Monday, June 15, 2009

Our Rights are Suspended by Mayor Cedric Glover

WATCH THE VIDEO ----- Watch/listen to this first!

GunTalk Magazine Podcast - Robert's 1st Interview

What Happened - by Robert Baillio

Full Text of the Glover Interview  - Corresponds to the Video

MP3 File - Glover Interview (same audio track as video - corresponds to full text)

YouTube Video - Part 1 (for iPhone users)
YouTube Video - Part 2 (for iPhone users)

This situation almost defies sanity. Fortunately, we have audio to go along with this post and a transcript of the audio. Please read on and then listen to the audio at the end. You just won't believe what is said by the Mayor of a major southern U.S. city.

According to Mayor Cedric Glover of Shreveport, LA, when you are stopped by the police department, your "rights are suspended." That's right - even if the stop is a traffic violation - your rights as a citizen have been suspended. Huh?

Recently, a friend of mine was stopped for allegedly failing to use a turn signal. Sounds simple enough. Here is where it gets interesting.

One of the first things out of the officer's mouth: "Do you have any weapons in your vehicle?"

He did not initially ask for a name, registration, or proof of insurance. He asked if Robert Baillio was armed. If that isn't a case of profiling, then I don't know what is. The picture clearly shows the bumper stickers on Robert's truck windows. Failure to use a turn signal? Sure it was.


Robert was trying to be polite and cooperative and responded, "sure I do."

Then the officer marched over Robert's truck, removed the weapon, unloaded it, and temporarily seized it.

This just smacks of both profiling and unreasonable search and seizure. It is debatable whether Robert actually used his turn signal or not which is a traffic violation at worst. There was zero probable cause for a search and seizure. There was zero indication that Robert Baillio had been involved in any sort of crime. It is legal in the state of Louisiana to carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle. Robert's gun is registered. He has a concealed weapons permit. Robert made no attempt to hide anything, and was courteous to the officer.

The officer asked Robert if he was a member of the NRA. 

Do what? What does that have to do with a failure to use a turn signal violation? Why would a Shreveport Police Officer need to know that?

The officer never issued Robert a ticket. As a matter of fact, he even followed Robert to travel 2 blocks to Nan King Chinese Restaurant so Robert's could get his take-out Chinese food before they closed. The officer followed him there and finished the traffic stop in the parking lot!

If Robert was so much a threat with his weapon, why was he even allowed to get back into his vehicle?

See the point?

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It's Glover's Policy - and it needs to be rejected by citizens
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Here is where it gets more interesting. This problem is a systemic one that starts at the highest level of the Shreveport city government. No, I'm not a tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist either. Mayor Cedric Glover states very clearly and repeatedly that the policy is in place.

Mayor Cedric Glover: Your rights have been suspended.

He stated that fact 11 times in the 19 minute phone conversation. This was not a slip of the tongue, and he did not mis-speak. Mayor Cedric Glover meant what he said.

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Anti-Gun Group
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Did you know that Glover is a member of the "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" group - headed by Michael Bloomberg from New York? Can someone define exactly what an illegal gun looks like? Maybe a true fully-automatic weapon is illegal as defined by law; however this group is obviously against any gun.

The polarizing rhetoric of gun politics on all sides only obscures the tragic reality we see every day on our streets: violent criminals with easy access to firearms.

Well if they can see the violent criminals, why aren't they arresting them? It is all semantics - the guns aren't illegal at all. The "violent criminals" who use them are acting illegally. If these mayors think they can find the guns, then they can certainly find the owners - the violent criminals.