Monday, April 28, 2008

An Innocent Man

Former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington proclaimed his innocence Friday to a charge alleging he fired a gun at an 18-year-old's car as the teen was driving on a downtown Houston street.

Washington, 66, was indicted Thursday on a charge of aggravated assault with a gun, a second-degree felony. Taylor Brooks, 18, told police that three bullets struck his car as he was driving away from a confrontation with Washington on Jan. 1. Another 18-year-old also was in the car, police said.
Be sure and read the comments by former legislator Larry Warner, and my response.

Seems during his congressional career, Rep. Washington was--surprise!--a gungrabber.

UPDATE: As the report in the title link is from AP, I have no way to contact the reporter. The Chronicle did do a local take on the story, however, and I sent the following email to their reporter:
I note the shooting allegedly took place outside his law office.

I'm wondering why no mention was made in the reporting about whether or not Mr. Washington has a CHL permit. That seems a valid and newsworthy question, especially since Washington advocated gun laws during his political career, and even said there were too many handguns in citizens' hands.

One would think a gun law advocate would obey gun laws. Will you follow up on this in your reporting and at least get the question out there?

2 comments:

  1. Way to shine the light, David.

    Warner's comment about a lifetime of public service being reason enough for a not-guilty verdict reminds me of the fascist society in "Starship Troopers": "Service Guarantees Citizenship!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. True to form, former Representative Washington's party affiliation is not revealed until nearly the bottom of the column, whereas had he been a Republican the piece would have begun "Former U.S. Representative Craig Washington (R TX)..."

    ReplyDelete

Keep it on topic. Submit tips on different topics via left sidebar Contact Form.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.