Expect this post to be updated without a notation of such updates as I work to put up the petition and this post and the crosslink them both.
The petition is here. As of this writing, the White House website states that it will not be publicly viewable until it reaches one hundred and fifty signatures. So please help!
On the other hand, there is a petition to prosecute him, here, which just seems mean-spirited.
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Pardon David Gregory and others for violating D.C.'s gun laws as they violate the Second Amendment and for other reasons
Recently in an interview on Meet the Press with NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre, host David Gregory produced what he claimed was an empty high capacity magazine, which held up to thirty bullets, and while waving it about asked Mr. LaPierre about whether such high capacity magazines should be banned.
As you are certainly aware, possessing this magazine was in direct violation of D.C. Code §7-2506.1(b) which states that
No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” shall not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
There is some suggestion in the press that he might have mistakenly believed this was legal due to poor advice from the ATF itself although the truth of the matter has yet to be definitively determined. But unfortunately mistake of law is no defense to its violation. Further, the fact that Mr. Gregory was unlikely to harm a person is beside the point. As President Obama surely knows as an attorney, this is a strict liability offense; there is no requirement that Mr. Gregory have a guilty mindset.
However, prosecution for this offense would be unjust for several reasons.
First, the prohibition violates the Second Amendment. The purpose of the Second Amendment is in significant part to allow the people to challenge the military might of the Federal Government should it ever become necessary to invoke the right of rebellion. While I do not expect to see a valid invocation of this right within my lifetime, the Constitutional right nonetheless must be respected and accordingly we the people must have access to arms commensurate to this task.
Second, the ban is arbitrary. Limiting the size of a magazine only means you have to reload more often. A person experienced with a firearm can perform that task in less than a second. It will not prevent a single massacre.
Third, because the law is a strict liability act, it means that people acting wholly innocently can be caught in its snare. So for instance, if a man should see a child holding on to such a magazine, and take it from the child for the purpose of turning it in to the to police, he inadvertently violates the same laws and faces up to one year in confinement for this “crime.” This is manifestly unjust. Strict liability crimes should be limited to the most obviously wrong or dangerous acts, and carrying around what amounts to a metal box with springs does not count.
Finally, these laws are unjust precisely because they are so complicated. If the District of Columbia’s laws are so labyrinth that even an experienced ATF agent doesn’t know what is and is not illegal, what chance does the ordinary citizen have? The complexity of these laws in turn creates a chilling effect that discourages law abiding citizens from the ownership of guns in the first place, compromising their ability to protect their own lives and this great republic.
Accordingly, we the undersigned petition President Obama to pardon David Gregory so as to remove the cloud of potential prosecution from him forthwith. The pardon should also be granted to any person who helped him procure this magazine. Further, we petition that the President review all other convictions under this statute, and pardon every other person convicted of violating this statute, unless there is strong evidence that such persons did commit crimes with such high capacity magazines or intended to do so. Finally, we ask President Obama to review the laws of the District of Columbia and take a leadership position in making sure the right to bear arms, guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution, is fully respected and that the laws are made comprehensible to people of ordinary intelligence and knowledge.
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So, if you agree, I hope you will go to the Whitehouse website and sign it and use your First Amendment rights to vindicate the Second. Because after all, it is the Second Amendment which protects the First.
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My wife and I have lost our jobs due to the harassment of convicted terrorist Brett Kimberlin, including an attempt to get us killed and to frame me for a crime carrying a sentence of up to ten years. I know that claim sounds fantastic, but if you read starting here, you will see absolute proof of these claims using documentary and video evidence. If you would like to help in the fight to hold Mr. Kimberlin accountable, please hit the Blogger’s Defense Team button on the right. And thank you.
Follow me at Twitter @aaronworthing, mostly for snark and site updates. And you can purchase my book (or borrow it for free if you have Amazon Prime), Archangel: A Novel of Alternate, Recent History here. And you can read a little more about my novel, here.
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Disclaimer:
I have accused some people, particularly Brett Kimberlin, of reprehensible conduct. In some cases, the conduct is even criminal. In all cases, the only justice I want is through the appropriate legal process—such as the criminal justice system. I do not want to see vigilante violence against any person or any threat of such violence. This kind of conduct is not only morally wrong, but it is counter-productive.
In the particular case of Brett Kimberlin, I do not want you to even contact him. Do not call him. Do not write him a letter. Do not write him an email. Do not text-message him. Do not engage in any kind of directed communication. I say this in part because under Maryland law, that can quickly become harassment and I don’t want that to happen to him.
And for that matter, don’t go on his property. Don’t sneak around and try to photograph him. Frankly try not to even be within his field of vision. Your behavior could quickly cross the line into harassment in that way too (not to mention trespass and other concerns).
And do not contact his organizations, either. And most of all, leave his family alone.
The only exception to all that is that if you are reporting on this, there is of course nothing wrong with contacting him for things like his official response to any stories you might report. And even then if he tells you to stop contacting him, obey that request. That this is a key element in making out a harassment claim under Maryland law—that a person asks you to stop and you refuse.
And let me say something else. In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any person supporting me has done any of the above. But if any of you have, stop it, and if you haven’t don’t start.
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