“With three pit bulls attacking a young boy on the street outside his Northwest Washington home in January, [Ben Srigley] grabbed a 9mm Ruger P90 handgun from his bedroom, ran outside, and shot and killed one of the dogs,” washingtonpost.com reports. Turns out Srigley purchased the handgun legally in Virginia but failed to register it in Washington, D.C. Perhaps Mr. Srigley [rightly] figured that registering his gun in our gun-averse nation’s capitol would have been exceedingly difficult if not impossible, and that if he failed to register the gun, he’d have alerted police to the presence of a pistol on or near his person, thus risking being disarmed when he needed his gun to protect himself and, I’m thinking out loud here, innocent life. According to the Post, I’m being provocative. They say the case made Srigley . . .
“unwitting fodder for gun-rights advocates who saw his case a perfect example of why they assail as draconian the District’s laws that make owning guns exceedingly difficult.”
Yes, well, Srigley’s defensive gun use certainly put D.C. officials in a bind. If they pursued and convicted the D.C. dog killer on a weapons charge, they risked exposing their gun laws as draconian [see: above]. So, to make a long story short, they cut a deal.
Deputy Attorney General Andrew Fois called it a “one in 10 million case” in which authorities “tried to balance what he did, the law that he broke, the circumstances under which he broke it and what he did to help the boy.”
Fois’s team offered Srigley a deal in May to spare him jail. First, he would pay a $1,000 fine. Then, after a planned move to Maryland, he would register his handgun and two long guns he had in storage. Lastly, he would stay out of trouble for two months. In return, a charge of possessing an unregistered firearm would be deferred until July.
On Tuesday, the conditions met, D.C. Superior Court Michael J. McCarthy accepted the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss the charge. Srigley can now petition to have the arrest expunged.
Did Srigley move or was he pushed? If so, that’s one hell of a precedent. We’ll leave your natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms alone if you get out of Dodge. (A thought that’s occurred to at least one former New England resident.)
Second the fine is not fine with me. It allows the DA to protect D.C.’s unconstitutional gun laws, claim victory and save face. To wit:
“We don’t want people to not help,” Fois said, explaining that the unique circumstances of Srigley’s case prompted much discussion in his office. “But when you break the gun laws, it’s not something we can turn a blind eye to. He made amends by paying a decent fine, and he registered his guns, and he moved out of town. The laws of the District of Columbia are vindicated, while recognizing the unique contribution he made saving a young boy’s life.”
If not that, then where’s the fine for NBC commentator David Gregory for possessing an illegal “high-capacity” magazine (flaunted on national TV as a prop for his assault on NRA VP Wayne LaPierre)?
Srigley had long guns in storage? How, exactly, did those enter the picture? Did the D.C. po-po have a search warrant for those guns?
Srgiley isn’t saying squat. The Post chooses to interpret this information as an indication that the case isn’t about gun rights—because Srigley doesn’t say it is. Why would he? As millions of northeasterners will tell you, the first rule of gunfight club is that you don’t talk about gunfight club.
More than that, I’d bet dollars to donuts that the DA made Srigley’s silence on the case a non-negotiable from day one.
Srigley’s attorney said his client knew his gun was illegal — he declined to say why it was never registered — but he heard the child’s screams and acted on instinct. “He could have made a choice not to intervene,” Onorato said. “Instead, he had a handgun and he used it properly to defend that child. We’re all thankful he took that action.”
The Centers for Disease Control reports that some 800k Americans seek medical attention for dog bites per year; half of these are children. “Of those injured, 386k require treatment in an emergency department and about 16 die.” So if restored gun rights can save one child . . .
He would have been better off just registering it to begin with & if they refused walked in with a copy of the DC V HELLER case in hand and ask if they wanr another smack-down from SCOTUS.
What a city, run the real heroes out of town. Can’t have anyone saving lives. Call 911 and wait thirty minutes or let the dogs eat their fill.
Barb, FOAD.
Full-frontal, please.
Tits or GTFO
I’ve checked out your neighbor’s sister’s webcam before. Nothing too impressive, revolting stretch marks, definitely not worth the $10. I’ll be contacting her for a full refund.
So close. The 9mm would be the P89. The P90 was the .45 ACP version. Oh well, better than the media usually does. I bet the dog didn’t care either.
Someone uses a gun in a positive way to protect someone but the legal thing to do was to do nothing. Just remember, somehow the pro-gun people are the nuts and the gun grabbers are the sane ones in their world.
Another casualty in the war against heroism. “Don’t get uppity you little drones. Who do you think you are, some kind of hero?” Only the designated government employees are allowed to do that. It’s sort of like a union rule.
I noticed this too. Not to read too much into it, but I get the impression that the Media thinks every semi-auto pistol is a 9mm. It’s just another manifestation of their general dumbassery about firearms. Like how they throw around the adjectives “semi-automatic” or “assault” to describe certain rifles, or how they use “hi-capacity ammunition clips” to describe standard capacity magazines.
I would have directed them to the only gun permit I need or recognize. It’s on display at the Library of Congress during normal business hours. Here’s a hint… It starts with “We the People”
I’d just move to VA (or farther out west, if I didn’t need to be near the Potomac for work). I’d rather be a free gun owner than have an orange jumpsuit to go with my moral high ground.
Also, that’s a common misconception about the US Constitution. It does not grant or permit rights. It grants power to the federal government from the several states. Even the Bill of Rights is a guarantor of rights, not a granter. Your right to own property is inherent to being born a human being.
Not saying it did. It’s just the only document on the topic of gun control that holds any water with me.
My question – why would any sane person intentionally move to and live in Washington D.C.? I know the commute from outlying communities sucks, but more than this?
With as many cops as DC has, I’m surprised there are any dogs left alive.
What saddens me is that with so many police there is that much violent crime.
So he ran back inside, to safety, away from the dogs, inside, safe, and then came back out to shoot a single dog. Nice.
Didn’t he run inside to get the gun to save a boy, or did I read that wrong?
No, you were correct. In almost any other municipality he would have been called a hero but not in our nations capitol.
Re-read it. He wasn’t being attacked, a boy was. He ran in to get his gun to protect the boy.
This is one of the reason Florida passed the Castle Doctrine including its SYG component. Over zealous and leftist leaning prosecutors were expecting people to jump out of windows in their homes and leave their wives and daughters at the mercy of homicidal maniacs and rapists. In this case, it seems the left expects someone to leave a boy behind to a pack of mad dogs.
He’s free to move from Maryland My Maryland now. If he has any money left. If it were me (who would never have been living in DC in the first place) – WAIT – did the deal specify Virginia was not an option? Why choose MARYLAND? It’s like choosing to be burned at the stake, instead of drawn and quartered!
“It’s like choosing to be burned at the stake, instead of drawn and quartered!”
You beat me to the punch.
Correct. Maryland hangs her head in shame – the Free State is no longer free.
Is the 16, 16k, just plain old 16? Out of 386,000 treated in and ER only 16 died?
Dogs tend to go for the extremities. So most dog attack victims survive.
The reason DC cut a deal is because the last time they went to court regarding their illegal infringements on the 2nd Amendment,they lost-badly.
Better to let a “gun toting lawbreaker” walk then to have your idealogically biased gun laws struck down by the judiciary.
Gun registration should be made illegal just like it is in most other states.
Lessons learned: Never join the neighborhood watch to protect your neighborhood and your neighbors. Never try to save a neighbor’s kid from being mauled by dogs. Never shoot Poochie at a gas station when he tries to open you up with a BFK.
Follow these simple rules and you’ll have no problems.
But also, never rely on the police to protect you or your young daughters. They have no duty to.
So really, just stay at home, eating welfare junk food, popping taxpayer-funded diabetes pills, watching TV. With your fingers crossed.
Mob extortion, plain and simple.
DC dammed if you don’t.
Further dammed if you do.
His best move to get out of Dodge.
He should have moved to Virginia, I do not doubt that he will have future problems with the authorities in Maryland (People’s Democratic Republic thereof) over his possession of firearms.
Yes! We must get rid of these Draconian gun laws for the children!
But seriously: The gun control groups like to talk about a return to “the wild west”. That’s exactly what the DAG actions remind me of. “Gimme some money and git out of town and we’ll fergit the whole thing.”
That’s how the Democrats’ plantation on the Potomac is run. Cash is king…
did he really pay the fine? or did DC just say he did to save face. between that and hiring a lawyer, it might have been worth reaching out to Alan Gura and SAF. . . .
I wonder if Fido will end up on MAIGs victim list? The point at which one must pay a fine for exercising a natural right, enshrined in the constitution, in defense of another, in the nations capitol is a clear indication that the trip wires have been crossed. However, given his option leave (a fascist state that also happens to be a degenerate hell hole) and pay a small fine I think I’d have to take it. Though as someone already said, there is absolutely no way I’d have been living in the district to begin with. I’m more than willing to vote with the ballot, my tax dollars, my feet. . . really anything it takes to secure liberty. Let’s let them (the cities) all go the way of Detroit.
DC is NOT a state – it’s a Federal district. The Feds tried to give it to Maryland and Virginia, but they both refused to take the headache and corruption.
Your meaning is taken but for the record I meant ‘state’ as an area with a distinct government and sovereignty.
…so… Save a little boy with a gun and pay 1000 bucks. Lets not make that decision again – only the state is allowed to protect people – not individuals.
Except that the state has no obligation to save your sorry disarmed ass.
Warren v. District of Columbia
This case illustrates the incredible power that prosecutors, usually political creatures at heart, have. In this case, they went easy to avoid political fallout, but the same thing happens because it’s the mayor’s son facing rape charges, or what have you. Alternately, they can choose to crucify you. There is no real check on prosecutorial discretion.
Indeed, perhaps removing prosecutorial immunity to civil suit for wrongful prosecution is a good advance in the right direction?
Another thing that’s for the children is what kind of legacy we’ll leave them in the size and power of government that we bequeath to them. Will they live free, or will they be subjects of some insane plutocracy that rules from on high in the ivory towers of Washington DC?
That’s what the RotPtKaBA is fundamentally about.
I strongly suggest providing children with the training and means to resist. If it’s not to come in the time when we are able to put up a fight, then surely it will be our children who end up resisting the tyranny.
I hate DC gun laws; they’re completely ridiculous. I’m interning (t)here over the summer, and its impossible to even possess a firearm legally since I’m not formally a ‘resident’. And there aren’t any rental ranges within walking distance of public transit that I’ve been able to find, so I’ve just been SOL.
If you want to make a quick trip into Virginia, check out Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly.
+1
I spent a semester in DC and hated feeling so defenseless. Buy some pepper spray (if you buy it out of the district you don’t have to register it) and carry a knife (not one with a blade longer than 3 inches, that makes you evil).
Expungement is implemented on paper but it actually doesn’t work. The information about the arrest is propagated to so many places on the internet that any employer, land lord, bank or mortgage broker will see the arrest record.
The laws of the District of Columbia are vindicated…”
What the F??? “Vindicated” implies that this case proves the laws are correct and just. If anything, it does the opposite: if this guy had obeyed the law and not had his gun in the District, that kid would have been mauled or killed.
I think it is time to let the British burn D.C. again as a re-enactment on the 200th Anniversary of the first burning.
Hm. That’s a pretty good-looking gun. How is it to shoot?
P90 is a .45 acp.
Never take a deal.
I’ve never been willing to use my firearm to protect property. I don’t own anything that’s worth someone dying over. I’ve always been willing to use my firearm to protect human life, mine, my family’s, my neighbors’. This kind of stuff, is the kind of stuff that makes me think I need to limit protecting human life to protecting human life in those humans who have the same last name as I do.
I have a p90 …good choice!
1. This is one of the reasons why this native of DC doesn’t live there any more.
2. I find it fascinating that they made him move to Maryland, where he’s required to register his handgun as opposed to Virginia, where he doesn’t. Which brings up…
3. Is he required to live in Maryland for a certain length of time, or can he move to a more gun-friendly state? Inquirin’ minds be wonderin’.
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