Stephen...many thanks. It requires posting:
Link furnished in original post
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Anti-gun Lawmaker says he didn’t mean
to take gun to airport
By GILBERTO SALINAS
The Brownsville Herald 03/29/2000
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/archive/topstoryjmp.shtml
TSRA NOTES
HARLINGEN — The FBI is investigating state Rep. Rene Oliveira for
trying to board a flight with a loaded .38-caliber gun at Valley International
Airport in Harlingen, according to airport authorities.
FBI and airport police briefly detained and questioned Oliveira on
Thursday afternoon. No charges have been filed against the state
representative from Brownsville, according to a Federal Aviation
Administration report.
"We consider all security breaches very serious. It will be investigated by
FAA security," said Roland Herwig, spokesman for the FAA’s Southwest
Region in Fort Worth.
"I was in a hurry," Oliveira said Tuesday. "I was in a rush to make my
flight, I mistakenly thought I removed the pistol from the bag in my car. …
I regretfully had not."
Oliveira walked through the second-floor security checkpoint at 1:25 p.m.
for a 1:30 p.m. flight when one of the guards noticed through the security
screener the gun inside Oliveira’s black tote bag, the report stated.
After admitting to ownership of the gun, Oliveira told airport officials he
forgot he had placed the gun in his bag, the report stated.
The .38-Special, for which Oliveira did not have a permit, had five bullets in
its cylinder, officials said.
Oliveira declined to comment on the details of his detention, but
emphasized there were no charges pressed against him.
"If I had done something wrong, they obviously would have arrested me,"
Oliveira said. "I cannot comment any further per instruction from law
enforcement authorities (who’re trying) to protect me and my family."
Oliveira said he has been carrying a handgun due to death threats he has
received recently, the report stated.
"Because of specific threats made against me, I have had to take this
extraordinary action. I do not condone nor normally carry a firearm,
however, I am forced to react to these specific threats," Oliveira said.
The state representative and lawyer has been staying in McAllen, where he
is attending a trial. On March 14, Oliveira took the gun from his car and
placed it in the tote bag because he was going to cross into Mexico, he said.
On Thursday, he drove to the Harlingen airport to catch an afternoon flight
to Austin but said he forgot about the handgun in his bag.
"He’s on a super hectic trial schedule and he’s got all of the charges (in
Austin) as well,"
said Anthony Gray, Oliveira’s assistant in the state capital. "He didn’t
realize it was there. It was a small innocent deal."
FBI agent Andy Muñiz told Oliveira he may be subject to a $10,000 fine
and "at this time there would be no charges filed against him."
Oliveira "did not try to circumvent the (security) procedures at the airport.
There is nothing negative of this unfortunate event," said the airport’s
director, Jon E. Mathiasen.
Oliveira was not arrested because airport police found no criminal intent,
Mathiasen said.
"Was he treated differently than anyone else, absolutely not," Mathiasen
said. "It can happen to you and me, but I’m sure he will not forget again."
Herwig said the offense can lead to arrest.
"It’s not that common, but it happens," Herwig said.
Oliveira was released from the custody of authorities an hour later.
Airport police have confiscated the gun and ammunition until the FBI
clears its release, officials said.
Lt. Espiridion Leal of the Harlingen Police Department said his agency
didn’t get involved in the incident.
The police department only gets involved in cases where the suspect is
charged with weapons possession, Leal said.
"Unless we are called, that’s their investigation," said Danny Castillo,
Harlingen’s interim police chief.
Mathiasen said security officers at Valley International Airport confiscate
between six and a dozen weapons each month, ranging from handguns to
hunting rifles and knives.
"With the change in Texas law, the number of apprehensions have gone
up," Mathiasen said.
In more than 10 years that Mathaisen has been at the airport, no one has
been charged for possession of a handgun or violently using a weapon at
the airport, he said.
"In my years here, there’s never been, to my knowledge, an arrest, because
there hasn’t been intent," he said. "We have people who carry guns,
especially after the concealed weapon law was passed a couple of years
ago."
TSRA NOTES:
All through the 1995 concealed carry fight in the Texas House, Rep. Rene
Oliveira staunchly resisted the legislation. A lobbyist described him as being
an arrogant prophet of doom.
Well now his fate is in the hands of the FBI for trying to pass Brownsville
airport security with a loaded 38 Special in his bag. Seems as though he
pulled a Switzer. He put the loaded gun in his bag on March the 14 and
forgot about it for over two weeks. So much for his concern about child
safety. He could use a little concealed handgun training in safe storage.
He has a song and dance about threats on his life being responsible for this
poor behavior.
You have to wonder if this bird has any better understanding of why Texans
wanted and needed the right to carry. Or is he just another Sen. Dianne
Feinstein/Mayor Raymond Barry type who thinks that no one needs to be
armed for self defense except elitists? I hope that his constituents can see
through this sham of a politician . . . preaches one thing and does another.
[/quote]
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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!
