Pols urge DA to go easy on gun-toting Ground Zero tourist
By SALLY GOLDENBERG and JAMIE SCHRAM
Last Updated: 9:50 AM, December 30, 2011
Posted: 1:58 AM, December 30, 2011
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The Manhattan DA should show mercy to a Tennessee tourist who was busted for bringing a gun to the 9/11 Memorial, considering the weapon is registered in her home state, lawmakers and legal experts told The Post yesterday.
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), chairman of the Public Safety Committee, personally asked Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office not to push for the 3 1/2-year minimum sentence for Meredith Graves, 39.
“By prosecuting this woman and seeking 3 1/2 years of jail, we are shooting our own [gun-control] efforts in the foot and giving the rest of the country ammunition,” Vallone said.
9/11 MUSEUM DELAYED
Graves had the .32-caliber Kel-Tec handgun in her purse when she went to the memorial on Dec. 22 and tried to check it with a cop after she saw a sign reading “No Guns.”
Vallone cited a recently passed House bill that would allow people to carry registered guns between all states regardless of local laws.
“Clearly, the laws are too strict here, but that’s something we need to work out for ourselves without honoring licenses to carry guns in states where felons can carry them,” he said.
After she was busted, police found a white substance in her purse. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is awaiting test results before considering charges.
Vallone said that even if it turns out to be drugs, “It still doesn’t mean she deserves 3 1/2 years in jail.”
Graves’ arrest has some experts questioning how New York’s stringent gun laws are applied.
“We have pretty severe laws. Sometimes, cases like this make us question if the laws are up to date and if it was really what the legislators had in mind,” said professor Maki Haberfeld, chair of John Jay College’s Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Department.
“Laws get revisited all the time because of pressure from the public.”
Steve Ziedman, a criminal-law professor at CUNY School of Law, thinks Albany can tweak the law to account for people like Graves.
“I think that lawmakers are smart enough to craft exceptions, and, if not, the judicial system — prosecutors and judges — should take the entire situation into account when deciding on appropriate treatment,” he said.
“In my view, the criminal law should focus almost exclusively on people who purposefully and intentionally engage knowingly and unlawfully in criminal conduct.”
Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-SI) said he fears that cops and prosecutors are trying to make an example of Graves.
“It seems like this is more about making an example of her than it is punitive measures for her offense,” Ignizio said.
“And I just think a judge will take that into consideration when handing down her sentence.”
Read more: Mercy urged for Tennessee tourist who took gun to 9/11 Memorial - NYPOST.com
By SALLY GOLDENBERG and JAMIE SCHRAM
Last Updated: 9:50 AM, December 30, 2011
Posted: 1:58 AM, December 30, 2011
More Print
The Manhattan DA should show mercy to a Tennessee tourist who was busted for bringing a gun to the 9/11 Memorial, considering the weapon is registered in her home state, lawmakers and legal experts told The Post yesterday.
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens), chairman of the Public Safety Committee, personally asked Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office not to push for the 3 1/2-year minimum sentence for Meredith Graves, 39.
“By prosecuting this woman and seeking 3 1/2 years of jail, we are shooting our own [gun-control] efforts in the foot and giving the rest of the country ammunition,” Vallone said.
9/11 MUSEUM DELAYED
Graves had the .32-caliber Kel-Tec handgun in her purse when she went to the memorial on Dec. 22 and tried to check it with a cop after she saw a sign reading “No Guns.”
Vallone cited a recently passed House bill that would allow people to carry registered guns between all states regardless of local laws.
“Clearly, the laws are too strict here, but that’s something we need to work out for ourselves without honoring licenses to carry guns in states where felons can carry them,” he said.
After she was busted, police found a white substance in her purse. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is awaiting test results before considering charges.
Vallone said that even if it turns out to be drugs, “It still doesn’t mean she deserves 3 1/2 years in jail.”
Graves’ arrest has some experts questioning how New York’s stringent gun laws are applied.
“We have pretty severe laws. Sometimes, cases like this make us question if the laws are up to date and if it was really what the legislators had in mind,” said professor Maki Haberfeld, chair of John Jay College’s Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Department.
“Laws get revisited all the time because of pressure from the public.”
Steve Ziedman, a criminal-law professor at CUNY School of Law, thinks Albany can tweak the law to account for people like Graves.
“I think that lawmakers are smart enough to craft exceptions, and, if not, the judicial system — prosecutors and judges — should take the entire situation into account when deciding on appropriate treatment,” he said.
“In my view, the criminal law should focus almost exclusively on people who purposefully and intentionally engage knowingly and unlawfully in criminal conduct.”
Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-SI) said he fears that cops and prosecutors are trying to make an example of Graves.
“It seems like this is more about making an example of her than it is punitive measures for her offense,” Ignizio said.
“And I just think a judge will take that into consideration when handing down her sentence.”
Read more: Mercy urged for Tennessee tourist who took gun to 9/11 Memorial - NYPOST.com
