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Don't Bring Your Gun To The 9/11 Memorial
By
Garth Johnston
Published Dec 29, 2011
Modified Dec 29, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Dec 29, 2011
Modified Dec 29, 2011
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Look, tourists? We love you. All 50 million of you. But you can't keep bringing your guns to our attractions. You can't bring them to the top of the Empire State Building and you certainly can't bring them into the 9/11 Memorial—as one Tennessee woman learned last week.
According to the Post, fourth-year medical student Meredith Graves, 39, was in town with her husband for a job interview on Long Island and decided to pay her respects on December 22. She just happened to bring a fully-loaded .32 caliber pistol along in her purse. While in the Memorial she noticed a sign that said, "No Guns Allowed," and asked a security guard if there was a place she could check her weapon. He led her to another guard who promptly arrested her. She was then locked up on a weapons-possession charge and held on a $2,000 bond she wasn't able to pay until yesterday. She's due back in court March 19.
Though Graves has a full legal carry permit in her home state, that doesn't mean much here (see: Plaxico Burress). She's facing a felony gun possession charge—which has a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years. Of course, Graves may well end up like Floridian Jonathan Ryan, who was acquitted of packing heat despite packing heat. Still, the facts remain. We love it when tourists visit, but we prefer when they visit unarmed.
Tagged
9/11 memorial and museum
guns
nyc
tourism
weapons
world trade center
Garth Johnston
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