(Washington Post) It happened so quickly that Ben Srigley didn't have time to ponder his lawbreaking.
With three pit bulls attacking a young boy on the street outside his Northwest Washington home in January, he grabbed a 9mm Ruger P90 handgun from his bedroom, ran outside, and shot and killed one of the dogs. A D.C. police officer shot and killed the other two.
Srigley legally bought the handgun in Virginia but failed to register it in the District. His act of saving a child's life exposed him as a criminal, and as unwitting fodder for gun-rights advocates who saw his case a perfect example of why they assail as draconian the District's laws that make owning guns exceedingly difficult.