Another Citizen Ensnared by D.C. Gun Law

A prominent veterinarian and farmer, who is also a member of the North Carolina State University's Board of Trustees, was arrested in the District of Columbia after police discovered a holstered, loaded handgun in his briefcase.   He apparently was scheduled to attend a meeting in the Cannon House Office Building.  Capitol police discovered the firearm in an ankle holster inside of his brief case.   I suspect it was the Ruger LCP, a popular, small, pistol.



A friend believes that the small gun was inadvertently left in the luggage.  From the comments at thestate.com:

I know Ron personally and he is an honest upstanding citizen and I truly believe he forgot it was in his brief case. He wasn't planning on committing any crime with it. My husband has often forgotten he was carrying a gun in his car but has been very lucky and hasn't been stopped in states that don't reciprocate with our state.

This points out the wisdom of Representative  Massie, who wants to reform the draconian D.C. gun laws:

“Gun free school zones are ineffective. They make people less safe by inviting criminals into target-rich, no-risk environments,” said Massie. “Gun free zones prevent law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves, and create vulnerable populations that are targeted by criminals.

This is the second time in a week that an upstanding citizen has been ensnared by these laws of questionable constitutionality.   Ryan Lee Shucard, press secretary to Representative Tom Marino, Pa, was tripped up in the same way on 18 July.

The D.C. law has been challenged in the Courts, but the court refuses to rule on it.   It seems likely that the court simply does not want to rule the law unconstitutional, and so has chosen to make no ruling at all.   The case will have been pending for five years on August 6th.   A writ of mandamus, to require the court to make a ruling, has been requested twice.

Update: Since this was written, the District Court has ruled the D.C. laws unconstitutional!   Now is the time for those being prosecuted under the laws to move for the charges to be dismissed!

A related case is pending in New Jersey, where a young black mother with a concealed carry permit is facing three years in jail because she was truthful with the police officer who stopped her for an "improper lane change".

Congress has the votes to pass legislation requiring all U.S. jurisdictions to honor state issued gun carry permits, just as they do state drivers licenses, but Harry Reid has blocked any progress on the issue.


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