Man Harassed for Possessing a Standard Capacity Magazine

We knew this was going to happen:

Norwalk Police wrote a summons for Tyrone Watson, 30, of Bridgeport, on Sunday for possession of a large capacity magazine on or after Jan. 1, 2014, that was obtained prior to April 5, 2013. His court date is Jan. 17.

An officer stopped Watson’s vehicle on Water Street at 1:25 a.m. Sunday, because the officer felt that Watson was tailgating him, police said. The officer let Watson’s car pass, then pulled him over, police said.

While trying to find his license and registration, Watson took out his pistol permit and quickly put it back, according to police.

The officer asked if Watson had a weapon on him, and Watson replied that he was carrying a gun, police said.

The officer secured the handgun for the duration of the motor vehicle stop and while making the pistol safe, the officer noticed that the pistol had 11 bullets in its magazine and none in its chamber, police said. The magazine had a capacity to hold 15 bullets, according to police.

A portion of Connecticut’s new gun laws, which went into effect Jan. 1, make it illegal to have a magazine that holds more than 10 bullets. Large capacity magazines purchased prior to the passage of the new law had to be registered by Dec. 31.

With the simple change of the data a gun that has been legally carried by a man became illegal, at least in its standard configuration. Now the man will have to waste his time and money trying to defend the fact that he continued to use the specified equipment for his carry piece. Another arbitrary government decree causes another innocent person to be harassed by the state’s thugs.