Update--Jim Webb's Aide (merged with original thread)

[rodc13]

Story excerpt from the AP.

Published: March 27, 2007
WASHINGTON, March 26 — A close aide to Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, was arrested on Monday and jailed after trying to take a loaded handgun into a Senate office building, officials said.

The aide, identified by Mr. Webb’s office as Phillip Thompson, 45, had a semiautomatic, 9 millimeter pistol and two magazines that were discovered after he put his bag through an X-ray machine at an entrance to the Russell Senate Office Building, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a spokeswoman for the United States Capitol Police. Mr. Thompson faces felony charges of carrying a pistol without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.

Another Congressional official briefed on the case said the aide had told the authorities that Mr. Webb gave him the pistol while being dropped at the airport and that he inadvertently took it to the Capitol complex.

“To our knowledge, this incident was an oversight by the senator’s aide,” said the spokeswoman, Jessica Smith. “Phillip Thompson is a former marine, a long-term friend and trusted employee of the senator." Mr. Webb, also a former Marine, is a decorated Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy.

Webb, in his answers to an NRA survey, described himself as an “NRA member for many years.” He wrote, “There are side benefits to my membership for me, as I am a hand-weapon enthusiast and shoot often at the NRA range in Fairfax.”

An unfortunate mistake, to be sure. Similar to a Texas judge a while back, and former Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer, and a few others recently. Carrying a bag you haven't verified through security is not a very good move in the post 9/11 world, especially in a Federal facility.

However, it's interesting to me that some folks here seem to be pretty quick to bash a pro-2nd Amendment lawmaker, former Marine, and decorated Vietnam vet. I hope this comes to a good end, for all concerned.

[Musketeer]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,261583,00.html

Looks like the Senator is taking the CYA approach fast. He now denies having given the gun to the aide.

With a recent big 2A victory in DC I wonder how hard this one should be pushed.

[riverkeeper]

Let's see:
At the AIRPORT some miles away Webb gives his handgun to the aide to take care of it.

The AIDE forgets about it and attempts to take it into the Senate building -- something HE is not authorized to do apparently.

Now WHY is the SENATOR in any way responsible for the AIDE's mistake?

Webb is good to go on individual handgun carry rights.

[goawayfarm]

Originally Posted by Musketeer

There is nothing to say that the Senator should not get away scott free here. If he told the aide there was a gun in the bag and the aide forgot it was the aide's fault.

We don't know yet......

IF the senator gave the aide the bag, didn't say what was in it, and then ordered the bag to be taken to his office then he is partly to blame.

If this is the case, I bet Webb doesn't get into trouble over it...or...just gets a 'stern talking to'....

The real catch is that the person carrying the bag is responsible for it. The aide learned this the hard way and the fact that they are Dems does not make me feel they need to be punished beyond what a Rep would be punished. If anything the complete lack of intent should allow this thing to be resolved without criminal court in my opinion.

I'm NOT advocating more punishment 'because he's a Dem'......I'm pissed that you, me & Joe blow citizen aren't treated the same way as a member of Congress! This bunch pass laws & them EXEMPT themselves from following those same laws.

Originally Posted by rodc13

However, it's interesting to me that some folks here seem to be pretty quick to bash a pro-2nd Amendment lawmaker, former Marine, and decorated Vietnam vet. I hope this comes to a good end, for all concerned.

My problem is that if it had been a Republican, the Dems would be calling for him to RESIGN. Anybody doubt that? Any time there is ANY controversy with a Republican, the dems demand a scalp!

There is an undeniable bias when it comes to the way Republicans & Democrats are treated in Washington when there is a possible crime.........Tom Delay had to resign over NOTHING, but Jefferson D-La is still free & member of the Homeland Security Committee, even though he had $90,000 in FBI BRIBE MONEY hid is his freezer. A Kennedy wrecks into a police barricade in DC, claimed he was on his way to vote (middle of the night?)......no charges.

As for Webb being pro-gun, we will see....a lot of democrats campaigned for guns & got elected........let's see what happens when it is time to vote on things like the AWB & any legislation that has to do with firearms!

It doesn't look to me that Webb or his office is coming clean on this incident. So far they're doing the DC shuffle. We don't yet know who's gun it is, or how it came to be in WASHINGTON DC!

As I said previously, the aide's going to be the fall guy...........

[goawayfarm]

Here are a couple of examples of what happens to the common man in these situations, also note the way the LEO is treated at the end of the article (next to last paragraph):

WHEN the new school year begins, Deena Esteban will not be among the legions of educators welcoming students back to class.

That's because Mrs. Esteban, a 43-year-old art teacher in Prince William County, Va., lost the job she loved after being convicted of a felony last fall. Her crime? Bringing a gun to school. Mrs. Esteban's case is a textbook case of zero-tolerance tyranny. Teachers are the forgotten casualties of the education establishment's absolutist war on guns.

Mrs. Esteban had never been in trouble with the law. The married mother of two owned a .38-caliber revolver for self-defense and - like millions of Americans across the country - held a valid, concealed-weapons permit. She carried the gun when she went out alone, mostly on errands. One fateful night last spring, she put the gun in her handbag before going out to entertain her visiting parents. The next morning, she brought the bag to school - not realizing the firearm was still in it, she says.

When she left the bag unattended for a short period in her classroom, a colleague opened it and found the gun. No one was hurt. It was an unfortunate accident. Mrs. Esteban says she would never do anything deliberately to put children in harm's way. She was willing to accept a reasonable punishment for her mistake.

Virginia makes it a misdemeanor to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in a manner that endangers children. Mrs. Esteban offered to plead guilty to that offense. But it wasn't enough for local prosecutors bent on "sending a message." Despite acknowledging that Mrs. Esteban showed no criminal intent, government lawyers threw the book at her. They charged Mrs. Esteban with a felony count of possessing a gun on school grounds. A jury convicted her last October, imposing a $2,500 fine and 12-month jail sentence. A judge suspended the prison term and slightly reduced the fine in January, but the incident continues to wreak havoc on the Esteban family.

Mrs. Esteban's former colleagues ostracized her and she has been unemployed since her arrest and conviction, which is headed to an appeals court next month. "No one wants to hire you when you have to check the box on the form that says 'Yes, I have been convicted of a felony,' " Mrs. Esteban notes sadly. "People think I'm some kind of dirtbag."

This overzealous gun-control policy has also robbed Mrs. Esteban of her privacy and personal dignity. She cannot travel out of state without permission. Her DNA is registered in a state database. And the police released her home address, phone number, and mug shot to the media.

Mrs. Esteban's husband, Philip, now works two jobs to support the family and help cover their legal bills. He believes this was "clearly a political prosecution…It's bizarre beyond comprehension that you can be convicted of merely possessing something that's constitutionally protected."

Mrs. Esteban's prosecution is not unique. More than 30 states criminalize possession of firearms on school grounds. Just last week, Renee Rudenick, a special education instructor in Kent, Wa., was put on trial for accidentally taking to school a gun that she had obtained after suffering domestic abuse. Like Mrs. Esteban, Mrs. Rudenick - a 30-year veteran teacher - was a licensed, legal concealed-weapons permit holder. Fortunately, a jury refused to convict her. But she, too, lost her job.

Now, compare the teachers' plights with that of Albert McCarthy, a Chester County, Pa., police chief who accidentally left his Glock semi-automatic on an elementary school bathroom window sill this spring during a break from a drug education lecture. His punishment? A four-day suspension without pay.

Law-enforcement officials are exempt from prosecution for making mistakes, but teachers licensed to carry concealed weapons are not. Why? To protect the children, society has deemed that teachers must not be allowed to protect themselves in their workplace. The classroom has become a Second Amendment-free zone. So much for "sensible" gun control.

[SammyIamToday]

Statement by Webb in the CNN update to the article.

Originally Posted by Webb

The District of Columbia has much tighter gun laws than Virginia, and Webb declined comment on his compliance with Washington's ordinances. But he said it is important for him "to be able to defend myself and my family."

"Since 9/11, for people who are in government, I think in general, there has been an agreement that it's a more dangerous time," he said. "I'm not going to comment, again, with great specificity about how I defend myself, but I do feel that I have that right."

Not bad statements really!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/...gun/index.html

[goawayfarm]

Looks like the aid will NOT be prosecuted. Prosecutor says not enough evidence to prove their case.

[Tom G]

Wonder what they would have done if it was Hilary Clinton????

[Shadowsbane]

Just a question, what exactly is registered ammunition?

[Dakotaranger]

Originally Posted by goawayfarm

Looks like the aid will NOT be prosecuted. Prosecutor says not enough evidence to prove their case.

Well, that's a good thing. I'm not a fan of any Dems and if it was a Rep staffer they may have called for the Repub senator to resign.

But it is easy to see how this could happen. All Sen. Webb would have had to do is hand the staffer a briefcase to secure and not mention that his pistol was in it.