DEA agent who shot self in foot sues over Internet video

Only highly trained federal agents know how to handle firearms safely, right? And the rest of us should be gently disarmed?

In a remarkable video that's made the rounds on the Internet, Drug Enforcement Administration agent Lee Paige solemnly informed his audience at the Orlando Youth Minority Golf Association that he was the only one in the room knowledgeable enough to handle a firearm safely.

A moment later, he shot himself in the foot.

Limping and hobbling around the room, and presumably leaving a bloody trail along the way, Paige tried to put the best face on this publicly embarrassing incident. He even attempted to continue with the prepared spiel, pointing to what looks like an AR-15 style rifle and assuring everyone it was honestly, truly unloaded -- until the snickers from the crowd got a little too intense and he fled the room as quickly as his new wound would allow.

(One wonders if the crowd shouldn't have fled instead when Paige went for the battle rifle, given his demonstrated inability to safely handle a Glock handgun a moment earlier. "It's an empty weapon, guys," he shouted, trying to make himself heard over the hoots and jeers.)

Anyway, the shooting-himself-in-the-foot incident was recorded on video, it ended up in the hands of the DEA, and somehow it ended up on the Internet and TV. It's archived on the TheSmokingGun.com.

So Paige did what any highly-trained-in-handgun-safety special agent would do when held up to public ridicule: He sued the government.

The complaint posted this week says: "As a result of the disclosure... by the DEA, Mr. Paige became and is the target of jokes, derision, ridicule, and disparaging comments... Because he became highly recognizable as a result of the disclosure of the videotape, Mr. Paige has been unable to act as an undercover agent (and) is no longer permitted or able to give educational motivational speeches and presentations."

We all know the law rarely tracks morality, let alone common sense, but this claim seems unusually bizarre. Isn't it a good thing that Paige is no longer permitted to demonstrate "firearm safety" to children?