Ryan Shucard, the press secretary for Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), was arrested Friday morning by Capitol Police for carrying an unlicensed firearm. Shucard was detained by security while entering the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill as security found a 9mm handgun and magazine on Shucard. Apparently, Shucard does not have a license for the handgun and has been charged with a felony count of carrying without a license.
Other than security and law enforcement, firearms are prohibited on Capitol Hill. This is a well-known policy, one that you’d think a Congressman’s press secretary would know. Any time you enter a building on the Hill you have to go through a routine search. It is mind boggling that a staffer would think he can merely walk into a Congressional building with a handgun and clip and just be allowed to go about his business.
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However, maybe he was just listening to the rhetoric of his boss and the NRA lobbyists that keep Rep. Marino in line. Marino currently holds an ‘A’ rating with the NRA. In January 2013, just weeks after the Sandy Hook shooting, Marino complained about a gun show being postponed in his district due to sensitivity over assault rifles.
“The decision represents yet another attempt to undermine protections guaranteed to all Americans under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and it restricts the ability for law-abiding citizens to purchase legal firearms that are increasingly being used for hunting in a number of states. I encourage Reed Exhibitions to swiftly reverse its decision and for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to take steps to ensure that all future events of this nature held at the Farm Show Complex are held in a manner that respects the Second Amendment rights of all Pennsylvanians.”
So maybe Shucard just thought it was completely OK with his boss to walk around the halls of Congress carrying an unlicensed handgun and made sure he was strapped when he came to work on Friday. Perhaps Shucard was just trying to emulate the man he works for by doing something idiotic. Last summer, the Congressman didn’t realize that Congress actually has the power to impeach the President of the United States. In March 2011, Marino was apparently unaware that Libya is in Africa. Shucard probably figured that doing and saying dumb things was a part of his job description.
Shucard is currently on unpaid leave.
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Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
