Soldier to Get His Illegally Seized Firearms Back from DC -3

by John Haughey

(From: The Gun Shots)  Washington Times Senior Editor Emily Miller has been writing a series of blogs and articles illuminating the hypocrisy of the anti-gun zealots in their quest to diminish your Second Amendment rights.

In her blog, "Emily Gets Her Gun," Miller documented the bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles she encountered while trying to get a firearms permit in Washington, DC. She has also chronicled other local and federal infringements on the Second Amendment as an opinion page editor at the Times.

Now, she's challenging DC's property seizure laws in defense of a National Guard officer after the city refused to return his confiscated weapons even after charges against him were either dismissed or dropped.

According to Miller, it happened like this:

"Two years ago, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested 1st Lt. Augustine Kim on four felony charges of carrying firearms in DC after he was pulled over with the items securely stored in his trunk, which is legal under federal law.

Lt. Kim, a veteran of two combat tours in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of possessing an unregistered gun, but that charge was dismissed in May 2011. All other charges were dropped.

Although it was determined that Kim was legally transporting his personal firearms when they were seized, DC policy states it does not return confiscated weapons without a hearing."

Repeated requests by Kim and his attorney for a hearing were ignored -- ignored, that is, until Miller publicized this illegal seizure and subsequent theft with articles in the Times.

The result: Kim will get his guns back by Memorial Day.

The sad reality: "It took the help of a high-powered lawyer, two U.S. Senators, a member of Congress and national publicity to force the obstinate District to show some respect for the Constitution," Miller writes. "It should never happen again."