flame" series tells about a group of college role playing gamers who get sucked into their gaming world where they devote their lives fighting injustice. It is a social commentary that tells readers to stand up and fight for the freedoms they truly feel are worth fighting for. Now Mr. Rosenburg finds himself living his novels. He was arrested recently in Minneapolis and is accused of illegal possession of a firearm. The arrest was a month after police allegedly harassed him for allegedly illegally carrying his firearm in Minneapolis City Hall.

But as a 2nd Amendment Rights Advocate and author of non-fiction books such as "Everything You Need to Know About (Legally Carrying A Handgun in Minnesota," Rosenburg claims it is NOT illegal to carry his firearm in City Hall. Considering that his attorney is the man who co-wrote the firearm law that Rosenburg supposedly broke, this charge may be as watertight as a colander that someone shot with a shotgun.

While Joel is likely to win this legal battle, it is the timing and previous events leading to the arrests that make the case controversial. It is usually common sense to arrest a person on-site for carrying an illegal firearm before he fires it. But the arrest took place a month after he made his case against the officer present in City Hall. Rosenburg complied with the officer's order to disarm and things looked business as usual. He recorded the events as he was taking care of his other business that involved getting the case files on his falsely charged and eventually dismissed wife. But it was shortly after he posted the video recording of the incident a month later that he found himself arrested. The alleged illegality of the video seems to be part of the warrant even though Minnesota law states that only one person needs to consent to recording a conversation-Joel in this case. So now Joel is fighting for both his 2nd and 1st Amendment Rights.

The charges are being piled on in hopes of having Joel plead out before he further exposes the police department for what they are doing. There is a website gathering news about the author and a donation link for legal fees. Even if one does not agree with the right to bear arms, one must acknowledge the bravery in his actions in standing up to the rights that we often take for granted. Though "Guardians of the Flame" retired in 2003, perhaps Joel will find a new line of novels that provide social commentary to the modern world given this current experience.