I Forgot

Seems that it's now legal for American citizens to carry loaded firearms into airports- so long as police can't prove you did it on purpose.

Charges will not be filed against a district court judge who was accused of taking a loaded gun to a Detroit Metropolitan Airport checkpoint this summer.

Washtenaw County prosecutors decided not to charge Sylvia James, chief judge of Inkster's 22nd District Court, because investigators couldn't prove she intentionally took the handgun July 28.

"There is insufficient proof to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. James knowingly possessed the handgun," Konrad Siller, first assistant prosecutor in Washtenaw County, wrote in his Nov. 13 memo to the Wayne County Airport Police. He declined Monday to discuss the issue further.

Of course you plebs will get exactly the same treatment, won't you? You can just say, "I forgot I had it on me," and the police will have to prove- beyond a reasonable doubt no less- that you didn't. No court cases necessary- charges will simply be dropped without any lengthy and expensive legal battles. Yep, I'm sure that plain old ordinary Joe will get that kind of treatment.

The decision not only removes the threat of jail and fines, but also lessens the likelihood of discipline from the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. Carrying a gun in an airport is a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in a jail. Carrying one on a plane is a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

James also faced the prospect of $7,500 in fines from the Traffic Safety Administration.

I'm sure that her being a judge had nothing to do with it and I'm shocked- shocked I tell you- at the implication that her job somehow puts her on a different level than the average citizen. I mean, really, it's not like she's part of some privileged class that receives preferential treatment at the hands of the law solely because of what she does for a living. The American people wouldn't stand for that. Right?