Anti-gun civil rights attorney arrested with gun at Cleveland airport

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that a prominent Cleveland civil rights attorney was arrested last Saturday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in connection with carrying a concealed weapon.

While I take no joy in seeing a fellow gun owner arrested for making harmless mental error, it is the identity of this particular gun owner that makes this article worthy of discussion.

From the article:

David Malik was arrested about 4:15 p.m. after airport security found an unloaded .22 caliber handgun and a box of ammunition in his carry-on bag, records show.

"I participated in a target shooting class recently with a certified CCW instructor and I simply forgot to remove it from my bag," Malik said in a statement. "I used the bag to pack for my trip. It was a stupid mistake."

Malik spent Saturday night in jail and was released on bond Sunday morning, according to Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association.

...

"What's interesting about David is he is such an anti-gun person," Loomis said. "He's such an anti-violence person, and of all the things for him to get arrested for, that really surprises me."

Again while I find no joy in seeing an otherwise law-abiding gun owner in such a situation, it is Malik's "guns for me but not for thee" hypocrisy that makes his situation noteable.

According to the article, Malik has had a number of cases against the city and local law enforcement, and has remained vocal about police brutality and the need for improvement in police departments.

Most recently, Malik represented the family of a 12 year-old boy who was shot by police after attempting to draw what turned out to be an airsoft pistol from his waist-band. Seeking to take advantage of the sad situation, State Rep. Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) introduced legislation, based off of a recently-passed California gun control law, requiring all BB guns, air rifles and airsoft guns sold in Ohio to be brightly colored or have prominent fluorescent strips.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.