Lucille
01-05-2013, 10:37 AM
If you’re not David Gregory...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/2013/jan/4/miller-if-youre-not-david-gregory-extended-version/#ixzz2H6tfJt2d
While the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is in the third week of mulling over what to do about NBC anchor David Gregory flouting the District’s firearms laws on national television, a U.S. Army veteran is still grappling with the fallout from his arrest on the same charge.
James Brinkley, a federal government employee, was arrested in September was arrested in September on two counts of possession of “high capacity” magazines and one for having an unregistered weapon. He fought the charges and won, but he's still out his legal fees and officials haven’t yet returned his gun.
Mr. Brinkley noted that the D.C. police firearms registry website does not say that so-called high-capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) are illegal to transport. That’s because they are not. They are banned from being possessed in the District, and Mr. Gregory knew that when he brandished a 30-round rifle magazine on his show during an interview with the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre on Dec. 23.
Mr. Brinkley believes the NBC anchor is receiving special treatment because of his high-profile job. “I’m an average person," said Mr. Brinkley. "There seems to be a law for us and a law for the upper echelon. I got arrested -- and my magazines weren’t in the gun -- and Gregory has not gotten arrested. They say it’s an ‘ongoing investigation.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if they said, ‘We decided not to place him under arrest’ -- even though it’s against the law in D.C.”
[...]
Just like Mr. Gregory, Mr. Brinkley called MPD in advance to ask for guidance on legally transporting his gun during the drop off. The police told that the gun had to be unloaded and locked in the trunk, and he couldn’t park the car and walk around. (The District’s transport law mirrors federal law in this respect.) Unlike Mr. Gregory, who apparently disregarded the response provided by the police, Mr. Brinkley followed the police orders exactly.
[...]
Police chief appears to be protecting NBC’s David Gregory
Unlike most of the rest of the country, violent crime in D.C. was up 3 percent in 2012 and assaults with a deadly weapon were up 6 percent. Before Chief Lanier took down the crime map stats in the fall, assaults with a gun were up 20 percent. Her spokesman, Gwendolyn Crump, could not give the final statistic for the year end.
Asked how many people were arrested in 2012 for “high capacity magazines,” it took the police department five days to tell me that there were “more than” 105 arrests for possession last year. One of those was Mr. Brinkley, but none were Mr. Gregory.
Mr. Brinkley was publicly humiliated and thrown in jail. He was forced to spend time and money to defend himself for violating the same exact law that millions of viewers watched the NBC anchor violate. It’s wrong for Mr. Gregory to get special treatment.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/guns/2013/jan/4/miller-if-youre-not-david-gregory-extended-version/#ixzz2H6tfJt2d
While the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is in the third week of mulling over what to do about NBC anchor David Gregory flouting the District’s firearms laws on national television, a U.S. Army veteran is still grappling with the fallout from his arrest on the same charge.
James Brinkley, a federal government employee, was arrested in September was arrested in September on two counts of possession of “high capacity” magazines and one for having an unregistered weapon. He fought the charges and won, but he's still out his legal fees and officials haven’t yet returned his gun.
Mr. Brinkley noted that the D.C. police firearms registry website does not say that so-called high-capacity magazines (over 10 rounds) are illegal to transport. That’s because they are not. They are banned from being possessed in the District, and Mr. Gregory knew that when he brandished a 30-round rifle magazine on his show during an interview with the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre on Dec. 23.
Mr. Brinkley believes the NBC anchor is receiving special treatment because of his high-profile job. “I’m an average person," said Mr. Brinkley. "There seems to be a law for us and a law for the upper echelon. I got arrested -- and my magazines weren’t in the gun -- and Gregory has not gotten arrested. They say it’s an ‘ongoing investigation.’ I wouldn’t be surprised if they said, ‘We decided not to place him under arrest’ -- even though it’s against the law in D.C.”
[...]
Just like Mr. Gregory, Mr. Brinkley called MPD in advance to ask for guidance on legally transporting his gun during the drop off. The police told that the gun had to be unloaded and locked in the trunk, and he couldn’t park the car and walk around. (The District’s transport law mirrors federal law in this respect.) Unlike Mr. Gregory, who apparently disregarded the response provided by the police, Mr. Brinkley followed the police orders exactly.
[...]
Police chief appears to be protecting NBC’s David Gregory
Unlike most of the rest of the country, violent crime in D.C. was up 3 percent in 2012 and assaults with a deadly weapon were up 6 percent. Before Chief Lanier took down the crime map stats in the fall, assaults with a gun were up 20 percent. Her spokesman, Gwendolyn Crump, could not give the final statistic for the year end.
Asked how many people were arrested in 2012 for “high capacity magazines,” it took the police department five days to tell me that there were “more than” 105 arrests for possession last year. One of those was Mr. Brinkley, but none were Mr. Gregory.
Mr. Brinkley was publicly humiliated and thrown in jail. He was forced to spend time and money to defend himself for violating the same exact law that millions of viewers watched the NBC anchor violate. It’s wrong for Mr. Gregory to get special treatment.