Man Who Lobbied to Outlaw Guns in School Arrested With Gun in School

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I believe there’s a proverb about digging a hole only to fall into it yourself that applies here.

Dwayne Ferguson spent more than a decade advocating for nonviolence and peace in the streets of Buffalo.

He was a well-known face in the movement for the SAFE Act, the state law that made carrying a gun on school property a felony. He was also a familiar presence in the hallways of the city’s Harvey Austin Elementary School, where he worked in the after-school program and mentored students.

No one imagined that on Thursday he would show up at the school in possession of a gun, touching off an hours-long lockdown, search and ultimately his arrest on two felony charges.

Ferguson, 52, told WGRZ-TV that he frequently carries the gun, for which he has a permit, and did not realize he had it on him when he went to the school as part of the mentoring program.

Those who have worked with him also said they believe it was an honest mistake.

No doubt it was an honest mistake. And that’s the problem. Plenty of people have been locked up for making honest mistakes under overzealous gun laws which don’t allow for the possibility of making honest mistakes.

Anti-gun campaigners have ramped up the paranoia and they don’t seem to care about the innocent people who get hurt in the process.

  • glpage

    They need to make an example of this guy. He pushed for making what he did illegal, so, there should be no preferential treatment for him. If he wants to push stupid laws on the rest of us, he needs to be liable for the consequences like the rest of us.

    • DogmaelJones1

      You mean that he should have a taste of his own “medicine”? I completely agree.

    • UCSPanther

      It’s like that case of a feminist pushing for more draconian punishment of rapists even before trial, and then changing her tune when her son was run through the wringers at his university after he was falsely accused of such a crime…

  • http://www.themadjewess.com/ The Mad Jewess

    Another LIBERAL!!!

  • Michael Shaw

    Hoisted with his own petard. I must admit to feelings of schadenfreude.

  • A Z

    “”No doubt it was an honest mistake.”

    I have seen my old man such a mistake. It could have cost him, but following an afternoon of target shooting, I did a second search of his vehicle when we came home.He had told me he was sure he had taken all the guns out.

    Mr Ferguson should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. they give no quarter. Neither should we.

    • Brian Harden

      We should fix the law.
      Until then, everyone should be prosecuted equally.

      • A Z

        Yup

  • 95Theses

    Honest mistake? No way. Persons who have a permit to carry — as I do — generally carry as often as they can. I can state that quite confidently. In my own circle of friends, everyone I know who has a CCW permit practices just that habit. No … I can’t prove that Ferguson isn’t guilty of an “honest mistake”, but it is more probable that he is lying. As a permit-holder, I am very conscious not only of the fact that my weapon is with me, but of where I am NOT allowed to have it on my person.

    And, yes, the law needs to be changed. In the state where I live anyone who has a permit undergoes a mandatory 12 hours of training and has a squeaky-clean
    background. We permit-holders are not among those who the public needs to fear. And I’m sure that Colin Flaherty would have something to add on that
    score.

    • T800

      go into any Costco,and you’re violating their “no guns” policy. Same for any General Growth Properties mall. I have personally verified both companies policies;Costco by email,and GGP’s is on their website.

      they just don’t post the required legal signage,to not alienate customers,trying to have it both ways.

  • Veracious_one

    living in the peaceful drug free, crime free city of Buffalo why does he feel the need to carry a gun at all?

    • UCSPanther

      Simple: There is trouble in “paradise”…

  • truebearing

    What irony. He did the kids a favor by being armed, legally, but did himself a great disfavor by championing laws that make no sense.

  • John Andrews

    I hope they apply the “Zero Tolerance” To him the way they do the kids…

  • T800

    We can’t afford paying armed guards or police and metal detectors at every school entrance in the nation,BUT,allowing armed school employees who have carry permits costs nothing,and puts armed GOOD people right where they would be needed all the time the school is open,close to the children that need protecting.
    It’s a PROVEN-to-work method.(Israel does it,and it works there,against real terrorists.)

    We could afford paying a small bonus to those school employees who get their permit and come to school armed on a regular basis,to encourage more of them to do it.

    Having armed teachers (and other school employees)is like having plainclothes police scattered all around the school,at no cost. it’s the smart thing to do.
    it’s also a DETERRENT,because these mass murderers SEEK OUT “gun-free zones” such as schools. If it’s known that schools have armed people on site,the murderers will avoid them,as the Aurora murderer did;he bypassed theaters closer to him for the one that was “gun-free”.

  • T800

    A popular misconception is that teachers or other school employees are a “worse threat” to the students (that is REALLY irrational) and ineffective against an armed intruder. That is untrue. Any armed school person would have to have a concealed carry permit,and permit holders have proven themselves to be safe and law-abiding,in EVERY US state that issues the permits.There’s no reason or evidence to believe that permit holders would act any different on school grounds than they do in other public places. There’s no evidence that a permittee would shoot an innocent,that just has not happened (by a permit holder) in real life,after decades of CC and thousands of defensive gun uses.

    “progressives” are all too willing to consider trashing the Constitution with Utopian-fantasy gun control and mental testing that cannot work and is impractical,but absolutely rule out allowing armed,carry-permitted school employees that HAS worked before in a couple of schools and other public places,doesn’t cost anything,and is very practical. VERY do-able,and EFFECTIVE.

    So it’s not really about keeping the children safe.

  • wileyvet

    Hey, Dwayne. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

  • Some Random Guy

    Yes, Mr. Ferguson, YOU are the danger you are protecting us from. How about we review your case to see if it is an ‘honest mistake’…or if you are really a decent, upstanding citizen who doesn’t deserve this level of prosecution.

    …Right behind the 1,400 other ‘SAFE Act’ violators who, according to your new tune, should first have their cases reviewed as well.

  • verneoz

    As with most intolerant liberals, this guy wants his brain fart policies he pontificates to apply to others…not him.