NBC’s “Meet the Press” is embroiled in a gun controversy after its host displayed what appeared to be a high-capacity ammunition magazine on national television Sunday, a violation of Washington, D.C., gun laws, reports the city’s Post. Police are now investigating whether a crime had been committed when host David Gregory held up the magazine that holds 30 bullets as he questioned the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre about the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn. Possession of such a magazine in D.C. is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Viewers e-mailed D.C. police after watching the segment, asking them to arrest Gregory. Police said NBC contacted police before the show and were told that possession of a high capacity magazine “is not permissible.” Gregory appears to have used a large-capacity ammunition magazine anyway. The situation presents authorities with an unusual decision: file charges in a crime that is infrequently prosecuted or appear unwilling to enforce the District's gun laws. Gun rights advocates were among those who called police to complain.