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NBC's David Gregory Won't Be Charged With Gun Law Violation for Showing High Capacity Magazine on TV

Washington D.C.'s attorney general said prosecuting Gregory wouldn't make citizens safer

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by Lisa Fine

Staff Writer t +

Image: AP

NBC's David Gregory has dodged a legal bullet. He won't be charged with violating any gun laws when he showed a high-capacity magazine on "Meet the Press" to make a point about how more gun control is needed.

Washington D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan said despite the violation he decided to exercise "prosecutorial discretion" to not pursue a criminal case because doing so wouldn't make the District safer, the Washington Post reports.

It is against the law in the District of Columbia to possess a device that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition -- even if it's not attached to a firearm. Gregory showed the high capacity magazine clip when he was interviewing Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the National Rifle Association, following the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

Influencing Nathan' decision was that Gregory's "intent of the temporary possession and short display of the magazine was to promote the First Amendment purpose of informing an ongoing public debate about firearms policy in the United States," he wrote in a letter to NBC.

Via the Washington Post

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107 Comments (view in Forum)

  • Sharpshooter
    !
    @PolitixLisa How about a "That depends on what's done in this same situation with regular citizens" option.

    If the same call were to be made if Clyde Citizen were caught with the same magazine... yeah its a reasonable decision. IF the Average guy is charged... then it's crap.
  • Rocker
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    I'm glad because a law wasn't violated. But I'm still disappointed in the double standard with prosecution between the commoner and those of wealth or celebrity. Spend a little time in re-hab or do some community service work and you'll be fine.

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  • AndrewEvans
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    I don't know why everyone gives the NRA a bad wrap. They aren't bad people. They aren't funded by big bankers. They are a special interest group who actually represent the millions of people they are supposed to represent. It seems to me that they fulfill all the requirements of being one of the few honest special interest groups in America.
  • mtkopf
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    @AndrewEvans they "represent the millions of people they are supposed to represent."
    No offense but, are you that naive Andrew?
    74% of nra members support closing the gunshow lloophole and require background checks on ALL gun purchases. The NRA still refuses to support any such legislation. The NRA doesn't represent the interests of gun owners but they represent those of the gun manufacturers.
    As someone here is fond of saying:
    "Follow the money. Always follow the money."
  • Barack_Blocker
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    I didn't see anyone from the NRA go on nation TV waving an illegal high capacity mag for all to see. Is that the kind of "common sense" you were referring to?
  • Thunderchicken
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    While I'm not an NRA member,(we had a disagreement a long time ago) I completely agree with their "Let them have an inch and they'll take a mile" attitude on the 2nd amendment.
  • AndrewEvans
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    @mtkopf Trying to tie the NRA in with the rest of the corporate special interests is ignorance, pure and simple. I'm not going to doubt your statistics, but can you please cite your source?

    There's a lot of deception going on now. People are trying to water down the 2nd Amendment, and those in the NRA understand it. I would say that the average person has completely lost touch with the true intentions our founding fathers. They wanted to prevent things like this.

    “This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!”--Adolph Hitler

    They were definitely efficient at butchering my family. When considering gun control ask not what guns do but what they prevent.

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  • Dan_Tien
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    Unless David Gregory brought his own magazine from home, NBC and every employee who acquired the magazine and possessed it before and after it was displayed on television would need to be charged as well. Good decision to drop the matter, when viewed with the intent that it was used.
  • methinks
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    It seems some people posting here think this law should be absolute, which it shouldn't. It was clearly used for "demonstrable purposes," and not in an actual firearm.

    How, is this news again?
  • John_Matrix
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    So if anybody possessing such an item for sporting or self defense purposes should obviously be exempt from prosecution too? Typical hypocrisy, I'm going to violate the very law I want enforced bit it's ok because it's ME and my intentions are pure, despite the fact that I'm a criminal now by my own standards.
  • Dan_Tien
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    @John_Matrix "Typical hypocrisy". Nonsense. You need a 30 round clip for sporting purposes? What sort of sport? Quick fire orgasms? You need it for self defense? You are either planning on killing lots of attackers or you are planning to miss a lot. Try aiming instead of using "spray and pray" like they do in the movies, John Matrix a.k.a. Commando. lol
  • thejimbo
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    Go easy on Gregory, it's not like he works for a corporation who didn't have anything to gain from this deliberate and premeditated stunt, oh wait...

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  • DyingBreed
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    Apparently, the law doesn't apply to famous people. You can bet the same kind of "discretion" wouldn't have applied if they were interviewing an average Joe who was against gun control.
  • tomincali
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    again picking and choosing what laws will be enforced depending on who is breaking the law. this addm has a way of doing this alot.
  • Quantummist
    !
    Total number of Homicides committed with All Rifles of all Types and capacities in 2011---- 323 ---- This Includes 22 Justified Homicides by Rifles... Total Number of Homicides committed with Knives in 2011--- 1,692 -----
  • tomincali
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    i have read even hammers have been used to kill more than rifles. if this is true the only reason not aired is to hide the facts.
  • 2ndcharm
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    @Quantummist "There were also 726 by Hand and Foot" Great, now they're going to require a concealed bicep license to carry your "gun show" in public.
  • Quantummist
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    @2ndcharm .... Maybe someone can explain how at Sandy Hook there was a Condolence Web Site up 3 days before the shooting and Why the Father of one of the dead girls is with the president After the shooting with the Dead Girl sitting on the Presidents Lap.... http://youtu.be/wzEgrUwfeU4
  • bsking
    !
    Yeah I was going to say that first stat you gave... sounds more like a weekend death toll in Chicago.

    ... on another note 1 of the person's outed by the journals newspaper report of gun owners was robbed in the thieves specifically targeted man's gun safe.
  • Barack_Blocker
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    "Washington D.C.'s attorney general said prosecuting Gregory wouldn't make citizens safer"

    This coming from the same people that feel that Eric Holder puting hundreds of guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels wasn't a violation of the law either...
  • OhWiseOne
    !
    It's funny, or sad, that this administration will happily arm Mexican drug cartels but wants to place more restrictions on law abiding citizens. It's almost as if he's looking out for the criminals. I guess he considers them his base.
  • TheWolf
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    @OhWiseOne - And how exactly did the government get them into the hands of the cartel's? Illegal distribution across the boarder, and distributing them into a country where guns are illegal? More and more hypocrisy from the administration. I bet the Mexican gov't is angry over that one, but you'll never hear about it from the MSM.
  • mtkopf
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    To all who may be disappointed bc of the alleged favoritism shown to the reporter I say read the D.A.'s decision again. If Clyde Citizen is caught with the same clip he should definitely be prosecuted unless he could prove that he was debating the CEO of the NRA on national TV.
    Anything less than that Clyde and "You have the right to remain silent..."
  • RobertJHarsh
    !
    Third option should have been, publicity stunt. Prosecutor was in on to create the illusion that Gregory could have been charge and that these magazines are illegal everywhere. Kinda like how the Law and Order TV works. People think guns are illegal because they are illegal on that crappy show.
  • Enslaved
    !
    It's obvious David Gregory has abandoned any journalistic integrity for advocacy against the intent of the second amendment. Gregory's reporting demonstrated Gregory wants gun control. Gregory never informed the viewers why supporters of the second amendment and liberty hold the second amendment so dear. Nor does gregory inform his viewers that Washington DC has the tightest gun control laws and yet the highest murder rate. His one sides reporting is typical of Gregory and NBC.
  • TheWolf
    !
    Bad decision from the AG. I'm sure Gregory broke more than 1 law in the process, but I guess we'll never know. Where did he get the magazine from? How was it trafficked across state lines? Who conspired to help him commit the crime? What else did they find at his house after the police searched it? Were cell phones used in order to commit the crime? How many more charges would I have gotten if it was me, and not an NBC moderator? Continued hypocrisy from the left.
  • HungryJoe87111
    !
    Of course not: Anti-Gun newsmen, politicians, columnists, police officers, etc. are exempt from all laws that apply to the rest of us. See http colon forward slash forward slash tinyurl dot com forward slash bm2amd3 and http colon forward slash forward slash tinyurl dot com forward slash Jim-McCauley for statistics and reports.
  • John_Matrix
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    I find funny how this moron is willing to violate the very laws he wants enforced. This only proves the point that such laws are entirely ineffective since criminals, like this guy, don't follow them. Gotta love it when the opposition makes your argument for you.
  • MadAmerican
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    Sorry but if this was normal citizen he would have been arrested. This is just "cherry picking" by political interest. I guess being treated equally under the law doesn't work there.
  • BelinKS
    !
    I voted that he should not get in trouble for showing the magazine. I do have a question though. Would the prosecuting attorney have made the same decision if a Fox News journalist had done the same thing?
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