Letters to the Editor: How is what David Lacey did different than Mark and Patricia McCloskey?

To the editor: When Mark and Patricia McCloskey each pointed a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters passing by their house in suburban St. Louis en route to the mayor’s residence on June 28, 2020, they became poster children for the National Rifle Assn. and later spoke at the Republican National Convention. (“Former D.A.’s husband and protesters both crossed the line in 2020 gun incident,” editorial, April 13)

Both were later charged with unlawful use of a weapon, a Class E felony. As St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner explained, “It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in a nonviolent protest.”

The Times Editorial Board did not rush to the defense of these two gun nuts. But when the nut in question is David Lacey, husband of former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, the story changes.

Lacey pointed a gun at Melina Abdullah, cofounder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, and threatened to shoot her during an early-morning demonstration outside Lacey’s home. She wants Lacey stripped of his right to bear arms, a perfectly reasonable, law-abiding request.

Leigh Clark, Granada Hills