Texas...what are ya gonna do, amirite? When it comes to right-wing crackpots, Tea Bagger cretins and conservative Jesus-grifters and slackwits, Texas is the motherlode.
I have a lot of Texan friends (I grew up around the oil business) and they're smart, funny, thoughtful and decent people: they spend a lot of time face-palming.
The latest addition to the Texas Perpwalk Of Derp is a beauty; say 'hello' to Rep. Jason Villalba of Dallas, a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Do I need to tell you what party Rep. Villalba bats for? You'll never guess.
Why, you must be psychic! He is a Republican! And what imbecilic, anti-Constitutional nut-jobbery has Rep. Villalba (a Dallas attorney) been up to lately? Funny you should ask.
See, Rep. Villalba was approached by the Texas Municipal Police Association and the Dallas Police Association, who wanted legislation to make filming cops from close by illegal:
The latter lobbying group told the Morning News that the bill was necessary because the public was trying to "set up" officers to try to get them "to do something stupid" on camera.
Gee, you mean like shooting unarmed people and then mocking them?
That kind of 'something stupid'? The DMN goes on:
“We thought when we wrote our bill that we were making it safe not only for the police officers by that [25-foot] buffer zone, but also for those individuals that are seeking to keep law enforcement accountable to give them a safe zone to film,” Villalba said.
Frederick Frazier, first vice president of the Dallas Police Association, said a rash of incidents involving police officers antagonized on the job prompted the bill. They were dangerous situations, “almost like a setup to try to get officers to do something stupid,” he said.
“Ultimately the officer is ... going to be disciplined, ridiculed on social media and possibly killed,” Frazier said.
'...disciplined, ridiculed on social media and possibly killed...'. Uh-huh; in that order, or are the Dallas Police association flexible about it?
Sadly for trigger-happy, dishonest cops everywhere, Rep. Villalba has withdrawn his bill.
State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, confirmed Friday that he will not seek a public hearing for his bill, which would have made it illegal for a resident to film within 25 feet of police activity. Those carrying handguns would have been kept from photographing or recording police within 100 feet. The bill contains an exception for the news media.
The decision was weeks in the making and came after conferring with organizations including the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, Villalba said.
Charley Wilkison, executive director of CLEAT, called Villalba a “friend of law enforcement” whose bill was well-intended.
“He’s a young, talented legislator, and there’s no hard feelings on this end,” Wilkison said. “It’s just not needed.”
Also, too, the pinko subversive element were making waves.
But opposition to the bill was swift, and came from “far-left civil libertarians to our far-right people who believe that we were somehow limiting First Amendment rights,” Villalba said.
In other words, 'crackpots'...because only 'crackpots' could possibly object to that kind of 'prior restraint' and subversion of 1st Amendment rights.
Ya know, there's still room in the White House-bound GOP Klown Kar, Jason; I'll bet there's a seat with your name on it. You'll fit right in.