Webb and Guns
Webb aide held on gun charge By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES March 27, 2007 An aide to Sen. James H. Webb Jr., Virginia Democrat, was taken into custody yesterday after U.S. Capitol Police said he attempted to bring a loaded gun into a Senate office building.
Phillip Thompson, executive assistant to the freshman senator, was detained after a bag he carried into the building was found to contain a loaded handgun and two fully loaded magazines.
Law-enforcement authorities said Mr. Thompson told police that he had been sent to the senator's car to retrieve a bag belonging to Mr. Webb. The handgun and magazines were discovered during a 10:50 a.m. security check after he tried to bring it into the Russell Senate Office Building, where Mr. Webb's office is located, through the lower Delaware Avenue and C Street door.
So the aide was likely in a hurry, rushed due to the Senator's schedule, and simply forgot what was a non-issue to both the Senator and the aide. For that he's facing serious charges. BUT, how serious is this really?
DC's gun ban has been overturned by the courts, so far, as unconstitutional. Frankly, I see no reason that a Senator himself or through the efforts of an aide shouldn't be armed. After all, we allow the Capital Police to be armed to protect the Senator and his staff. Interestingly, this is a good illustration of the need to have national reciprocity for concealed carry/handgun permits.
Now, I'm no fan of Senator Webb. I think his stand on the Iraq theater of the war on terror is ridiculous and possibly entirely based on self-interest. I don't know him and I'm unlikely to ever meet him as he lives in that rarified stratosphere of national politics and is, once again, in another party. I'll never be allowed to get close to him to meet him personally. Still, it is only right that he have the rights to personal protection and gun ownership that we
all should have, everywhere, everyday.
I heard Gretchen on Fox and Friends say, "Don't they make pilots go through metal detectors?" Well, that makes no sense to me. Once in the plane they have ultimate control over our lives, just like that Egyptian pilot who apparently just dove the plane into the water off NYC. They were also saying the 2nd Amendment rights were important, but they didn't realize that they were equivocating when they wondered as to when or why... It was an illustrative discussion because it exposed how non-shooters view the subject.
Ok, so this isn't a rant. Maybe I need to remove that from the blog title. However, I want to be the first member of the Free Phillip Thompson Action Committee.
Labels: Culture
