Tea party activist arrested in NYC on gun charge
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NEW YORK (AP) — A leader of a tea party group was arrested after he took a gun to LaGuardia Airport.
Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler was taken into custody Thursday morning after he tried to check in for a Delta flight to Detroit with a locked gun box containing a Glock pistol and 19 cartridges of ammunition, Queens prosecutors said.
Meckler, 49, declared the weapon, as required, authorities said. He's licensed to carry the gun in Grass Valley, Calif., where he lives, but that license isn't valid in New York, which has strict rules on carrying concealed weapons, they said.
"He didn't have a correct understanding of the law," said Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which polices the area's main airports. "Though he has a permit to carry in California, that did not cover him in the state of New York."
Meckler spent the day in jail and was arraigned in Queens late Friday afternoon on a felony weapons possession charge. He was released pending a Jan. 12 court date.
The charge could carry prison time, but travelers who are arrested in such cases and appear to be trying to comply with the law typically pay fines.
The name of Meckler's attorney wasn't available Friday, and attempts to contact him by phone and electronic message were unsuccessful.
Ignorance of the law is not a defense to prosecution. It is the gun owner's responsibility to find out what the laws are pertaining to their carrying of weapons outside their state. The "intent" of the person is not a requirement or element of the crime. I would also have you know that it's even illegal to carry a handgun in New York City, even if you got the license in New York State. New York City has an acceptation to the state law for their city. It pays to know the law.
My wife took my truck to work one morning and it started on fire on the road, across the state line from where we live, by the time I arrived there they had the fire out and the police officer had my guns out of my vehicle in his trunk and when we were finished he just took them and put them in my trunk and nothing was ever discussed about them. So my point being is that most of this is up to the discretion of the officer or his superiors and that's my point about "intent."
Also this is one of the reasons I would never live in a place like New York City,