On Sunday, Meet the Press host David Gregory held up a high-capacity magazine while on-air as a demonstration for his guest, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. On Wednesday, we learned that this had prompted a totally real D.C. police investigation based on a technicality over how Gregory obtained the clip and whether it belonged to him. Which, of course, sent the conservative blogosphere into a vortex of outrage — even the NRA tweeted out a link on its pro-NRA news feed. But on Thursday LaPierre's colleague, NRA President David Keene, insisted that he's "not a vindictive guy that wants to go after David Gregory." It's a rare example of bridge-building for an organization that has blamed the media regarding Newtown and long before that. Still, Keene argues that the magazine flap further confirms the legitimacy of the NRA's political goals. From his interview on CNN:

It's a felony in Washington, D.C., to own that magazine or to be caught with a cartridge. So I really think what David Gregory did, while he was inadvertently flouting the law, was illustrated in a very graphic way, perhaps not intentionally, just how silly some of these laws are.

After CNN anchor Carol Costello asks him, "But isn't it the NRA's position to enforce the existing laws on the books? Then why not enforce this one, it's on the books?", Keene goes on:

No, the fact of the matter is, if you want to support indicting David Gregory, fine. I'll tell you who I'd like to indict, the people in Chicago, the criminals in Chicago who made that one of the most violent cities in America. In Chicago, there's less chance that you'll be prosecuted under federal firearms laws than in almost any major city in this country and that's a crime.

Here's the full interview, on video:

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J.K. Trotter