Over the summer, Shaneen Allen, a single mother of two young boys living in South Philadelphia, gained national notoriety for her legal troubles due to New Jersey’s draconian gun control laws.

Shaneen Allen spoke with Hudson County View about her ordeal, starting with why she decided to legally obtain a firearm in the first place.

One week after acquiring her firearm, Allen was pulled over in Atlantic County for an illegal lane shift during a trip to celebrate her son’s birthday. That’s when her legal nightmare began.

She followed up by talking about how her life has been ruined by the criminal charges brought against her, adding why she felt having the right to carry a firearm was so important to her as a woman.

Allen also spoke out about the lack of support from public figures she thought would help her, as well as specifically thanking all the organizations, supporters, and politicians that she didn’t expect to stand with her.

Since the recording of this interview, the prosecutor in the case, who happened to be the same prosecutor for Ray Rice, facing immense national scrutiny, admitted Shaneen Allen into a pre-trial intervention program. Today Shaneen is essentially a free woman, as she will avoid jail time and a felony conviction.