And we need stricter gun laws... WHY?

[marinakorp]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080717/...5mJrpcK3pxFb8C

The actor's attorney pleaded no contest on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of bringing a weapon into a secure area at Los Angeles International Airport. A court commissioner sentenced him to up to two years of probation and ordered him to pay $1,991 in fines, said Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.

While on probation, Farina cannot own or carry a gun, Mateljan said.

A former policeman, Farina was arrested May 11 for having a .22 caliber semiautomatic handgun in his briefcase. He promptly apologized after his release, saying he forgot he had the gun in his baggage.

Farina, 64, did not appear in court Thursday.

Farina has appeared in numerous TV shows and movies, including a three-year stint on "Law & Order" as detective Joe Fontana.

Other charges of carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm were dismissed.

_________________


I thought it was a felony to carry a loaded weapon in to the secure area of an airport.

[Brown-Bear]

I'm not sure what you are asking here it seems he was slapped pretty hard for small offense.

Dave

[bdevil73]

Re-read the last sentence. Two gun related charges were dismissed. What's the point of passing new laws if the current laws aren't being enforced?

[Philadelphia]

Re-read the last sentence. Two gun related charges were dismissed. What's the point of passing new laws if the current laws aren't being enforced?

Uh, we want the gov't aggressively enforcing the laws against bad people who do bad things with guns.

A former cop who forgot about a .22 in his briefcase isn't exactly a danger to society. This might not be a case to get overly worked up over.

[Carnes]

Two gun related charges were dismissed. What's the point of passing new laws if the current laws aren't being enforced?

Hey now! If we can get enough laws on the books, we can create an environment where we can always have a reason to lock-up any person at any time.

That way, the government can keep total control, and they will ensure that order is preserved the way they think it should be.

We frequently drop charges so we can set a standard... A standard where we constantly need to make stronger and more restrictive laws. So long as we keep doing that, we will soon have an environment where the people in government that know what is best for us will have absolute authority to start silencing the disenters. They can't lock you up for sharing your opinion, but who cares, there are more than enough other laws that can be used to put you away.

There are plenty of people pissing away our freedoms... they are all around us. Thanks be unto them! Hurray!
[/sarcasm]

[bdevil73]

Uh, we want the gov't aggressively enforcing the laws against bad people who do bad things with guns.

A former cop who forgot about a .22 in his briefcase isn't exactly a danger to society. This might not be a case to get overly worked up over.

I agree, but how many times have we seen the same outcome when the person being tried does have a criminal history? To be honest, I'm kind of surprised he got what he did. We all know cops and celebrities are above the law, and he was both.

[Driver400]

Gun control = Being able to hit what your aiming at!

[marinakorp]

A former cop who forgot ...

This should not have any bearing on wether charges should be dropped or not.

You can be darned well certain that if I had "forgotten" any of my weapons in a briefcase in a secure area of the airport... I would not be given the same consideration.

[Philadelphia]

This should not have any bearing on wether charges should be dropped or not.

You can be darned well certain that if I had "forgotten" any of my weapons in a briefcase in a secure area of the airport... I would not be given the same consideration.

I agree, but the way I look at it, the law is stupid -- denying both the law abiding and violent predators the legal ability to carry in an airport. I actually hate to see stupid laws enforced against the otherwise law abiding, former cop or not.

If it were not for foolish policies such as "secure areas of airports," 911 would have likely never happened as it did.