Thanks, David Gregory
I want to thank David Gregory for sacrificing himself in the gun debate for demonstrating why more gun laws are useless. Of course, you know who David gregory is, he’s the “Meet the Press” TV show host who broke the law when he brought what appears to be a 30-round magazine for an AR-15 style weapon into the District of Columbia where even just possession of of a “large capacity magazine” whether it has rounds in it or if it’s attached to a weapon or not.
Journalists everywhere are condemning pro-gun folks for pushing for the arrest and punishment of Gregory for this crime. The latest is from a link sent to us by Old Trooper to Politico in which Dylan Byers writes;
Those who argue that the investigation is ludicrous have a point: Showing an empty gun magazine on television, though illegal in Washington, D.C., was hardly going to harm anyone. As Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren wrote, it’s hard to think of a sillier use of investigative resources.
But it’s also hard to blame the other side for asking that laws be upheld and applied to all — especially at a time when so many in the media seem to be pushing for more of those laws.
The Gregory investigation may have started as a “non-story,” but that’s no longer the case. There are some folks on the right who still care about the outcome, and are ready to cite it as precedent if it goes Gregory’s way.
So since no one wants to punish Gregory for his obvious violation of a gun law enacted, ostensibly, to protect the public, why do we need more gun laws? Obviously, it’s like the pro-gun folks have always said – there are enough laws to restrict guns, but law enforcement is reluctant to use the exiting laws. If they’re not going to arrest and prosecute David Gregory, why is there even a law to keep a perfectly harmless item while it’s in the District and in Gregory’s perfectly manicured grasp, out of the hands of DC residents?
Gregory should be working to change the law – that’s what he’d do on any other issue which he had flagrantly disregarded. Someone in DC law enforcement should ask themselves if they’re profiling in this case, because Gregory is a pretty white boy who obviously meant no one any harm, as opposed to someone else in DC they may want to prosecute for the crime in other circumstances.
Category: Guns
Mark Steyn talked about this in his column this weekend and made the point that “tyranny is always capricious”.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/gregory-381940-gun-laws.html
I’m pretty sure that his point will be lost on the lefties, for whom good intentions always trump anything else, but the rest of us won’t forget and the next schmoe who gets convicted of possession of a large capacity magazine will have powerful allies.
Here’s the law (DC Code) that Gregory is said to have violated:
§ 7-2506.01. Persons permitted to possess ammunition.
(b) No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” shall not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
The key question is whether this is a strict liability law or whether intent (mens rea) is a requisite element. Of course, if he’s never charged, it doesn’t matter.
“The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it.”
Two memories: Dan Rather doing an “expose” in which he went to a gun show, filled out false info at a couple of booths, was able to buy legally based on the forms (this was maybe 20 years back) and crowed to the world about how easy it was to ‘get around’ the laws. No one ever attempted to charge him with the several felonies he committed in filling out the forms falsely.
The other is when the Lawrence, KS police wanted to negotiate their pay. Being told that “blue flu” (a sick-out) was not acceptable and would be legally prosecuted, they instead resorted to enforcing the law – fully. Over 3000 tickets in a single day – parking less than 6″ or more than 18″ from a curb, 32 in a 30, you name it. They won – quickly.
You can bet your ass that if it had been Wayne LaPierre holding up that “high capacity” magazine on tv in DC, the media and lefties would be calling for his head, including Greta and this chucklehead from Politico.
Proof positive that the rule of law is laughably ignored when encountering liberals with an agenda. It’s not about facts, legality, logic, etc…it’s about FEELINGS.
You guys have it all wrong. Gregory was defying the man. He was refusing to turn in his high capacity magazine to the authorities, under threat of arrest. Not only was he disobeying the law, he was brazenly flaunting his possession of said mass-murdering contraband on a nationally broadcasted television show, even after being told he could not do so by the authorities. He was daring the cops to fuck with him, because he knew that if he were to be peacefully arrested, that it would draw attention to the inherent injustice contained within DC’s gun laws.
Face it, friends: David Gregory is the lawful gun owners’ version of Rosa Parks, and he deserves the recognition as such. Though he’ll probably deny he did anything special (such a humble man, that David Gregory), he deserves to be idolized for casually, yet boldly, violating such an asinine law. He did what he did for all of us other folks who legally own 30 round mags, but who just don’t have the balls to wave one around in DC.
If anyone of us had been driving to a gun show through DC with just one high cap Magazine and got pulled over and arrested, the media wouldn’t consider it harmless. We’d get thrown under the jail.
A law unenforced is not a law. Cathy Lanier – that comment is addressed to you.
We were a nation of laws once. Then the first law school was founded and it’s been downhill ever since.
I just want to point out that the Chicago Police Department seized 89 illegally owned guns (meaning ‘owned’, as in had their hands on them, by criminals) during the New Year’s celebrations in Chicago between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
It’s not that the gun laws in Chicago aren’t being enforced. It’s more like there just aren’t enough cops or enough time.
So Davy Gregory is a moron and I hope he gets hit with a nasty charge of some kind. That would be nice. All that bad karma on top of bad hair.