It's Politics: Bad week for alleged criminals in Sacramento
pasadenastarnews.com
Editorial
Posted: 01/06/2012 10:22:01 PM PST
Editor's note: It's Politics reports Saturdays on the ins and outs of San Gabriel Valley politics and government.
It was a bad week for Tim Donnelly.
How exactly did he get caught carrying a concealed weapon - namely a loaded Colt .45 - an airport?
Donnelly, R-Hesperia, said the incident "was an unfortunate mistake." He apparently forgot to check his briefcase before heading off to the airport to fly from Ontario to Sacramento.
Now he could face a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to some reports. But, how likely is that really?
Not even a little. An elected state Assemblyman isn't - after all - Joe Average. Nor is he Mohammed Atta.
What seems most bothersome about the whole incident is that Donnelly's stories don't really add up.
On one hand, the Assemblyman claims that he had the gun on a workbench at his home and put it in the nearest bag - so his wife wouldn't discover it. Donnelly said he simply forgot about the existence of the firearm in his briefcase until after it was discovered by a bag screener.
But, he also said that he "tends to always be armed" thanks to death threats he's received over his stand on illegal immigration.
There's an incongruity there.
The other thing that could get Donnelly in trouble is his apparent lack of a concealed-carry permit. Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, told the
Sacramento Bee this week that Donnelly did not possess paperwork allowing him to carry a piece.
Not that it matters. Even with a permit, carrying a loaded handgun on an airplane remains illegal.
The Bee also reported that Donnelly lacks official permission from the Assembly leadership to carry a weapon in the state Capitol.
No matter what happens the issue will be a lightning rod. For Donnelly supporters, the fact he packs will solidify much of their love for the tea party-backed former Minuteman.
On the other hand, Donnelly haters will likely use the incident to paint the Assemblyman as a backward mountain man who is afraid of the world in a Bernie Goetz sort of way.
Whichever. The incident sort of obscured the other bad news of the week for Donnelly - his attempt to have the state's Dream Act repealed by voters fell short of the signatures it needed to qualify for November's ballot.
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