GRAVES 9/11 Memorial bust.
Now she’s got Albany’s attention.
The Tennessee tourist arrested for bringing her home-state-registered handgun to the 9/11 Memorial has picked up some powerful allies in the capital — who plan to reassess the state’s stringent gun-possession laws.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), the state’s second-most powerful Democrat, said yesterday that he will have “a committee hold a hearing on this question, to see how exactly the law is being enforced and to look at the possibility that there should be changes in the law.’’
The changes could include tweaking the law to allow leniency for people with guns registered in other states who mistakenly bring their weapons to New York.
EDITORIAL: COMMON SENSE ON GUNS
Meredith Graves, 39, tried to check in her loaded .32-caliber Kel-Tec firearm with a cop at the memorial after noticing a “No Guns” sign on Dec. 22. She has a permit in Tennessee for the pistol.
She’s now facing a felony gun-possession charge that carries at least 3 1/2 years in prison. She was originally suspected of having drugs on her, but NYPD cops confirmed yesterday that a white powder found in her purse was nothing illegal.
“Her actions show a clear indication that she didn’t know she was breaking the law, and when she saw the sign, she said, ‘OK, I do have a gun. Take it from me,’ ” said Silver, whose district includes Ground Zero. “There was no criminal intent.”
Silver noted that under the current law, the Manhattan DA and a judge can show her leniency only before she is indicted by a grand jury. After that, they are bound by minimum-sentence guidelines.
“The judge can show flexibility, and I think it should be done here,” Silver said.
State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R-Canandaigua) also backed leniency for Graves, a married medical student who drove to New York with her husband to look for work as a nurse on Long Island.
“That is so ridiculous,” Kolb said. “She had a legitimate permit for the gun in Tennessee. I just think that’s the wrong message to send to a law-abiding citizen.”
Kolb said he supports a federal effort to allow registered gun owners to take their weapons to other states.
For Graves, he suggested a small fine and a slap on the wrist.
“But to make her hire an attorney and threaten her with jail time is overkill,” he said.
Additional reporting by Erik Kriss