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AP Photo by Casey Templeton
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Alice Tripp, Legislative Director of The Texas State Rifle Association, has given us "The Story Behind the Gun Show Crisis in Austin." Her first main conclusion?
Darwin Boedeker of Texas Gun Shows was not the focus of the Thursday, Jan. 14th, meeting. He was not threatened, coerced or intimidated by BATF or the APD.
I guess the question that comes to my mind is, what would have happened had Boedecker refused to cooperate with the "suggestions"?
Darwin Boedeker did not take a lawyer, did not stop the meeting or ask for advice, and did not ever contact TSRA.
What would have happened if he had?
I'm not sure we have all the necessary facts to be drawing conclusions about this. Despite Ms. Tripp's assurances that "I was able to visit on the phone with a law enforcement officer who acted as the door-cop at Austin gun shows for many years" and "I asked [sic] also able to talk with other APD officers involved with the Thursday meeting," regular readers will recall a previous column about this, where attorney Jerri Lynn Ward shared with us her Open Records Request to the Austin Police Department.
Here's what she asked for:
This is a request under the Open Records Act, Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code of Texas. Please also provide any and all documents, notes correspondence, summaries, worksheets, memoranda, and/or assignment sheets e-mails and video or audio recordings reviewed, produced, generated, used, and/or compiled regarding the Austin Police Department’s collaboration with the Bureau of Arms Tobacco and Alcohol in demanding, requesting, discussing and/or advising the Texas Gun Show and HEB to bar or prevent or end private gun sales except via Federally Licensed Dealers, during the gun show scheduled for January 16 and 17, 2010 and held at the Crockett Center in Austin, Texas. Please also provide any video or audio recordings of the meetings held between APD, ATF and/or HEB and the operator of the Texas Gun Show.
It is our expectation that these items will be provided within the time-frame mandated by the above-referenced Texas statute. Please let me know the cost of copying.
Here's what she's received:
2010.02.02 City of Austin Ltr Re Open Records Req-1
Forgive me if I can't help but focus on these words:
[T]he department wishes to withhold some of the requested information and has asked for a decision from the Attorney General about whether the information is within an exception to public disclosure.
Why?
Sorry, and with all due respect and gratitude to Ms. Tripp for following up and fleshing out so many details for us, when the government dodges being forthcoming, and thus held accountable to the law for information their agents are willing to personally attest to on an official record (with all the attendant liabilities that implies), my antennae go up.
I'm not ready to conclude that we have the whole story on this yet.
Comments
Hope we can arrive at the truth soon. I'm getting whiplash. :)
Don't tell me, let me guess: we can't handle the truth, right?
After Googling that referenced code, it does not apply to anything from this request for public information. It is not a criminal investigation, and the release of such would not hinder an investigation or conviction of a non crime.
552.101
Criminal History Information - Nothing about a criminal has been requested.
Juvenile Law Enforcement Records - No Juvenile either.
Records of Alleged or Suspected Abuse or Neglect of a Child. - Again no juvenile.
552.108(a)(1)
"if release of the information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime." - Opening an investigation to avoid release of public information?
552.108(a)(2)
This request is not about a specific person, none of these apply.
Cordially,
Joel Stoner, Mayor
City of Macks Creek
Time for the AG of Texas to inform the APD they need to cough up the requested information and/or re-imburse all parties for lost business revenue and avoid stepping on their private parts in the future.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the term "Kangaroo Court".
Any time a government agency stalls at divulging information to the public and opaques what should be transparent they are protecting kangaroos. I have learned over the years that kangaroos always hop further and faster in the dark than in the bright light of day.
To quote Patrick Henry, "I smell a rat."
[W-III]
Freedom, individual rights, TEXAS knows better- its why they have retained partial sovereignty throughout!
I disagree that the gun show promoter was "not intimidated". He was the sub-sub-sublessee. The lease holders above him said "do this or else". The owner of the $2.6 million building is WAL MART. And HEB is one of the biggest private corporations in the US. They did not want to fight the Austin PD and it's jackbooted thug cheif, Acevedo. I WILL be at the show this month and we'll see what happens.
Here's the deal. The right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. In every other finding of the suprememe court the phrase "the people" has been found to cover all persons, whether or not citizens of the U.S. Therefore, there is no such thing as an illegally possessed or transferred firearm. All laws saying so are unconstitutional and I hope the supremes clarify this in their Chicago ruling. Then even dealer sales won't have to be OK'd by the Federal government.
(continued from previous post) Once the 2nd amendment is affirmed by the supreme court and all firearm possession and transfer is legal again then there's no such thing as an illegal gun - only illegal acts (like robbery, rape, murder committed either with or without a gun).
MOLON LABE!!!!! Spread the word.
Tea party time at all levels. It's time to restart all our government and removed all the career appointees as well. They suck as much if not more than the elected ones. Law enforcement officers should not be allowed to have an agenda! Their job is to uphold and enforce all laws, not just the one's they think are important. This includes speeding while working.....
Many things should have been done, but I don't see ANY reason that the APD to withhold info here unless they are in the WRONG. This does NOT smell good at all. I wonder if Austin is the reason the Cheif wants out? Not really the "money" is it? It's either more power or "something else" that we don't know about... hmmm
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