Uncle linked to this story this morning, regarding how a portly gentleman was able to smuggle a concealed handgun into a correctional facility in the folds of his blubber…even after having been searched 4 times (the headline says 5, but the story only tells of 4 searches. Apparently counting is not a required course in journalism school).

As…um…interesting…as the overall situation, something a little less obvious jumped out at me in the story.

George Vera, 25, was released on $10,000 bail after being charged with possessing or selling unlabeled recordings and possession of a firearm in a correctional facility. Harris County District Attorney’s spokeswoman Donna Hawkins said both charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by two to 10 years in prison upon conviction.

The possession of unlabeled recordings carries the same potential sentence as possession of a deadly weapon in a correctional facility.

Anyone else see a problem with this?

So, basically, under Texas law, I could spend ten years in prison and be denied constitutional rights for the rest of my life, for the heinous crime of burning the mp3 CD that I carry in my truck that has all my favorite music…ripped from records, tapes or CD’s that I legally own.

Not only is everyone probably a Federal criminal…it’s a good chance that everyone is a State Felon as well.