Man arrested for traveling with his gun in the car tackles the system!

Locked & Unloaded: The NRA, ACLU & HPD
(As told to Richard Connelly)

Keith Patton of Katy has become an unlikely hero of both the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, and you’d think that’s not easy to do.

In Patton’s case, though, it actually was easy enough to do, if not to endure. He bought a gun in February and was taking it home when he was pulled over for allegedly speeding and changing lanes without a signal.

Just to be on the safe side, he told the officer he had an unloaded gun in his car. No ammunition anywhere, just an unloaded .357 Magnum.

The result: 27 hours in jail and about $2,100 in fees and attorney’s costs.

“I actually thought it was somewhat comical,” he says of the arrest. “I started laughing and I said, ‘Are you arresting me?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, you think this is funny?’ And I said, ‘Well, I do, kind of. I just told you where I was coming from. I don’t even have any ammunition in the car — what the hell are you arresting me for?'”
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Saturday (today?) is the 8th Annual Midtown Visions Cultural Arts Tour, an art walk including studios and galleries along Main Street and adjacent streets just south of downtown Houston. I will be upstairs from Art Supply on Main, 2711 Main Street, in studio 215 from noon to 5 with about 30 of my photos for show and sale, probably keeping myself entertained by reading some Jim Steinmeyer and listening to my iPod, but if you’re in the neighborhood, or heading to the Houston International Festival, drop by and say hi!

Our Mayor, Bill White

I must say, I was surprised to see so many people attend this opening considering it was during lunch time on a thursday. Nonetheless, after seeing the artwork I knew why. The mayor started it off by making a great speech and I was shocked to see his enthusiasm for the arts. Hopefully someone caught it on tape and will put it on YouTube. The first 4 floors of the building had artwork along the main hallways and was a collection of some of Houston’s most talented new artists. There were all types of styles and I guarantee you’d find something you like. Unfortunately I think that viewing these pieces any other time than the opening might be a little akward since it’s in a government office setting. You also have to go through an x-ray machine and sign in just to get through the front door… and downtown parking during business hours!

So my post yesterday was meant as a joke but I didn’t know I was being accurate. Check out what I found today:

“Parker’s office initiated a full-scale review of HPD’s policies and training on Tasers and examined the 1,000-plus times they’ve been used since December 2004.”

I suggest reading the following article if you’re concerned with this topic…
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So I’ve been really upset at the immigration situation lately and I think it should take priority over this unjust Iraq war. Especially if Bush REALLY IS concerned about the health of our Nation. I’m not racist. I am a fair person. Unfortunately things have gotten out of hand and now I am furious over illegals here. I don’t want my country to be a third world nation filled with sweatshops making inferior products for other countries around the world. That’s what’s going to happen if we give these people blanket amnesty. Don’t even get me started on the effects it will have on our economy (taxes) and benefits. Want to be an American citizen? Then follow the process and pay your dues. Otherwise I think you need to get the F*** out of here and go start a revolution in your own country. The La Raza movement is funded by the Bush family via Allen & Co. in Dallas. They want civil war on our streets and are making it happen. (Problem(Mexicans Want U.S. Land)-Reaction(Protests & Debates)-Solution(Amnesty & North American Union)). Anyway, Instead of detailing why I’m so upset about this stuff I’ll let Lou Dobbs do it for me. If you’re interested in hearing more about this I’d recommend watching some of his YouTube videos.

The Bush administration and the leadership of the Democratic Party are preparing to take another legislative leap at imposing a massive illegal alien amnesty on American citizens.

And the mainstream media is complicit in advancing this thinly veiled blanket amnesty. Instead of asking and answering important questions about why our immigration laws aren’t being enforced and why we’re permitting pervasive document fraud, the national media seems hell-bent on trying to obfuscate the issue, shamelessly playing with language, equating legal immigration with illegal immigration while obviously trying to preserve the illusion of objectivity.
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Deputies shoot one man, Taser another

Harris County sheriff’s deputies shot and wounded one man and deployed a Taser on another after a brawl Tuesday at an apartment complex in northeast Harris County.

A deputy responding to a report of a fight in the parking lot in the 5300 block of Aldine Bender about 6 p.m. shot the man once in the leg after he allegedly pulled a gun and attempted to flee, said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. John Martin.

The unidentified man was taken to a hospital, where he is expected to recover, Martin said.

He said another man was stunned with a Taser when he refused to cooperate with deputies trying to clear the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.

-Extracted From The Chronicle–

I just came across a nice little video on YouTube. It’s an interview with Houston Graffiti artist Article. I lost a bit of respect for him after the MFAH thing but this make up for that crap…

In case you don’t remember, Article was the one who got arrested at the Westheimer Block Party a year ago…

Remember Kids…

There is no law in America, aside from those applying to medical workers, that says you or your child has to take any vaccine whatsoever, no matter what any executive order, requirement, mandate or policy dictates, there is no situation where you can go to prison for refusing a government vaccine under the U.S. constitution and the law of the land.

“As in the case of all other vaccines, Perry’s executive order merely states that the vaccine is “recommended,” yet the mass media drumbeat constantly conditions people to believe that if they don’t take their shots they will be kicked out of school, arrested and thrown in jail. This trick will continue to hoodwink Americans into taking all manner of dangerous and untested vaccines, the number of which rises every year, until they realize that there is no law that forces them to take any vaccine.”
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I’m really anxious to hear from you supporters of this new weaponry…

Breaking News From The Chronicle:

April 24, 2007, 6:51AM
Suspect dies after HPD officers use Taser on him

A man died at a southwest Houston apartment complex after Houston Police officers used a Taser against him for non-compliance Monday night.

The man, who was in police custody at the time, died around 11 p.m. in the 7600 block of Gulfton.

EMS technicians were present at the time of the death.

Investigators at the scene declined to comment and the incident remains under investigation.

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4742194.html

Did you get tickets to the event? He’ll be in town on May 1 so if you didn’t get tickets (they are sold out now) you can watch online here or listen here or here.

He will be speaking about compassion, tolerance and universal responsibility. I think the compassion talk should be of interest, especially with the recent shootings that are grazing the headlines lately.