Posted on 03/27/2007 10:31:38 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Webb Denies He Gave Aide Gun That Led to Arrest
Tuesday , March 27, 2007
WASHINGTON — Virginia Sen. Jim Webb said Tuesday he did not give aide Phillip Thompson the gun that led to his arrest in a Senate office building. Webb did not say whether it was his gun.
Thompson is awaiting arraignment in D.C. Superior Court after being arrested Monday for trying to enter the Russell Senate Office Building, where Webb's office is located, carrying a loaded pistol and two fully loaded magazines.
The judge will determine whether Thompson, 45, will have to pay bail to get out of jail, and will set a date for a preliminary hearing. Thompson spent the night in a D.C. jail after U.S. Capitol Police determined Monday that he did not have a permit to carry a gun in Washington, D.C., where only law enforcement officials are allowed to carry handguns.
He is charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possession of an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition. According to the court docket, Monday was Thompson's birthday.
A senior Democratic aide said Monday evening that Thompson forgot that he had the weapon when he sent the senator's bag through the X-ray machine at the office building. The aide said Webb gave the bag that contained the gun to Thompson when the aide drove the senator to the airport.
Webb said he has been in New Orleans since Friday and returned Monday night. He denied that he gave the weapon to Thompson.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yeah. It's kind of weird, but as much as I'd like to see Webb rotting in a jail cell, I'd rather see these draconian gun laws overturned. Seriously -- have these people never heard of the second amendment?
I think the mistake is grabbing the wrong briefcase or bag while the senator was parking the car from an earlier thread. Would the aide know there was a gun in there? Probably not.
Will "SENATOR" Web get the same treatment this lady did for making a simple mistake::::
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.
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."
It takes a hell of a man to let an employee take the fall for your mistake.
Jim Webb apparently has zero honor.
Oh yeah...AND THE S.O.B. STOLE MY LAST NAME !
Who is it registered to or, do our overlords get around that little issue the hoi poloi live with?
I agree. However, I don't think Louisiana recognizes the concealed carry permits of many other states. We looked it up once prior to a visit and they have very limited reciprocity.
I don't feel bad for any dim aide. You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Something his momma shoulda taught 'em.
Sure there is. What if your boss thought himself above the law and told him not to worry about it as the Capitol cops would let him thru?
dust it for prints-pretty simple-if Webb's prints are on the gun he's a lyin' sack of spit.
Sounds like the aid is being fitted to take the fall.
Clear as mud maybe. It looks like the aide was inadvertently given the wrong bag. Where are you getting the "dispose of political enemies" implication?
What on earth is he so afraid of that he feels like he needs to carry a gun on Capitol Hill?
Given his apparent mental instability, I'm more worried about him going postal inside the capitol building than am I worried about someone shooting him.
LOL - well, ok, if you insist...
I'll go out on a limb an predict that no fingerprints will be found. These people are never accountable.
Nah, doesn't make sense to me. Otherwise, you'd have a quote from the security saying "Thompson indicated that Webb told him we'd let him through". If you thought you were above the law, would that not be your first response to the cops(do you know who I AM!?!). Not likely that Webb gave it to him and said it was no big deal and they would let him through. Seriously, that makes no sense.
So ... if the cops arrest a guy for bank robbery, they can't take his guns before they put him in the car? Prisoners should be allowed to pack heat? Jihadis should be allowed to carry loaded machine guns onto planes?
As the man once said: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...."
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