District of Columbia police have announced that they are investigating David Gregory's display of a 30-bullet gun magazine during an interview with National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre. The interview was on "Meet the Press," which is broadcast from NBC's Washington, D.C. studios.
Such "high-capacity" magazines are illegal in the District of Columbia under D.C. Stat. § 7-2506.019(b), which provides,
(b) No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device regardless of whether the device is attached to a firearm. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” means a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The term “large capacity ammunition feeding device” shall not include an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
While the U.S. Supreme Court has held that "It would be frivolous to assert ... that the First Amendment, in the interest of securing news or otherwise, confers a license on either the reporter or his news sources to violate valid criminal laws," Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 691 (1972) (plurality opinion), such prosecutions are rare.
