Saturday, December 29, 2012

Howard Kurtz' Shameful Defense of David Gregory's High-Capacity Magazine is a call for the rule of man

By Douglas V. Gibbs

David Gregory broke the law, but he didn't intend to break the law, according to Howard Kurtz.  What David Gregory committed when he waved around an illegal high-capacity gun magazine (illegal in Washington DC where his Meet the Press show is filmed, anyway - and after NBC had been denied the allowance to do so by Washington's Metropolitan Police Department) was an act of journalism - as if that gives Gregory the allowance to break any law he wants, as long he is trying to prove a point as a journalist.

I wonder if Howard Kurtz would feel the same way if the journalist considered himself to be a conservative.

Washington's police are investigating David Gregory's actions, and for good reason.  He broke the law, and did so after being told not to.  Any non-journalist without massive liberal ties would already be in jail, and would have a court date.

Washington DC law says that violators are subject to a year in jail and $1,000 fine for possessing a “large capacity” magazine, whether or not it contains bullets, and whether or not it is slapped into a gun.

As an example, to try to prove Gregory's actions were harmless, Howard Kurtz uses when investigative reporters sneak weapons or banned material through airport security and then get accused of breaking the law - as if that makes it okay.

Uh, Mr. Kurtz?  Sneaking weapons or banned material through airport security "is" breaking the law.

Members of the liberal media are not above that law, or any law.

Sure, if the investigative reporter had gained permission from the law enforcement agency involved, had gone through the proper channels, and worked closely with that agency while doing their investigative reporting, that would be something different.

As a gun owner, and defender of the 2nd Amendment, I am not championing Washington's ridiculous gun laws.  In fact, I think they are unconstitutional, tyrannical, and the direct cause of the high violent crime rate in that city.  But, just because I don't like a law, it doesn't mean that I will congratulate someone for breaking it.  We are, after all, a nation under the rule of law, not the rule of man.

If we don't like certain laws, then it is our responsibility to work to change them.

In the case of Washington DC's gun laws, or any law in any State that you don't agree with, in a place like the United States, you have one of three choices.  You can fight to change the law, put up and shut up, or move to a place in the country where the laws better suit your belief system.

That's one of the great things about State Sovereignty - The States can be different from each other, like the individuals that inhabit this great country.

David Gregory committed a crime, regardless of the fact that he was trying to show his disdain for guns, and regardless of the fact that he was being a journalist.

For committing his crime, he should be prosecuted.

I guarantee you that if the journalist brandishing the high-capacity clip in Washington DC was a member of the Fox News group of hosts, Sarah Palin, or any other republican political figure, or any journalist that considers themselves conservative, Howard Kurtz would be calling for their head, and would be expecting the Washington Metropolitan Police Department to prosecute that individual to the full extent of the law.

Besides, David Gregory should be happy he's being investigated.  The second-rate journalist couldn't ask for better free publicity.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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