|
COP SLIPS UP ON FACEBOOK Remarks Draw Fire From Gun-Rights Proponents (Larry Pratt is in EST)
In an unusual twist involving the increasingly wide-open forum of Facebook, an East Palo Alto, California, Police Detective has found that shooting from the hip, so to speak—even in a private Internet dialogue—can get you in hot water.
After exchanging comments with a friend in his network on the leading social media site, Det. Rod Tuason now has a group, started by another Facebook user 3,000 miles across the country in Virginia, calling for his termination.
It might sound extreme, but Executive Director of the Gun Owners of America (GOA), Larry Pratt—like thousands of other gun advocates privy to the comments— believes otherwise.
In his exchange, Tuason responded to an apparent fellow officer’s comments about Californians carrying unloaded weapons openly in public by saying that such “2nd Amendment” individuals should be “proned out” (put face down on the ground) and shot if they make the slightest move.
Little did Tuason know, a pro-gun California attorney would see the remarks and post them on his own website for others to find. Now, gun rights groups are up in arms.
But wait. Some defend Tuason with an argument that this 2nd Amendment attack has no grounds to violate his 1st Amendment right to free speech. Yet, gun leaders like Pratt point out that no one is looking to press charges. Rather, they say there is a difference between free speech and an armed law enforcement officer accidentally revealing a violent tendency toward law-abiding citizens.
For Pratt, the judgment is clear. “He (Tuason) does not know whom he works for. He thinks he is the boss. He should be fired.”
For an insightful perspective on this very unique topic, call Special Guests to schedule an interview with the frank, but analytical, Larry Pratt.
ABOUT YOUR EXPERT GUEST, LARRY PRATT:
Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 30 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.
GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA’s work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.
Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC’s Today Show, CBS’ Good Morning America, CNN’s Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox’s Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC’s Phil Donahue and Dan Abrams show and many others.
Larry Pratt has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others.
Larry’s columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.
Pratt published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995.
Pratt’s latest book is “On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty.”
Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research.
|
