worth archiving here:
September 25, 2000
N.C. Man Caught With Gun
Arrest Shows Disparity in Capitol Firearms Policy
By Lauren W. Whittington and Ben Pershing
A North Carolina man was arrested last week after he entered a House office
building with a suitcase that contained a firearm.
There is no evidence that the man, Harold Watkins Jr., had intent to harm
anyone. But it is a felony for a civilian to carry a handgun in the District of
Columbia.
Watkins, a 46-year-old businessman from Wilson, N.C., was taken into
police custody just after 8 a.m. Tuesday morning after he informed Capitol
Police officers at the main entrance to the Longworth Building that the locked
suitcase he was carrying contained a gun.
Watkins, who was in Washington for a Chamber of Commerce event, said he
was unaware of "where D.C. began and Virginia ended" and that his permit
to carry a concealed weapon is valid in Virginia.
Watkins' arrest highlights a quirk in Capitol Police guidelines that effectively
grants lawmakers and their staffs a right to bear arms that no other civilian
on the Hill - or anywhere in the District of Columbia - has.
Under Capitol Police guidelines, Members and their aides may bring
unloaded, securely wrapped guns into the Capitol complex. Tourists and
other Hill workers can't.
Watkins was on his way to a breakfast sponsored by his Congressman, Rep.
Bob Etheridge (D), and several other members of the North Carolina
delegation. Watkins had had dinner with Etheridge the night before and said
he was unaware that he would be going to one of the Congressional office
buildings that morning.
"The Longworth Building - that didn't register to me as a federal building,"
Watkins explained when reached Friday at his home in North Carolina. "If
they'd have said the Capitol, of course I would have never even considered
even coming close to the building with a weapon at all."
Upon entering the building and seeing the armed police officers and metal
detectors, Watkins said he immediately went up to one of the officers,
showed him his North Carolina-issued concealed weapon permit and told him
that he had a gun in his suitcase.
"I knew then that I was in a situation that was improper," Watkins said.
At first, Watkins said the officers took the Smith & Wesson .38 revolver and
five rounds of ammunition, locked it away and told him: "When you leave,
Mr. Watkins, we will return your property." He then returned to the breakfast,
but only briefly.
"I was escorted back to the Congressman's breakfast. ... I had one bite of
eggs, I was taped on the shoulder - it was another officer," Watkins recalled.
It was at that point he was arrested and charged with "attempting to carry an
unregistered concealed weapon." He appeared in D.C. court later that day
and was released on his own recognizance.
Watkins said the reason he was carrying a gun was that he and his wife had
been mugged while staying in Alexandria, Va., a year ago and that he felt
that carrying the gun saved his life in that instance.
"I am a supporter and a very strong advocate of the Second Amendment,"
Watkins said. "I believe it allows us to have and hold the rest of the
constitutional rights and the other parts of the Bill of Rights. That's my
belief."
Lt. Dan Nichols, spokesman for the Capitol Police, said Watkins' situation is
not uncommon, and that other visitors to the Capitol find themselves in
similar situations because they are unfamiliar with the District's gun laws.
"Often times they have permits to carry guns in their home states and
they're under the impression that their permits are valid here when in fact
they're not," Nichols said, "and that leads to an arrestable offense."
But it would not have been an arrestable offense if Watkins had been a
Member or staffer.
In August, the Capitol Police issued an operational directive that reiterated
the department's longstanding gun policy, which states that "Members of
Congress or, after verification, any agent or employee of a member of
Congress that is carrying a firearm will be admitted to the Capitol Complex
provided the firearm is unloaded and securely wrapped."
That policy contradicts D.C. law, which says, "No person shall carry within the
District of Columbia either openly or concealed on or about their person, a
pistol, without a license issued pursuant to District of Columbia law."
It is a felony for civilians to possess a handgun in the District. Residents
may own a shotgun or a rifle if it is properly licensed.
But while Members and aides would technically have to violate District law
just to transport a handgun to the Hill, Capitol Police are not under any
obligation to report the offense to D.C. authorities.
"The regulations are promulgated for use on the Capitol grounds," said
Nichols.
If a Member or aide brings a gun to the Capitol, Nichols said that Capitol
Police officers do not have to inform the D.C. Metropolitan Police because
"it's not our jurisdiction."
While this Capitol firearms policy has been in effect since 1967, many
people on the Hill are unaware that it exists. Several aides and one top
Congressional official were shocked when they were informed of the policy.
Part of the reason why the policy is not widely known is that there have been
instances in recent years where aides have been arrested for trying to bring
guns into the Capitol. In those cases, however, the aides did not follow the
guidelines in the policy.
In April 1999, an aide to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) was arrested at an entrance
to Longworth after a handgun he had stashed in a laundry bag set off a
metal detector. He was charged with a misdemeanor.
And in 1997, a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) was
arrested and charged with two misdemeanors after a Capitol Police officer
noticed a shotgun in the aide's car. The shotgun was in violation of Capitol
Police guidelines because it was loaded.
