StormX
Banned
The accidental firing of a handgun in a lawmaker's office ignited debate Wednesday over whether guns should be restricted on the campus of Kentucky's State Capitol.
Rep. Leslie Combs accidentally fired her handgun Tuesday afternoon while unloading it in her office in the Capitol Annex — the building adjacent to the Capitol that houses legislative offices and committee meeting rooms.
"I'm a gun owner. It happens," she said Wednesday, adding that she was following safety precautions as she unloaded her Ruger 380 semi-automatic handgun. No one was injured.
Combs said she has a concealed carry permit, allowing her to carry the gun, which she said she often carries in her purse.
Kentucky State Police Sgt. Jason Palmer, commander of the legislative security branch, said a legislator, or anyone, with a concealed carry permit can bring a loaded weapon to the Capitol or annex and be allowed in if that person has his or her permit.
He said no charges would be filed in the Combs incident, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. and was reported to state police about 4:25. "No evidence of criminal acts were observed," he said, adding that most of the bullet fragments were recovered and there was no sign that any fragment traveled outside the room.
Combs, a Democrat who's served in the House since 2007, said Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, was the only other person in the office when the gun fired. Democratic Rep. Derrick Graham came into the room after the gun fired to ask if Combs and Greer were OK. "I was in my office talking to people and heard a bang. ... We went over to the office and they (Combs and Greer) said, 'We're fine. We're fine.' " The only damage Graham said he saw was where the bullet struck the base of a bookcase.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...wmaker-discharges-gun-capitol-office/4387559/
Took them till the seventh paragraph to identify that she was a democrat. If she had been a Republican, that would have been in the title and the first sentence.
Rep. Leslie Combs accidentally fired her handgun Tuesday afternoon while unloading it in her office in the Capitol Annex — the building adjacent to the Capitol that houses legislative offices and committee meeting rooms.
"I'm a gun owner. It happens," she said Wednesday, adding that she was following safety precautions as she unloaded her Ruger 380 semi-automatic handgun. No one was injured.
Combs said she has a concealed carry permit, allowing her to carry the gun, which she said she often carries in her purse.
Kentucky State Police Sgt. Jason Palmer, commander of the legislative security branch, said a legislator, or anyone, with a concealed carry permit can bring a loaded weapon to the Capitol or annex and be allowed in if that person has his or her permit.
He said no charges would be filed in the Combs incident, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. and was reported to state police about 4:25. "No evidence of criminal acts were observed," he said, adding that most of the bullet fragments were recovered and there was no sign that any fragment traveled outside the room.
Combs, a Democrat who's served in the House since 2007, said Rep. Jeff Greer, D-Brandenburg, was the only other person in the office when the gun fired. Democratic Rep. Derrick Graham came into the room after the gun fired to ask if Combs and Greer were OK. "I was in my office talking to people and heard a bang. ... We went over to the office and they (Combs and Greer) said, 'We're fine. We're fine.' " The only damage Graham said he saw was where the bullet struck the base of a bookcase.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...wmaker-discharges-gun-capitol-office/4387559/
Took them till the seventh paragraph to identify that she was a democrat. If she had been a Republican, that would have been in the title and the first sentence.