Rifle or 'paper weight'? Did Rep. Ken Buck break D.C.'s gun laws with this photo of an AR-15?

Last week, Colorado Rep. Ken Buck tweeted this photo of himself and Rep. Trey Gowdy holding an AR-15 decorated with American flags…

.@TGowdySC stopped by today and we got a photo with my AR-15 #2A #SecondAmendment @TPPatriots @TeaPartyExpress pic.twitter.com/FhnAlyqTeW

— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 16, 2015

…And now D.C. is investigating to see if Buck is in violation of the city’s strict gun laws:

DC attorney general "looking into" photo of Benghazi panel chairman with assault rifle: http://t.co/7ZiYTlVjbs pic.twitter.com/UUTYrkL3uF

— The Hill (@thehill) April 21, 2015

Is this really going to be a problem for the Congressman? Buck says that the rifle is “inoperable” and was approved by Capitol police, but is that enough?

You would assume that DC wouldn't be crazy enough to go after congressmen over this but I'm not so sure http://t.co/aEeIdE9byF

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) April 21, 2015

@StephenGutowski You're kidding, right?

— James Wester (@jameswester) April 21, 2015

@jameswester No. Both the gun and the magazine are illegal in DC. Hope that approval from the Capitol Police holds up.

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) April 21, 2015

Re: @repkenbuck's AR-15 in D.C., 1. The lower receiver is legally the weapon, 2. 30-round magazine is illegal no matter what. #copolitics

— ???? ???????? (@alanfranklin) April 21, 2015

From The Hill:

Buck told The Hill the rifle is “inoperable” and that he received approval from U.S. Capitol Police to bring it to his office, where it is on display in a locked case.

“I have a very patriotic AR-15 hanging in my office. It hangs directly above my Second Amendment flag,” Buck said.

“While safety protocols call for all guns to be treated as if they are loaded, this one isn’t. Further, a close inspection of the only public photo of the rifle will show that the bolt carrier assembly is not in the rifle; it is in fact in Colorado.”

“It is a beautiful, patriotic paper weight,” he added.

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Flashback. D.C. attorney general declined to prosecute NBC’s David Gregory when he used an illegal-in-D.C. clip for an AR-15 for a “Meet the Press” segment in 2012:

DC attorney general slams NBC for ‘feeble’ effort to understand gun laws, won’t prosecute David Gregory; Update: Gregory’s wife knew attorney general

We’ll certainly be hearing more about Rep. Buck’s case in the coming days.

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