Report: Webb staffer arrested for carrying gun (in a bag) into Senate office building
posted at 3:35 pm on March 26, 2007 by Allahpundit
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We got tipped about this a little while ago, as did a bunch of other people — including Wonkette. I doubt our tipsters are the same as Denton’s, so there’s your two independent sources.
Jed Babbin says it’s a serious felony but John Lott thinks the gun probably belonged to Webb. Webb is allowed to carry it; the staffer apparently is not. If that’s the case, they’ll probably just plead freshman ignorance as to the rules about farming this particular duty out to aides and be let off with a warning.
Webb seems to be fairly solidly in favor of gun rights so he’s covered from the hypocrisy charge, at least.
Update: A source tells me that the Capitol police have confirmed the arrest now. The gun was loaded and there were two other fully loaded magazines in the bag. The gun and ammo were unregistered, too, although I’m not sure if that means unregistered generally or registered to someone other than the staffer.
Update (Bryan): I spent the better part of the early afternoon trying to nail this story down before posting. And it is a story, irrespective of where Webb happens to stand on gun rights. When a staffer to a Senator gets wrapped up in a potential felony, it is a story. And it is a story upon which some interesting questions might be based. The notion that the gun belongs to Webb, and not the staffer, could be just a cover story for all we know at this point. How the gun, loaded and with loaded magazines, got into the bag is a question worth asking. How often said gun gets carried around either by Webb or the staffer and whether it has made its way past Capitol security in the past is yet another possible line of inquiry. I am not saying that this is the biggest story evah, but it is a news story.
Now, as to my adventure with the Capitol Police today, I guess I should chalk it up to a lack of technological sophistication. I called the CP three different times this afternoon to ask about this story, I got a different officer on the line each time, and asked for a specific Sgt in the Public Information office. Each time, the officer went to transfer me, only to lose my call. Someone needs some phone training, perhaps. This was before anyone else on the web had posted about this story. It had yet to break on the venerable pages of Wonkette. I could wonder aloud whether a lid was being screwed down on this story or not, and I could wonder why that might have been happening.
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Congress is above the law so it will be a non-issue.
Valiant on March 26, 2007 at 3:37 PM
Nice to know if I walk into a federal building with my gun, I can always say Webb gave it to me.
infidel on March 26, 2007 at 3:46 PM
Oh my! Serious indeed.
Let’s see if this is as well handled as the McKinney case.
CrimsonFisted on March 26, 2007 at 3:47 PM
“relable sources”
You mean, I think, an internet campaign has just begun to spin this for(or against) Sen. Webb.
billy on March 26, 2007 at 3:48 PM
It wasn’t the gun so much as it was the fact that it was being held in a crumpled paper bag and the staffer was heard muttering “I AM THE ANGEL OF DEATH, THE TIME FOR JUSTICE IS AT HAND” repeatedly and giggling softly.
Bad Candy on March 26, 2007 at 3:49 PM
This clown and Webb should be hung by the bal… Wait, they are democrats. Never mind.
Wade on March 26, 2007 at 3:52 PM
Well Webb does say he was born fighting so perhaps the gun was his method of confronting Republicans! Who knows… If the gun is registered to him HE is suppose to be responsible for it… not an aide! In any event, this Democrat continues the tradition of bypassing Capitol Hill rules; recall Cynthia McKinney’s flagrant violations of procedure… seems Dems can do this at will….
IntheNet on March 26, 2007 at 3:53 PM
Said he found it his freezer, so it doesn’t count.
Wade on March 26, 2007 at 3:54 PM
Was it wrapped in AL Foil?
E L Frederick (Sniper One) on March 26, 2007 at 4:00 PM
On the one hand, I would be extremely happy if all Democratic Party scandals involved an over-enthusastic application of Second Ammendment freedoms. That would be a very positive change….
On the other hand, IntheNet has a very valid point:
I could never imagine letting anyone else handle my guns outside of a firing range. This is indeed a serious breach of gun safety and responsibility.
I can’t stand Webb, but I would have expected more from a military man.
Anton on March 26, 2007 at 4:01 PM
Claims of freshman ignorance, and a minor reprimand, seem appropriate here. What possible reason could the staffer have had for trying to sneak Webb’s gun in? I’m apparently one of the few here, so far, who feels that way.
I’d prefer that any spare prosecutorial outrage be aimed back at clearly intentional crimes, such as those of Sandy Burger.
Patton on March 26, 2007 at 4:04 PM
The Dems are going to love the idea of this loose cannon and his minions wondering the halls of the Senate armed..
TheBigOldDog on March 26, 2007 at 4:07 PM
Relax. Webb bought illegal posession offsets for his staffers.
Please tell me that the gun was in a brown paper bag.
Kid from Brooklyn on March 26, 2007 at 4:08 PM
You, Patton, who bathe in the moisture of your soiled and bloodstained underwear, can take that noise and shove it. We will be snowed no more.
Don’t bother us with reasonable questions.
billy on March 26, 2007 at 4:12 PM
i don’t care.
i can’t even work a “pick ‘em up, flip ‘em supside down” joke into it.
jummy on March 26, 2007 at 4:14 PM
In his freezer? Who does he think he is, Jim Rockford?
ReubenJCogburn on March 26, 2007 at 4:26 PM
First of all, if Webb just sent this aide out to his car for a juice box and his gun, why was it loaded? Wouldn’t you want to unload it before transporting it into an office?
Second, as Anton said, I don’t care who you are, you don’t send people for your gun. It’s your responsibility.
Third, I wonder whether Barbara Boxer is packing in the Senate? She’s supposed to have a California concealed-carry permit. It would explain why Inhofe shut up so quickly the other day.
see-dubya on March 26, 2007 at 4:32 PM
ReubenJCogburn,
Pretty sure Jimbo kept it with his coffee.
Checking…
Stephen M on March 26, 2007 at 4:34 PM
Ummm… the senator is presumably allowed to carry for the purpose of self-defense, right? (why else?) So how come he needs two extra full mags?
Can you imagine the excitement if this had been a Republican congresscritter instead of a Dem?
bofh on March 26, 2007 at 4:34 PM
So you think … what? Webb was planning a shooting spree inside the Senate building?
He probably keeps it loaded and forgot to tell his staffer to unload it on the way in.
Allahpundit on March 26, 2007 at 4:34 PM
“The Rockford Files” episode “The Big Ripoff“.
In this episode, Rockford reveals why he keeps his gun in a coffee jar: “The freeze dried coffee sucks up the moisture. It keeps the gun from rusting in the seaside climate.
Stephen M on March 26, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Heh. I had no idea. That would not sit well with the San Francisco types.
Theworldisnotenough on March 26, 2007 at 4:37 PM
What’s he doing sending an aide to retreave a loaded gun?
What’s he doing NOT telling him to be careful, it’s loaded?
What’s he doing leaving a loaded gun in his car?
Did the gun have a trigger lock?
Was his aide licensed to carry a gun?
You can bet if he had an (R) after his name those questions would be asked by the Dems and MSM non-stop from now until he was forced to resign.
TheBigOldDog on March 26, 2007 at 4:40 PM
Me neither jummy.
Bad Candy on March 26, 2007 at 4:40 PM
HAHAHAHA!!! I just had an image in my head of Jim Webb running around firing in the air and laughing maniacally like a Looney Tunes character in between sips from his box of grape Juicy Juice.
Bad Candy on March 26, 2007 at 4:47 PM
I don’t know if this is a DC violation or local to the Capital.
If it helps overturn DC’s gun control laws by messing with a US Senator, then it is a good thing. There is a bill in the House, I think, calling for the repeal of all DC’s gun control laws.
As for the question of why it was loaded, what good is an UNLOADED gun?
georgej on March 26, 2007 at 4:51 PM
Encyclopedia Brown would see through this one in a second. Senators parking their own cars…
rw on March 26, 2007 at 4:51 PM
You owe me a new keyboard as I snorted my afternoon Dew out through my nose (but the pain was so worth the laugh).
steveegg on March 26, 2007 at 4:54 PM
could be something weird, but i kind of expect webb to be the sort for totin’ a loaded, unregistered firearm. he is, after all, a former conservative and strident owner of his scotts-irish identity.
jummy on March 26, 2007 at 4:57 PM
He was testing the security for an upcoming report…move on!
tomas on March 26, 2007 at 4:58 PM
Allah, does Rosie share this conspiracy theory with you? (J/K, I think you’re on to something.)
PattyAnn on March 26, 2007 at 5:03 PM
Webb has flipped the DC gun laws upside down and stuck the barrel in his mouth.
…there ya go, jummy.
Perchant on March 26, 2007 at 5:06 PM
I was once a demolition man, therefore the dynamite and C4 in my bag are perfectly within reason. Right?
roninacreage on March 26, 2007 at 5:06 PM
Obviously Webb was going to go on a shooting spree, Allah. Have you read the awful things that man wrote? He has a filthy mind and I suspect he’s mentally unstable.
Okay, seriously: if I were carrying a gun for self defense, say in a holster, it would be loaded. If I were carrying a gun into an office building to give to my boss, it would be unloaded. It’s a safety issue, mainly, though there may be legal consequences as well stemming from the fact that it was loaded.
see-dubya on March 26, 2007 at 5:14 PM
I wish the Dems would run Webb for President.
spmat on March 26, 2007 at 5:15 PM
The question is, does Webb have a permit for his hairpiece?
JammieWearingFool on March 26, 2007 at 5:15 PM
It is illegal for ANYONE to have in their possession a hand gun that is not registered to them. Webb CANNOT have ANYONE carry that firearm if their name is not on the registration.
Handguns can be co-registered.
The article does not say that the gun was not registered to the aide, it says that the gun was UNregistered as in registered to no-one. At least that is how I read it.
Webb can’t even allow a friend to shoot that pistol at a shooting range. It is against the law.
Talon on March 26, 2007 at 5:16 PM
DC is a hairpiece-permit-free zone.
Thankfully, I used up all my dew on the Kid’s post, otherwise, you’d owe me a new monitor.
steveegg on March 26, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Aren’t kiddie pr0n smugglers always carrying?
infidel4life on March 26, 2007 at 5:21 PM
sigh
For a forum supposedly populated by conservatives, I’m surprised and depressed at the lack of conservative views on the issue.
Talon:
“It is illegal for ANYONE to have in their possession a hand gun that is not registered to them. Webb CANNOT have ANYONE carry that firearm if their name is not on the registration.”
WRONG.
You cannot require registration of firearms, it doesn’t matter who the weapon is “registered” to, anyone has the right to keep and to bear (that means carry) anything identifiable as “arms”. Concealed or otherwise.
You wonder why we have a runaway gov’t sticking its nose into every aspect of our lives…
Hiraghm on March 26, 2007 at 5:24 PM
I am a law-abiding United States citizen, and through various permits from various states, I am permitted to legally carry a concealed weapon in thirty of these United States.
However, as a law-abiding United States citizen, if I simply possessed ONE ROUND of ammunition in the District of Columbia (not to mention a complete firearm) I would be deep, deep, trouble.
Jim Webb is not a law enforcement officer, and has no law enforcement duties. He is not a military officer performing official duties. He is a representative of the people of Virginia. He is simply a mere citizen, just like me and I’m sure most of you.
Why, then, is HE permitted to carry a firearm in a place that ALL OTHER UNITED STATES CITIZENS ARE PROHIBITED FROM DOING SO?
This is an example of elitism at its finest.
mojojojo on March 26, 2007 at 5:30 PM
Will anti-gun rights Rosie make a big deal about this? You can bet if he were a Republican she would.
wryteacher on March 26, 2007 at 5:41 PM
You are absolutely correct, however, our congresscritters have ruled that the 2A doesn’t really mean anything. Until the SCOTUS decides that the 2A really means what it says the 20,000+ laws restricting firearms in the country will stand.
I don’t put much stock in the SCOTUS doing this, however. Based on the court’s decisions regarding McConnell v. FEC and Kelo v. City of New London
, it appears to me that they could possibly rule that the 2A is meaningless due to international law!
I don’t like the situation any more than you do, but unfortunately, we have to work within the system of unjust laws we have been dealt.
My question is: Why is there one set of rules for senators and another set for us “commoners” in a country that isn’t supposed to have a “ruling elite,” and (supposedly) a constitution that prevents this???
mojojojo on March 26, 2007 at 5:44 PM
Maybe he had an intern to help him.
The Monster on March 26, 2007 at 5:45 PM
The manchurian candidate
tomas on March 26, 2007 at 5:45 PM
tomas….
when you’re right, you’re right!
sharinlite on March 26, 2007 at 5:48 PM
I hope you were referring to DC when you posted that. Anywhere else in the country that is wrong.
2nd amendment issues aside (they don’t exist in DC) DC law states the following…
§ 7-2507.01. Security mortgages, deposits, or pawns with firearms, destructive devices, or ammunition prohibited; loan or rental of firearms, destructive devices, or ammunition prohibited [Formerly § 6-2371].
(b) No person may loan, borrow, give, or rent to or from another person, any firearm, destructive device, or ammunition.
F15Mech on March 26, 2007 at 5:59 PM
If Webb was a mensch he’d allow every DC resident who requested it to register their handguns under his name and then put them all on staff as unpaid interns.
PeteRR on March 26, 2007 at 6:03 PM
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. –Such has been the patient sufferance of these United States; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present Congress, President and Supreme Court is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States.
Bold was my modifications of the original DoI.
If the system of law is unjust, are we under any moral obligation to work within it? Are we not, in fact, morally obligated to modify or eliminate it? I would suggest that modifying the body of laws and the responsibilities of the various branches of gov’t would in fact be working within the system.
Hiraghm on March 26, 2007 at 6:03 PM
Why don’t 2nd Amendment issues apply in DC? The 2nd is NOT a license for States to form militias, and in fact specifically asserts that the right belongs to the people
If I am a citizen of the United States, and a citizen of Oklahoma, I still have an absolute 2nd Amendment right, even if I am a tourist in DC. Which is what our freaking representatives should be; temporary visitors to DC.
(I still say, in the name of homeland security, that the seat of gov’t needs to be moved to the 4 corners of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, the most gawdawful boring spot on the continent…)
Hiraghm on March 26, 2007 at 6:08 PM
Well if the libs can make scandals out of non-scandals the least the republicans should be doing is to try to make a scandal out of a felony.
Its impossible for a liberal to ever face true punishment, but it’d be nice if their reputation could be sullied at least.
The Republicans really should try to milk this a bit.
Iblis on March 26, 2007 at 6:15 PM
I did not say the 2nd Amendment should not apply in DC. The fact of the matter is that it has not for nearly 30 years.
If you want to come to DC carrying I wish you the best of luck. Even though I am less then 1/2 hour from DC I avoid it like a plague when I am carrying.
Hopefully the ban will be overturned soon, then I will go to DC.
F15Mech on March 26, 2007 at 6:25 PM
The 2nd ammendment got thrown out the window when it comes to hand guns folks. It is ILLEGAL to have in your possession a HAND GUN that is NOT registered to you.
That is not just in DC. It applies in just about every other state in the country. In UPSTATE NY, I had to turn over my father’s pistol when he passed away. WHY??? BEcause his was the ONLY NAME on the registration!
Same thing happened to my best friend. His brother is a corrections officer and was HE able to get a TEMPORARY permit to to maintain possession of the pistol until my friend got his pistol permit.
That is the way it is.
Talon on March 26, 2007 at 6:25 PM
Uh, did the aide know there was a gun in that bag he was told to carry in? What if he didn’t know? He was just helping out, after all. Hate to see someone get hit with a felony all on the account of his boss being disorganized with his personal belongings. (i.e. brought the wrong bag from the house that day).
An aside: When does the overturn of the gun ban in DC take effect? :}
Also,unless he has a domicile in DC, Webb commutes daily in from Virginia, which has noticeably different gun laws than DC.
“Registered” is being thrown around a lot. There are different restrictions depending on the particular type of firearm, and not all must be “registered.” Concealed carry is another category, which in VA requires a background check and permit. Of course all these restrictions/conditions/rules vary from state to state, and DC’s laws are much more onerous than VA, plus the added restrictions of government buildings and schools. Some terms are being tossed around in this thread which confuse the discussion a bit.
naliaka on March 26, 2007 at 6:39 PM
Bryan, Don’t let them transfer you. Get the extension or the direct number so you can get ahold of them yourself. I learned this when dealing with internal departments of a certain phone company I used to work for. I tell you, they hired some morons there . . no wait . . I mean . . :)
- The Cat
Talk about timing for the gun control battle with D.C. Hmmmm
MirCat on March 26, 2007 at 6:42 PM
You got something against Skidmore, MO, dude?
naliaka on March 26, 2007 at 6:44 PM
I stand corrected. I got Rockford confused with someone I know that really does stash a pistol in the freezer.
If even (some) Democrats will admit that Gonzales didn’t do anything illegal, and yet somehow that’s still a “scandal”, then this should damn sure be a scandal. Carrying unauthorized weapons into government buildings is no f—ing joke. How I despise the double standards that Democrats are allowed to get away with.
ReubenJCogburn on March 26, 2007 at 6:46 PM
Come on. Every one of you commenters on here would pack heat if you were a Congressman. Because you could. (And because if you did your job right you’d make enemies.)
I certainly would.
see-dubya on March 26, 2007 at 6:52 PM
Of course. Happens all the time. Besides, he’s a Senator, so why should he have to play by the same rules as everybody else?
They’re BETTER than we are, after all.
Misha I on March 26, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Of course I would. However I would not…
1. Forget I left my firearm in a bag somewhere.
2. Ask someone else to go get it for me, when I am at the Senate building, knowing that it security is a bit different there.
F15Mech on March 26, 2007 at 7:03 PM
Can you think of anything, scary-creepier than Jim Webb – a certifiable nutcase, skulking about The Congressional Halls, and the D.C. Environs, with a loaded hand-gun?
me neither.
Dan White – Harvey Milk
franksalterego on March 26, 2007 at 7:10 PM
I don’t know who owns the gun but I can tell you one thing -this Webb character is a loose cannon. He, of all people, should not be allowed to own a gun.
This is the same guy who said, at a White House ceremony when he was so rude to W, that he almost punched the Prez in the face. What would he have done if he had been armed that night.
Keep an eye on this dem-wit – he ain’t nothing but trouble.
OBX Pete on March 26, 2007 at 7:12 PM
Webb seems like an honorable guy (filthy mouth, rude manners)…
He should do the right thing and resign.
Zorro on March 26, 2007 at 7:17 PM
There. Fixed it for ya.
Misha I on March 26, 2007 at 8:46 PM
A non story – Its a democratic staffer
EricPWJohnson on March 26, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Webb doesn’t strike me as stable enough to entrust with a loaded gun, were he a colleague…
Seriously, are the Congresspeople allowed guns in the offices?
Entelechy on March 26, 2007 at 11:18 PM
I think he can probably forstall any further inquiry with the following:
1. Accuse the police of profiling his staffer. If he’s not a minority, claim that he’s gay. Arresting him for carrying a gun is tantamount to a hate crime.
2. Webb should claim he needed as he was meeting with the president later that day. That should create a public upswell of support with Democrats of all stripes and intimidate the police from pressing any charges.
austinnelly on March 26, 2007 at 11:25 PM
As a practical matter, Mr. Webb is probably most familiar and comfortable with a 1911a-style handgun (like he was taught to use in the USMC.) Concealed carry for such is usually a “shoulder holster”, which puts the weight and volume of the handgun on one side of the body; many such holsters will hold one, two, or three loaded magazines for the firearm as a matter of weight balance, the fit of a suit coat, ….
I can easily imagine Mr. Webb, approaching the airline security station, removing the holster (with the loaded handgun and loaded magazines), and placing them in a briefcase or attache case for an assistant to take back to his office, not knowing that some of those actions — if not all — were illegal in D.C.
The real question is whether he and the assistant will face the same consequences as if you or I had done this (either the tranfering possession of the firearm, carrying it about D.C., or attempting to bring it into the building, among other things.) My guess is that they won’t, which is a sad comment on the classed-society we’ve built.
htom on March 27, 2007 at 2:05 AM
Virginia, which happens to be Webb’s state, does not have a firearm registration program. Even for CWP holders. Therefore, in Virginia, EVERYONE who is not a felon is legaly able to posess an unregistered firearm. Now, this is different in DC, but Webb lives in VA, right? Not DC? He probably keeps the gun in his car, if it is his. Personaly, I see no problem with 2 additional loaded magazines. It’s better to have more ammo then you need then not enough. And now I’ll ask ya’ll to NOT put me in the position of having to defend that SOB again, thank you.
wolfva on March 27, 2007 at 3:19 AM
Talon: “It is ILLEGAL to have in your possession a HAND GUN that is NOT registered to you.
That is not just in DC. It applies in just about every other state in the country.”
Nonsense.
It may apply to some states which require handgun registration. It doesn’t apply at all to the rest of the country where gun registration IS NOT REQUIRED in the first place.
georgej on March 27, 2007 at 3:46 AM
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