Membership Has Its Privileges
A couple of weeks ago, I told you about Colorado Republican State Representative Lori Saine getting arrested at the Denver airport with a gun in her handbag.
Nothing is going to happen to her because, you know how it is, she simply “forgot” it was there.
A Colorado prosecutor says no charges will be filed against a state lawmaker arrested at Denver International Airport after security screening found a loaded handgun in her bag.
Boulder District Attorney Stanley Garnett’s office announced the decision on Thursday. The statement says state Rep. Lori Saine told Denver Police on Dec. 5 she “totally forgot” about the gun but refused to be interviewed and requested an attorney.
So, Ms. Saine has a Get Out of Jail Free card in Boulder.
Okay, so there’s another option.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced Monday that the Boulder office would review the case. McCann, a former lawmaker, said she and Saine had worked closely together.
Okay, don’t place any bets on her getting any charges there.
I have a true story.
I have a friend who, years ago, got himself elected constable in my hometown. “Does this mean I finally get to starting fixing stubborn traffic lights with my .22?” I excitedly asked him. He said, “NO.” Unduly loudly, I thought. He then hauled my butt up on the election night stage and announced to his deputies, “If you see this woman driving around, you have probable cause to stop her and check her trunk for weapons of mass destruction. You know, like an egg beater, pancake mix or really anything to do with cooking. And, rifles.”
Just to keep the fun going, at his first fundraiser I won the first auction which was, of course, a .22 rifle. I asked, “Constable, this rifle has a very long barrel and I am a very short woman, so would it be okay if I …” He did not have to say NO that loudly. I can hear plenty good.
Damn, I get sad when I remember how fun politics used to be. Ike turned out to be damn fine constable and I miss him every day.
I told you that story to let you know that not everybody gets special privileges. I got a ticket for an expired inspection sticker on my car while it was parked in his parking lot. I had come to bring his wife some Christmas cookies. And I got a damn ticket. It is only because I am a fine Christian woman of great moral courage that I didn’t take it to court and swear in front of God and my Momma that he hired dyslexic deputies and my inspection sticker was fine. And, NO, he did not tear up the ticket, but he did eat all the damn cookies.
It used to be fun. It did.
IOKIYAFR
And all about the RWNJ messaging house,
not a creature was stirring about Lori Saine,
not even a mouse,
it’s just impossible to blame a fellow stain,
In the grass the crickets were hushed,
not even a snake slithered forth,
while our country is flushed.
Of course y’all know how this incident would have played out had she been a Democrat who just “forgot”. The gawd awful yeowling and screeching poutrage meltdowns on the innartoobs and airwaves could be heard on Uranus.
1Let’s play the Substitute Game.
All events and locations are exactly the same except:
1) A 25 year old black man is found to have a gun in his bag. He tells TSA “I forgot.”
2) A 30 year old man of Middle Eastern descent apologizes to TSA when he failed to remember he had a gun in his carry on.
Now, what kind of statements will the Colorado prosecutor and the Boulder district attorney issue? Will Donald Trump Tweet that by travel banning Muslims we will resolve this potentially dangerous problem?
2Honey, do you know where I left my gun?
If she has forgotten where she left her gun how will she know where to find it next time she encounters a snake in the grass, a young Roy Moore harassing her daughter in the mall, or when a good-gal-with-a-gun is needed in the Home Depot parking lot?
CNN Jan 12, 2017 · The Transportation Security Administration said it discovered 3,391 guns in carry-ons at checkpoints in 2016, a 28% increase from the year before. That works out to about nine every day. The TSA said 83% of the guns were loaded. The number of guns confiscated at checkpoints has climbed every year since 2007.
The lack of enforcement and criminal charges is not helping with TSA’s inspection program or the safety of air travel.
3The late, great, Molly Ivins used to have the same take on politics. Ye gods, I miss that woman! It used to be fun, when every political decision didn’t involve name-calling, attack ads, general hatefulness, and straight-up lying about the other party. There was even occasional compromise and cameraderie, and most people in office thought more about their constituents than feathering their own nests. I miss that, a lot.
4Afternoon JJ.
5I’m purty certain that politics are fun now. For folks whose ideas of fun include bullying people they figure are weaker than themselves. Women, Blacks, Hispanics, LGTB’s, Refugees, Poors, Democrats, or anybody exhibiting the ultimate sign of weakness. EMPATHY!!!
So basically, for misogynists, racists, homophobes, nationalists, and 95% of folks who call themselves republicans, IT’S PARTY TIME, PEOPLE!!! Like the circus came to town between Christmas and New Year’s!!!
I think 2017 should be officially named the Chinese Year of the Douchebag.
But that’s just my opinion, and I’m just as full of sh*t as anybody else.
P.P.in other words, it’s yahoo time for the Yahoos.
Anybody who can forget where they put a loaded gun should be legally prevented from possessing a gun ever again, on the basis that they do not pay attention when they should. If you go out in public with your fly open or your wig on backwards, we can just laugh at you. But forgetting where you left your potential murder device is more than a social faux pas. Someone’s child, of whatever age, could die because you’re an idiot. (I’m too tired to look up those cases where people left loaded guns in public restrooms and children found them.)
6Sigh. The old days when life was simpler. Or was it?
7You know, I carry a 2″ Swiss Army Knife in what passes for my make-up bag (there’s no makeup in it, of course, but I have tweezers, Benadryl, and a sewing kit – just in case) and a Leatherman tool in my purse. I have NEVER forgotten I had that Leatherman tool when I have packed for the airport (the 2″ knife is now legal, but I leave it home anyway).
Maybe my purse isn’t as big, or maybe I fly less. I’m hoping it’s because I’m not a total horses patootie.
8I hate to spoil the fun but to be fair here’s a bit more info. Lori Saine is a super righty gun loving legislator. However she got no favors here. She was arrested, usually people caught with a gun get a summons. She did NOT announce she was a state legislator to get special handling. Denver’s most excellent Democratic DA served in the legislature with Lori so she recused to Boulder Democratic DA, Stan Garrett. Did Lori know she was packing heat? Maybe, probably. But the point being she got no special favors here.
9Actually, Old Quaker, a quick online search shows people regularly getting arrested for being caught carrying a gun at airport security. And a fine of $3-10 grand. I don’t see any stories of people in that situation simply getting a summons, but maybe you can provide some data showing that’s usually the case since it sure doesn’t look that way.
10Back in those days when I carried a handgun or a long gun as part of my job at the time, I never experienced the “oh sorry I for-effing-got I was carrying” a firearm. Such a pathetic defense of inattention proves either that the sayer really doesn’t feel like they need a firearm, it’s a fashion accessory, like a bracelet or a watch, or that they are indifferent to the consequences of carrying a firearm. If you truly think you need it, a firearm is right where you can get to it, it is fully loaded, clean, and moving parts are well-lubricated. If it’s not these things then it’s a fob on a watch.
11JDM
Today’s Denver Post.
Look, she’s not my favorite legislator but the DAs involved are
12Democrats, nog her pals. That’s the point I was making. Unlike most legislators of both parties caught doing dumb stuff, DUIs etc, she didn’t declare she should be treated special as an elected official. Maybe she was hoping to stay out of the papers by not telling that — if so, didn’t work.
We used to have a couple of pea shooters–a 22 and a shotgun, back on the ranch. I stayed away from them. I said I knew if we had a break in I’d be pawing through the junk drawer, muttering, “I know there’s some bullets here somewhere.” I stuck with 8 ft. steel T posts. They’re hard to lose and don’t need bullets.
13Denver post today:
14Out of 100 people caught at DIA with a firearm only one other was aressted. Don’t know why.
Old Quaker’s relaying of the facts has been correct. For whatever reason, bringing a loaded gun to DIA almost never gets you arrested. I don’t know about being charged.
The thing that baffles me is why it ended up under local jurisdiction. It’s a Federal violation, right? I don’t know why Saine didn’t get issued a summons to federal court.
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