David Gregory’s TV stunt with a high-capacity magazine has left the D.C. police in a tricky situation.
David Gregory, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, has managed to get himself and his network into some hot water this last weekend. According to the Washington Post,
[Gregory] displayed what appeared to be a high-capacity ammunition magazine on national television Sunday … he described [it] as a magazine that holds 30 bullets as he questioned National Rifle Association chief executive Wayne LaPierre about the Dec. 14 massacre in Newtown, Conn.
After watching the segment viewers contacted the D.C. Police Department, via email, requesting that Gregory be arrested. D.C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S., and according to their laws it is illegal to possess,
A “large capacity ammunition feeding device” — defined as holding more than 10 rounds — regardless of whether it is attached to a firearm and whether there are bullets in it. The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The D.C. police replied by email to the Patriot Perspective blog saying,
NBC contacted [D.C. police] inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazines is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated.
Although Mr. Gregory may face legal action for his choice of ‘props’, he DID get his point across in a highly effective manner. Many Americans who aren’t shooters have never seen that kind of magazine before, and the more factual information people have, the better.
UPDATE: The Washington Times reports that an NBC staffer contacted the ATF who in turn contacted the D.C. police on Friday requesting clarification as to whether the magazine in question would be illegal for Mr. Gregory to use on his show Meet the Press. ATF officials say that ‘officers within the department’s gun unit’ provided incorrect information concerning the ‘legality of possessing an unloaded magazine.’ They were told, ‘that ammunition was not OK and that the magazine was OK.’
Picture: AP/File
If Gregory doesn’t go to jail for this, and others have, it would be interesting to see the racial figures of those who do.
But laws are for the little people, Gregory is important, he’s a journalist, plus shut up, they explained.
The sad part is we have to worry about informing people using the right information and risking being punished for it. There is so little thinking going on in the right places as to make me question whether there is any thinking actually taking place at all. An empty magazine has never killed anyone. EVER. Informing people about it (and its capabilities) should not be a federal crime. EVER. We shouldn’t have to think about it. We shouldn’t need to consult the police department. When “zero tolerance” becomes “zero cognition”, there is something terribly wrong with out judicial system and… Read more »
Mr Gregory should be subject to the same penalties that a ‘non-journalist’ would be subject to for doing the same thing Mr Gregory did. It’s a stupid law, but everyone who run afoul of it should be treated equally.