Silly hypocritical pearl clutch of the day
by digby
Politico "reports":
NBC was told by the Washington, D.C., police that it was “not permissible” to show a high-capacity gun magazine on air before Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” according to a statement Wednesday from the cops.
“NBC contacted [the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment,” Gwendolyn Crump, a police spokeswoman, said in an email. “NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and their request was denied.”
That statement comes a day after the police department told POLITICO that an investigation is underway to determine whether any city laws were violated in a Sunday segment of “Meet the Press.” On the show, host David Gregory displayed what appeared to be a 30-round gun magazine while interviewing Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association.
What that article fails to note is that this is a trumped up hissy fit (is there any other kind?) by Malkin and Breitbart and friends. Crooks and Liars had it
I saw on Monday:
I will never understand the wingnut mind. Apparently their Second Amendment right are absolute and can never be subject to regulations, restrictions or even a suggestion of safety. But have a talk show host get tough on NRA President Wayne LaPierre on the inconsistency of his stance and they're clutching their pearls in outrage. Outrage, I tell you!
For example, the uber-right wing blog The Patriot Perspective was eager to cite chapter and verse of the DC gun ban to prove that David Gregory, by holding up the 30 bullet magazine in front of LaPierre, was flagrantly in violation. Of course, getting Stretch Gregory in trouble (with a maximum penalty of $1000 or one year in jail) is too delicious for Drudge, Malkin, The Blaze and the Breitbots to ignore, so they've hopped on the wagon too.
It's right up there with Fast and Furious for sheer incoherence. These are people who believe that everyone in the country should be armed at all times and that there can be no laws restricting their use. And yet they are calling for the smelling salts because the Justice Department allowed some guns to be released into the population and they got into the "wrong hands" --- criminals in fact. Just like gun show sellers do every single day. Their lugubrious pearl clutching makes absolutely no sense, but they're doing it anyway just because nobody ever bothers to point out that they're completely full of shit.
It's also true that these people don't believe in DC's ban on high-capacity magazines and will fight any restrictions with everything they have. But since David Gregory allegedly violated the law in order to illustrate what a psychotic idea it is that citizens have easy access to such weapons, they're suddenly members of the Brady campaign. They can't even contain their smartass smirks.
It will be interesting to see if they succeed in turning this joke into even the mildest scandal what with King of the Kewl Kidz being implicated. It certainly seems to be legitimate as far as Politico is concerned.