Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says his 26-year-old son made a "careless mistake" this past week.
Huckabee’s son, David, was arrested at an Arkansas airport Thursday after a security check-point agent detected a loaded Glock handgun in his carry-on luggage. "He travels a lot and had it in his briefcase and took an early morning flight," the former Arkansas governor said Saturday during an interview with Radio Iowa. "…It was in his briefcase, under his computer, and he just didn’t remember it."
David Huckabee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possessing a weapon in a prohibited place. A judge ordered him to perform 10 days of community service and he paid nearly $900 in fines and court fees. The elder Huckabee describes it as a "foolish mistake."
"And one for which he has and will pay dearly," Huckabee said. "I make no excuses for him, nor does he make them for himself, but it’s the kind of thing that shouldn’t have happened and he didn’t receive any special treatment for sure, and he shouldn’t have. He’s an adult and he has to accept the consequences of his actions."
Huckabee’s son had a permit to carry the weapon, but authorities in Arkansas are in the process of revoking that permit because of Thursday’s incident. The former governor, who’s also a former Baptist minister, has his own permit to carry a concealed weapon. The candidate, though, generally leaves the weapon at home while he’s campaigning. Huckabee said he doesn’t see the "necessity" to be armed on the campaign trail.
"Normally, you know, I don’t necessarily carry when I’m traveling particularly if I’m flying commercial airlines," Huckabee said. "You can do it. You have to pack it in your checked bag. You have to declare it. You have to have the ammunition stored separately. The weapon has to be in a hard case. The restrictions are not that ominous, but they are specific."
Huckabee said recently the gunman at Virginia Tech might have been stopped if a teacher or student had also been armed.