Politics & Government

UPDATE: Assemblyman Says He 'Forgot' Gun in Briefcase

Tim Donnelley told reporters at the state capital that he forgot his gun, which he carried in response to death threats he received for his opposition to the Dream Act.

UPDATE: Tim Donnelly, a self-proclaimed Tea Party Republican who represents the 59th Assembly District, said he carried a gun because of death threats he received after leading a petition drive for a referendum to overturn the Dream Act, according to Huffington Post Los Angeles

The Dream Act is a recent state law that allows illegal immigrant college students to apply for public financial aid at public universities and community colleges, according to KPCC (98.3)

Donnelly told reporters at the state capital that tried to hide the gun from his wife and placed it inside his briefcase, Huffington Post reported.

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"I didn't want her to see that I had my firearm out because we have received death threats with what I've been working on," he said. "So I do tend to always be armed. The issue is strictly one that I completely forgot, coming back to work this morning, that it was in that briefcase."

The assemblyman does not have a permit from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department--which has jurisdiction over where Donnelly lives in Twin Peaks--to carry a concealed weapon, Jodi Miller of the department said. 

Find out what's happening in Glendorawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Previously: --whose 59th District includes Glendora, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, La Crescenta and other parts of the northern San Gabriel Valley--was cited by airport police Wednesday morning for carrying a loaded firearm in his carry-on baggage at the Ontario Airport. 

At approximately 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, the Twin Peaks resident was stopped and cited by airport police for carrying a loaded .45 Colt Mark IV handgun in his luggage, said Nico Melendez, spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration. 

In addition to the loaded firearm, officers located a separate ammunition magazine with an additional five rounds, Melendez said. 

Donnelly was released by airport police and will appear in court at a later date. 

The weapon was retained by Ontario Police.

A spokeswoman for Donnelly told the Sacramento Bee that the Assemblyman forgot the gun was in his bag.

"When he was packing to leave, he had forgotten that it was in there," said Cassandra Joiner, Donnelly's spokeswoman. "He didn't realize it when he put it through the metal detector."

Donnelly is a well-known opponent of gun control. From his campaign website:

We believe the 2nd Amendment confers upon every citizen the individual right to keep and bear arms, and that this right must not be infringed.

Patch is trying to get a comment from Donnelly and will update the story with new information as we get it.


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