Gun Owner Nabbed Near Obama Was Bush Employee

[kpete]

Source: Mother Jones

Gun Owner Nabbed Near Obama Was Bush Employee

— By Nick Baumann
| Wed Dec. 23, 2009 3:25 AM PST

The man who was arrested with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition near the Capitol during President Barack Obama's health care speech in September had been an employee of the George W. Bush White House. The arrest of the man, Joshua Bowman, was widely reported at the time, but the news stories made no mention of his previous employment: For several years he worked in the Executive Office of the President, dealing with tech issues, including White House emails, his lawyer, George Braun, tells Mother Jones.

On the night of September 9, Bowman was on his way to meet Braun, a Bush administration political appointee, at the National Republican Club on First Street, SE when he was stopped by Capitol Police around 7:45 p.m.—minutes before Obama was scheduled to deliver a major address to Congress pushing his health care initiative. Bowman had driven up to a security checkpoint and told officers he wanted to park, but his lack of a permit for the area aroused their suspicions, and they asked to search his car.

Bowman had a bumper sticker like this one on his car, according to court records.

The previous weekend, Bowman and Braun had gone duck-hunting, according to Braun. But Bowman forgot that he still had the guns in his car when he consented to a search of his vehicle, a Honda Civic with a bumper sticker proclaiming, "I'll keep my guns, freedom, and money.... you keep the change." The officers found a Beretta 12 gauge automatic shotgun, a .22 caliber long rifle, and over 400 rounds of ammunition in Bowman's trunk. The guns were unloaded and in their cases, according to court records. Braun says they were disassembled. The Capitol Police took Bowman into custody and charged him with two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. He faced up to $3,000 in fines and as much as three years in jail. (The case is still pending.)

When Braun—who was at the National Republican Club, hanging out with congressmen including Iowa's Tom Latham and Nebraska's Lee Terry—finally heard from Bowman, it was around 10 p.m. Bowman told Braun he needed Braun to get him out of jail, explaining that he had been stopped with guns in his car. "Don't you know that's illegal?" Braun asked. Both men were surprised when they heard the story on the radio as they left jail the next day. Braun thought the coverage was excessive. "They were making him sound like a terrorist," Braun said. "Does look like a terrorist? He has the élan to walk around with a bowtie."

Read more: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/12/joshua-bowman-gun-charges-bush-white-house-employee

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. guns don't kill. Assholes with bowties kill. I get it. Really.

[FreakinDJ]

34. This story has been DEBUNKED already

Making MOUNTAINS out of Mole Hills really

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7305322&mesg_id=7305322

This story really hurts Mother Jones Credibility the more then any thing else

[RaleighNCDUer]

57. You keep using that word - 'debunked'.

I don't think it means what you think it means.

[ShockediSay]

76. Time to 'fully enforce' our gun laws, as the NRA

urges as a better course than gun control

[kestrel91316]

90. So, he DIDN'T have a car full of guns near Obama? He DIDN'T work in the Bush WH??

Right.

Debunked, my ass.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Smirk." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[midnight]

3. I remember a similar friendship scenario with ties to the bush family when Reagan

was shot.....

[Wizard777]

10. This is different. He was going Duck Hunting. That's a Cheneyism for shoot Obama in the face.

They didn't want a repeat of Hinkley's mistake. He shot Reagan in the armpit. As Poppa Bush knows the head shot worked quite well on JFK.

[Blasphemer]

73. Yes, there was indeed... nt

[CBHagman]

4. Four hundred rounds of ammunition...

..and on a trip to the Capitol? That just leaves me speechless...

[shadowknows69]

5. Makes me not want to visit D.C. for a while at least. People are losing it.

[RamboLiberal]

16. Your in more danger from thugs in D.C. than this asshat

Get real. He was no danger to Obama or you.

[shadowknows69]

18. I'm in just as much danger in my hometown apparently

My brother in laws best friend was gunned down by a couple of 17 year olds a few weeks ago. On our city's main street.

[RamboLiberal]

24. Sorry to hear about your Brother-In-Laws friend

Hope they caught the killers and put them in prison.

[shadowknows69]

26. They have three suspects. One an older man who presumably might have provided gun.

But 17 on a 2nd degree murder. Maybe pled down to manslaughter? We're going to get two hardened 30 year old killers back on the streets eventually.

[AlbertCat]

29. Makes me not want to visit D.C. for a while at least. People are losing it.

Stay away from those snow ball fights!


Search results on YouTube for "Snowball fight, guns"

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=snowball%20fight%2C%20guns&search=Search&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&spell=1

[shadowknows69]

32. Saw that one too. Even the guys who are supposed to have guns are losing it.

[RobMan]

15. Yes, but.....

Riding around the capitol with firearms is just plain stupid, period!

However on a contrary note, I compete in trap & skeet shooting and routinely transport my shotgun and ammunition between my home and to where events are being held in my state. Just an FYI, typical competition flights expend between 50 to 100 rounds of ammunition per flight. This means I may need a more than a case of shells to make it though a day of practice or competition.....i.e. I'm lugging between 250-300 rounds in the trunk. Case value is also the easiest way to by shotgun shells (in bulk), and those who hunt might also avail themselves of this process. Finally, a case of shotgun shells (250) is actually a very small package, a brick about 18 inches long, and four high.

Again just a contrary view and yes I'm a liberal with a gun.

[RamboLiberal]

17. I agree with you on the ammo Robman as I said in a later post

Since I shoot pistol competition all through the months of April - October nearly every weekend and can easily go through 300+ rounds in a weekend there's often 1000+ rounds in an ammo box in my vehicle. Guess I'm a terrorist. :evilgrin:

[RobMan]

20. He, he

You and me Rambo....I dabble in IDPA up here in the non freezing months in Maine. Nothing wrong with responsible ownership, although I haven't always felt this way about handguns. Then there's the zombie apocalypse we have to prepare for!!

[AlbertCat]

28. Four hundred rounds of ammunition.....and on a trip to the Capitol?

"Oh darn it! I forgot that rocket launcher was in the back seat. See, I was duck hunting last month and have been riding around, going to church and picking up the kids (who had to move it to sit in the back) but I just keep forgetting to take the damn thing and the grenades in the house. Oops, my bad. I'll just park my car and all the explosives in it right here on the street, if you don't mind officer, and walk to my meeting at the War Mongering Corporatist Club. It's just down the street."

[X_Digger]

30. Big box sporting goods stores sell 22lr in boxes of 500..

.. it's a box about 3" x 4" x 4" (22lr is a small round.)

12ga boxes in 100-200 count are also available, not rare or anything.

[Hepburn]

39. 400 rounds to go duck hunting?

:wtf:

[gorfle]

45. Why? 22 ammo is sold in boxes of 500 at Walmart.

The guy obviously went on a duck hunting trip with his Beretta and brought his .22 rifle along, probably for plinking.

When I go duck hunting I buy shotgun shells by the case of 100. When I buy .22 ammo I buy it in the box of 500, for about $20.

There is nothing spectacular about the quantity of ammunition in the story.

[AtheistCrusader]

49. Not so much for duck hunting

but when practicing for duck hunting at an outdoor range with skeet/trap shooting, two people can blow through 200 rounds in 4 sets of continental, or basically, 20-30 minutes.

And ammo for .22's tends to come in 300-500 round bricks.

This aspect of the issue is pretty much a non-story, if the guns were actually for lawful purposes, and he was just in the wrong place with them.

Neither weapon is particularly suited to any criminal malfeasance. That shotgun is over 3 feet long. You're not getting near anyone with it, without being seen.

[NickB79]

54. To put that in perspective, a 550-rd brick of .22LR ammo would fit on your open hand

It has dimensions of 3"x3"x4" (roughly), weighs a couple pounds, and is sold at Walmart for $12.

400 rounds of .22LR is nothing.

[aquart]

56. But it was perfectly innocent.

Don't all Republicans do that?

[Wizard777]

6. "A Bush Employee" So they caught Osama bin Laden. YEAH!

[Dogtown]

7. 400 rounds

seems excessive for a duck-hunt, even for a Cheneybot.

[Ready4Change]

22. It's common for .22s

.22 ammunition is most often bought in 500+ round boxes. It's very similar to a can of peanuts. The container is about the same size, and the rounds are roughly the size of a peanut. (Although a box of .22 is a lot heavier than a can of peanuts.) You can buy it in smaller quantities, but the price per round goes up, which goes against the main attraction of .22 (it's affordability.) So, when people buy .22 ammo, they most often buy it in larger (cheaper) quantities.

Then, once you have it, a box of .22 is so small that you generally just take it all with you on a shooting trip.

[Dogtown]

36. Yes, that's possible.

And, of course, it's pretty hard to hit those ducks with a .22.

Or maybe he just had the .22 for "mercy shots", JIC he only winged 'em...

[Ready4Change]

47. Depends on the trip.

I'm not a big hunter. As a kid I was able to hit swallows on the fly with a BB gun, so that sort of thing isn't impossible.

More likely, though, was that the .22 was thrown in the trunk in case a chance to plink came up.

All assuming that his claim as to why the guns were in the trunk is true.

[Dogtown]

55. More likely the whole affair was staged

to inspire others. It may have occured to the opposition that seeing others armed in the vicinity of the POTUS without penalty may stimulate those with actual intent to give it a try.



I'd assume that a former WH staffer would have sense enough to remember that he's lugging an arsenal about in a sensitive area.

[RaleighNCDUer]

58. Agree. While a shotgun and a .22 rifle might not exactly qualify as an 'arsenal'

it is completely beyond credulity that a former WH staffer - who obviously was made aware of security on a daily basis for years - would "forget" he had the weapons in the trunk.

If asked, I could tell you exactly what is in the trunk of my car - and NONE of it is as memorable as a weapon.

So MY question is, why is he LYING about it?

[Dogtown]

64. Agreed

And my hyperbole was misplaced. Clearly, he had an agenda, and that's all that matters.

[fascisthunter]

8. that makes sense... the Nazi Party did the same shit

and Bush and the religious right wing are the closest to the nazi ideology. Spreading fear, paranoia and hatred is what these people do, in hopes some whackjob out there buys their BS and does something like kill a politician. These freaks know exactly what they are doing... the whackjob dummies don't.


This guy is one of those "whackjob dummies".

[slackmaster]

40. Yes, newspapers during the Nazi era often had headlines like "Jew caught with stolen goods"

Or "Jew caught with stolen goods is former employee of Rothschild family."

Of course we have our own version of that here in California.

[Igel]

52. Uh, one problem.

The guy with the .22 isn't spreading fear. The Nazis had a good way of publicizing trivial events and making them seem truly fearsome in order to buttress support for their party and demonize others.

MJ, gee, they're the ones doing the publicizing. Of a trivial event. To make it seem truly fearsome. In order to make Obama into a victim. And demonize repubs, or at least * repubs.

Now *that's* spreading fear, so if you really like your analogy you can keep it--just apply it with a bit more deftness.

Don't give in to your fears and react in a knee-jerk fashion.

[RaleighNCDUer]

59. Are you merely pretending not to get it?

He said he "forgot" the weapons were in his car, as he tried to get unauthorized access to government parking near the Capitol.

Would YOU ever forget about a shotgun and rifle that you had in the trunk of YOUR car?

He obviously LIED about the weapons. He has an agenda. What is it?

[RamboLiberal]

65. How the hell do you know he is LIED?

You never forgot you left something in the trunk? Hunting season he may find it easier to leave the guns & ammo in the car instead of continually taking them in and out at his house.

[Kevin Cloyd]

9. a 22 cal rifle

is not a legal weapon to use for duck hunting. (it's a little rifle better suited for hunting rabbits or plinking tin cans)

[safeinOhio]

13. Would take about 400 rounds of 22 amo

to hit a fast flying duck.

[madmom]

11. This is a guy too stupid to own a gun. You don't forget where your firearms are period even

if they are "disassembled" they are weapons you know where they are all the time. You are responsible for them. He should be locked up for that alone!

[OnyxCollie]

12. Huh. Whaddya know.

Another fine American.:sarcasm:

[RamboLiberal]

14. He's a dumbass gun owner - but then he is a Repub & a Bushie

But IMHO he was no threat with his guns to Obama. He was just incredibly stupid not to know the draconian gun laws of D.C. and to have left them in the car.

Beyond that any of you here trying to make this in to a big deal and a threat to Obama are IMHO as stupid as this idiot and just as partisan in making mountains out of molehills by portraying him as an assasin as the Repukes.

400 rounds of ammo is no biggie either. I've often carried 1000 or more rounds since I do competative shooting. He may also do some target, skeet, or trap with his guns.

[mistertrickster]

69. Agreed. This is where one has to know about guns to know what they're talking about.

Sorry, folks . . . not trying to sound like a pedant, but the facts are you have to have first-hand knowledge before you can pass judgement.

A .22 rifle and a 12 gauge.

Those would be about the two WORST choices that someone would pick for an assassination attempt.

The .22 is about the smallest, lightest, most under-powered projectile you can find. It would only be effective from 10 feet away to the back of the head.

The 12 gauge is a fine defensive weapon against home invasion. Police use them as riot guns. But for picking somebody off at a distance of over 50 yards, it's useless.

To knock somebody off, one would use an easily concealable pistol, like Reagan's shooter or John Lennon's killer or Sirhan B. Sirhan who shot RFK. OR if one chooses the sniper-from-a-distance tactic, one would use a high-powered rifle (as opposed to a low-powered .22) like Oswald's Italian 6.5mm Carcano or John Malvo's Bushmaster.

True, this guy is lying when he says he "forgot" about the guns in his trunk.

But as far as a credible threat against the President, I don't see much there.

[onehandle]

19. Sounds like a danger to us all. Put him away. nt

[RamboLiberal]

21. Knee jerk

Only danger he is to us is his politics. Putting him in jail makes as much sense as putting in jail a grass smoker.

[AlbertCat]

31. Only danger he is to us is his politics.

I dunno...

FORGETTING where you left several guns with ammo sounds like a dumb ass who is dangerous to me....whether liberal or conservative.

I'll bet he doesn't leave his cell phone in the car...but a couple of guns with ammo? No problamo!

The bumper sticker reinforces the "lawless" gun nut mentality


Stupid and armed is always dangerous.

[RamboLiberal]

33. In a locked trunk - so what

If he left them at his house they could be stolen as well. Or as someone else pointed out - if he was robbed of his credit cards thieves could use them to buy guns.

One thing I do think is stupid is putting a "gun" bumper sticker or an NRA sticker on your car. I think it is an advertisement to thieves or cops that this car may contain firearms.

In my personal opinion there should be a national law that covers a law-abiding gun owner who has an unloaded and secured firearm in the trunk or cargo location of their vehicle. There are too many "gotcha" laws by cities and states that can bite a gun-owner in the butt.

Let's say this guy was going on a trip to hunt but first wanted to make a quick stop in D.C. for business. I don't care what his political affiliation, I think he was caught by one of the stupid draconian laws in this country.

[RaleighNCDUer]

61. You are a gun owner. I would give any odds that you know exactly

where every one of your weapons is.

He "forgot" they were there is a LIE. You know it. I know it.

He was trying to get into a restricted parking area that he had formerly used when he worked at the WH. He HAD to know that he would be stopped, as he no longer had authorization to use that lot. When they asked to search his car, why didn't he mention he had the weapons? Why did he LIE about "forgetting" them?

Maybe he was no threat - but wouldn't LYING about the weapons tend to indicate to any security personnel that he MIGHT be?

[RamboLiberal]

66. You have no damn way of know he LIED!

DU Knee jerk cause he's a Bushie & a Republican.

[RaleighNCDUer]

67. I KNOW he lied because it beggars all credulity that he would

"forget" the weapons were in the car - particularly in a place where the rules are so strict. He worked there for years. He was in and out of the WH on a daily basis - he could not have POSSIBLY not known about security issues in DC.

A guy with a 79 IQ might forget - but guys with a 79 IQ don't become WH computer techies.

He lied.

[RamboLiberal]

68. Bullcrap - I doubt he parked much at the White House

More likely if he brought a vehicle it was parked offsite. He wouldn't be subject to searches in that case. Guns in the car would be still illegal of course under D.C. law. But I can believe that this dummy 28 year old may not even been aware the it was illegal. It's not like he was a top WH staffer. Since he consented to the search of his car when he came in to the restricted area he either forgot he had the guns in the car or he wasn't aware that having them there was illegal. Why the hell would a 28 year old who wasn't attending the presidential event want to go through the hassle of possible jail time, a criminal record, and the huge expense of lawyers for an agenda?

He was a doofus but I don't believe he had an agenda or LIED!

Give him a lie detector test but till then you are spouting Bullcrap. You don't know the guy or know what was in his head that day.

[RamboLiberal]

70. By your standards this guy LIED too

A top aide to Sen. James Webb was charged yesterday with trying to carry a loaded pistol and extra ammunition into a Senate office building, U.S. Capitol Police said.

The staffer, Phillip Thompson, told police that the gun belonged to Webb (D-Va.), authorities said. Thompson also said he forgot that the gun was in a briefcase and meant no harm, they said.

Thompson, 44, a longtime friend of Webb's and the senator's executive assistant, was jailed pending an appearance today in D.C. Superior Court. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.

The gun was discovered at 10:30 a.m. when Thompson arrived at the C Street entrance of the Russell Senate Office Building, according to Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a Capitol Police spokeswoman. An X-ray machine revealed the gun in a briefcase. Police also found two fully loaded magazines, officials said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032602102.html

And this gun was loaded & he had loaded magazines. Not a dissasembled shotgun & .22 rifle with ammo that was probably boxed in a locked trunk. What was Thompson's agenda?

[RaleighNCDUer]

71. No idea about his agenda, but yes, he lied too. nt

[RamboLiberal]

72. What are you - The Mentalist?

You are only speculating. You don't know either man and you have no clue if they lied or are forgetful. Wow - they really wanted to get in to deep doo-doo and spend thousands on lawyers, risk arrest and jail time plus a record.

BTW the Secret Service didn't give a shit about the guns he had and I'm betting the stupid D.C. law is eventually going to be struck down.

Braun suggested that Bowman was only caught with the guns because he was used to having a White House security pass and expected to be able to park near the Capitol. He probably wouldn't have been stopped and searched by Capitol Police if he had still had the pass. He had left government employ just a few weeks earlier, having landed a high-paying job at Northrop Grumman. "He hung out for a long time. He worked for a Republican administration and he was pretty much the last person in the Democratic administration. It's not that he thought the new administration was right or wrong—it's called 'a year and a day,' and Josh was there for six," Braun said, referring to the Washington tradition of working a government job for long enough to put it on your resume and then leaving for a higher-paid private sector gig.

It seems pretty clear that Bowman wasn't planning anyone any harm when he drove to Capitol Hill in September. Braun claims the Secret Service was unconcerned about the incident (no federal charges were filed) because they knew Bowman from his years in the White House. But having unregistered guns in the District of Columbia is illegal (although perhaps not for much longer if gun rights advocates continue to win court challenges), and Bowman certainly made a big mistake. Even his girlfriend thought so. "His girlfriend called me up and asked, 'Is my boyfriend the stupidest guy in the world or what?'" Braun said. For the moment, it's unclear whether that mistake will land Bowman in jail.

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/12/joshua-bowman-gun-charges-bush-white-house-employee

Oh and how the Thompson case came out - charges dismissed.

Prosecutors today dismissed the gun charge filed last month against an aide to Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) who was caught bringing a loaded pistol into the Russell Senate Office Building.

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor said in a statement late today that his office had concluded that the essential elements of the charge -- carrying a pistol without a license -- could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Filed in D.C. Superior Court, the dismissal brings to an apparent end an embarrassing episode for Webb, a gun rights advocate, and the aide, Phillip Thompson, a former marine who serves as Webb's executive assistant.

Thompson was entering the Russell Building on March 26 when a gun and ammunition showed up during a routine X-ray of his bag. Capital police officers seized the firearm and arrested Thompson, who explained that he had been safeguarding the gun for Webb and that he had picked up the wrong bag on his way to Capitol Hill.

To prove the charge, prosecutors would have had to show that Thompson knew he had the gun.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042701759.html

[X_Digger]

74. It's his variation of the 'no true scotsman' logical fallacy..

Ya see, 'responsible gun owners' have this telepathic sense about where every gun and round of ammunition they own is at all times. They never forget and leave a gun in the trunk after going hunting. If they do, then well, they're not a 'responsible gun owner'.

So in this case, giving them the benefit of the doubt, there must've been an alternate reason for the guns being where they were- obviously their gun-spidey sense would have been tingling, making forgetting them impossible, so they must've ignored it for a nefarious reason.

[Gold Metal Flake]

23. "...dealing with tech issues, including White House emails..."

Is he one of the ones who hid Bush Admin connunications? Was he working on the theft of 2004?

[peacetalksforall]

25. Not a threat. Imagine that.

[davsand]

27. Unca Dick must have left his "undisclosed location"... Oh--wait--It said employee?

Never mind. I read that quickly and thought it said employer.



Laura

[johnlal]

35. I think this dude needs a new lawyer...

I don't know whether he's guilty, or incredibly stupid. Unless I hear more, I can't really tell if hunting rifles in the back of a car makes him a would-be political assassin. That's too much of a stretch. However, his attorney's comments look weird:

1. His lawyer is also his alibi. Not only was his lawyer his hunting buddy (and his excuse for having guns in the car), but his lawyer was also the person he was going to meet in DC when he got arrested. Really?


2. His defense of "He doesn't look like a terrorist--terrorists don't wear bowties" isn't quite conclusive. It is also not-so-subtle racism.

[Naked_Ape]

37. I believeBowman's story

They sell .22 ammo in boxes of 500. I often take a .22 or similar 'plinking gun' along when I go on hunting trips. It's fun. Hunting is fun. Neither of these firearms, the expensive shotgun nor the .22, are the type of weapon typically used in acts of violence against persons. However...

Everybody knows, certainly everybody who is a gun owner and has any political awareness, that D.C. has very strict gun laws. I live in Texas and I know that you can't carry weapons through D.C. Furthermore it is Basic Firearms Safety that you know where your guns are at all times and know that they are secure. Leaving them in a car in a public parking lot is Not "secure." "Forgetting" where you left them is not "secure." Bowman exhibits the same type of half-assed casual attitude where the rules do not applying to him that we saw throughout the Bush administration. All you Obama haters here on DU forget how far we have come in less than a year.

[johnlal]

41. Obama haters

I agreed with your post all the way up to your gratuitous swipe at the end. I assume you're referring to people who don't like Obama's handling of healthcare.
The only thing worse than 8 years of Republicans telling us to shut up is 8 years of Democrats telling us to shut up.

[Naked_Ape]

42. just remember

how far we have come and how far we yet have to go. Yes, we need to hold the administration's feet to the fire, but we also need to give them the tools (Senators) needed to get the job done over GOP stonewalling.

[johnlal]

43. Thanks for the lecture.

I'm sure it will keep me in line.

[johnlal]

51. And Remember

GW Bush got a whole lot accomplished with much fewer Senators. We gave Obama a LOT of Senators. He has the responsibility to make the best use of our majority.

[jbnow]

87. gw bush's policies were usually on the same side as lobbyist money

That makes it a lot easier to get cooperation!
Over last year the health care industry has 6 lobbyists for very one of the 535 members congress
CNN broke down their spending as a daily average.. 806,000 per day!
How much of that do you think was for strong reform?

Then there is a whole new use of the filibuster
For most of the last century there were very few...even in the 50s there wasn't more than 7 in a session.
It jumped to in the 40s or 50s per session this century
Until the 110th Congress. Filibuster was invoked 139 times by Republicans in 2008.
The rate for 11th Congress is at a record pace over that.

With the likes of lieberman, nelson and so on saying we have a filibuster proof majority is so not true.

We could say maybe Dems should have done this wqhile they were minority...but no one had done this. It was never meant to be used this way.

So blaming Obama just doesn't really tell the story.

Not saying he has tried hard enough. Not sure trying hard would have made a difference in outcome...but I'd like to see him try.

[slackmaster]

38. Interesting that MJ would identify the guy as "Gun owner" rather than "Man" or whatever occupation

Could it be that the author wants to paint gun owners as some kind of pariah class?

No, Mother Jones would never publish something that bigoted.

:sarcasm:

[RaleighNCDUer]

62. Considering that the guy was busted for a GUN VIOLATION

I think it kind of makes sense.

"Gun Owner Nabbed Near Capitol Former Bush Employee"

"Former Bush Employee Nabbed Near Capitol with Guns"

Which is the more honest, accurate headline?

[slackmaster]

75. Owning a gun is not a "gun violation"

He was DRIVING somewhere he wasn't supposed to go with guns in the trunk of his car, so it would actually make more sense to say "Driver Detained Near Capitol Had Guns In Car".

"Gun Owner Nabbed Near Capitol Former Bush Employee"

"Former Bush Employee Nabbed Near Capitol with Guns"

Which is the more honest, accurate headline?

I prefer the second one, because normally people are identified in news stories by their occupation or profession rather than some piece of hardware they own. It would be better to identify him by his present occupation rather than a job he had in the past.

Both are very poorly written BTW. ;-)

[cabluedem]

78. Baloney! He committed a gun crime, Period! nt

[slackmaster]

80. OH TEH NOES!!! GUN CRIME!!! GUN CRIME!!!!11!!!!!!

A victimless crime, a misdemeanor that never put anyone in any actual danger.

I hope that was panicky enough for you.

[peacetalksforall]

44. They found a guy with guns and it hit the news and faded. Now, it is revealed

that he was a WH tech guy involved e-mail 'handling'?

This is the news of the day - he was a WH employee. This is an affiliation that we didn't know when the arrest news came out.

So the gun enthusiasts are giving him a pass without knowing more.

The gun enthusaists are all quoting what they would do. Did they work in the WH as a technician?

Let's wait for the case. If there is one.
Has anyone researched the background and tidbits about the lawyer.

We are in that place of suspension where we don't know enough to give him a pass.

Caution of judgement, patience to learn more, and curiosity about knowing more is tossed - and we have a group of gun lovers on this thread want to let him off and to move along.

Give me a break about giving the guy a pass. I say there are ridiculous and irresponsbile postings here.

[Doctor_J]

46. Waving a gun near Obama is no longer a crime.

Though when Palin becomes president in 2013, I am sure those who want to carry guns as presidential events will be either shot on sight or incarcerated for a long time. But for now there really aren't any limits on carrying lethal weapons near the prez. Yet the gun culture thinks their Amendment is "in danger and under attack" :eyes:. I wish the 1st Amendment was as healthy as theirs.

[X_Digger]

48. Captain Hyperbole to the rescue!

Who was 'waving a gun near Obama'?

[Paladin]

79. No Sense In Mentioning Those Openly Armed Intimidation Goons......

...who showed up in the vicinity of Obama speaking engagements not too long ago, making international news (and winning approval from the DU Guns forum). Like a typical gun militant, you'd just squeal about those individuals not actually "waving" their sidearms, detracting attention from the problem......

[X_Digger]

81. Please define 'in the vicinity of'..

Do tell, Paladin, how someone 3 blocks and 2 blocks (respectively, NH & AZ) from the venue were some kind of threat?

[Paladin]

82. Thanks For Proving My Point So Vividly. Take The Rest Of The Day Off. (n/t)

[X_Digger]

83. Chicken Little, you can take a break now..

.. the overwrought hand wringing followed by tut-tut'ing really makes you a relic.

The worm has turned an no amount of poutrage will change public opinion.

[Paladin]

84. Get Somebody To Work With You On Your Insult Skills.

Trust me, you need the help.

And if "the worm has turned" and public opinion has really changed on the firearms issue, as you claim---how come you and your fellow DU gun obsessives are still so frantic about it all, 24/7? Even when you have the upper hand, you can't give up acting like a bunch of losers.....

[X_Digger]

85. The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilence

Do you doubt that public opinion has turned?

Here's some questions from a poll commissioned by Bloomberg's 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns'
(http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/luntz_poll_questionnaire_and_responses.pdf)

“Law-abiding Americans should have the freedom to choose how to protect themselves, based on their personal situation. No local, state or federal government should dictate this decision.”
NRA / NON-NRA
92% / 83% AGREE (NET)

A proposal requiring every gun owner to register each gun he or she owns as part of a national gun registry.
NRA / NON-NRA
59% / 42% OPPOSE (NET)

A federal law allowing guns to be carried in America’s national parks.
NRA / NON-NRA
76% / 51% SUPPORT (NET)

In the Heller v. D.C. case, the Supreme Court ruled that there is a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense. Do you ____ with this ruling?
NRA / NON-NRA
95% / 92% AGREE (NET)

“The Second Amendment should apply to state and local laws, not just federal laws.”
NRA / NON-NRA
93% / 86% AGREE (NET)

Do you think President Obama will attempt to ban the sales of guns in the United States at some point while he is president?
NRA / NON-NRA
79% / 57% YES (NET)

And let's not forget these..




(from: http://www.gallup.com/poll/117361/Support-Gun-Control-Laws-Time-Lows.aspx)

[Paladin]

88. A Stich In Time Saves Nine.

And your movement isn't based on eternal vigilence, it's based on eternal paranoia. Enjoy your stay at the top, it won't last......

[RamboLiberal]

50. Let him off on the guns

Investigate him on the emails. His guns had nothing to do with the disappearance of emails.

The anti-gun crowd are the ones with some knee jerk dumb posts in this thread.

[RaleighNCDUer]

63. And, coincidentally, just this week we found that those millions of missing

emails that vanished have been found.

Only a coincidence, I'm sure.

[Joe Chi Minh]

53. I guess they're taking his guns, freedom & money... Change? I don't see why

he would end up with any change, since paper-currency denominations tend to be in round figures, were he to pay cash.

'Mouth and Trousers R Us', seems to be the Republican rednecks' motto.' That bumper sticker sure sounded slick, though.

[mstinamotorcity]

60. For an e-mail tech

it doesn't sound like this is the brightest light bulb in the ceiling.If he has been working in D.C. during the Dubya years, he should have gotten arrested on just that alone far as i am concerned. But having any firearm that is not properly secured is a terrible lack of conscience,f--ked up,and inherently dangerous.The fact that he was a regular to the D.C. area he should have known better than to bring firearms to a restricted area or someplace where they are prohibited. But like all of the people of the Dubya/Shooter era they feel as though the laws don't apply to them.So its no wonder that he and his lawyer were completely dumbfounded when they heard about it in reports on the news.Most gun owners who hunt and target practice for sport are usually extremely cautious about the handling of their weapons.This sounds like an irresponsible and unreliable weapon owner.So if he is in any violation of the law in that District he should be brought to justice like anyone else that would have violated such ordinances.To own a gun or not to own a gun it is a matter of choice and as it stands, a right.My advice don't duck hunt with Dick Cheney}( }( }( :P :P :P

[cabluedem]

77. Yeah guns dont kill, only Bush gun supporters with guns. nt

[Trajan]

86. Another news story degraded to Dungeonic levels ....

Ta ta ....

[defendandprotect]

89. GOP/NRA can always be relied upon for violence in America ...

Not to mention the BFEE -

[JonQ]

93. What violence?

Who was hurt?

Or is merely having a gun in your possession to be considered an act of violence?

[buckrogers1965]

91. It is never illegal for an American to properly transport a gun on a public street.

That city's law is clearly a violation of our second amendment rights.

[JonQ]

92. OMG TERRORISM!!!!

Hide the children, shut down the media, we're all going to die!