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The real story behind the story of Conn. 'peace officer' hoax
Examiner
Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner
3/12/2014
Excerpt:
This is where we stand after five days of intrigue and frenzy created by a person claiming to be Tyson F. Jackson, who claimed that a "Connecticut Peace Officers' Association" had written an open letter containing the signatures of 250 police officers who promised not to enforce Connecticut's new draconian gun and magazine control laws.
Tyson F. Jackson apparently does not exit. The Examiner, thus, issues a correction and retraction of that part of the original article (http://www.examiner.com/article/conn...e-new-gun-laws) that treated the fictitious character as a real person.
Further, there is no Connecticut Peace Officers Association. Again, the Examiner issues a correction and retraction of that part of the original article that cited the fictitious association as a real entity.
And then there is therefore no open letter containing 250 names of officers who belong to this bogus organization. No law enforcement group as an organization has released such a letter that bears the official stamp of approval of the organization itself. Thus, the part of the original story that cited the letter as factual is now corrected and retracted by the Examiner.
The rest of the original story contains factual information.
We apologize for the errors that were reported in good faith, believing that the claims were true. Our sincere apologies go to those who trusted the article and passed it along to others. It was never, ever our intention to mislead or to convey false information.
So, who sent this fictitious letter to attorney and gun rights activist David Hardy, and why did they send it?
The Examiner did some digging and made a few interesting discoveries.
The author of the bogus letter about the Connecticut Peace Officers' Association is one Jim Vernon, or so he claims, who states that he lives in California. This claim, however, cannot be verified for obvious reasons. Email communication is difficult to verify unless one is speaking to a person whom they know personally. I have never heard of nor met a Jim Vernon in California, and therefore, the emails he sent my way must be treated with healthy skepticism.
And this, says Vernon, is one of the reasons he created this elaborate scheme. He stated he supports the Second Amendment and he wants Connecticut to get rid of its new restrictive gun laws. But he also wants bloggers and reporters who use the Internet to be careful about who they choose to trust. In order to successfully fight the forces of the opposition to gun rights, our side must be factually solid, providing verification to every claim we make. Unless we do that, says Vernon, the opposition will use our sloppiness against us.
But there is an even more important reason Vernon claims he wrote the bogus letter to Hardy. He wanted to advocate for the founding of such an organization of police officers who would exhibit the courage and fortitude to stand up and be counted, and to do their part on behalf of a movement that says to government and law enforcement brass, "Here we stand. We will uphold our oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic. If you give us orders that violate Constitutional principles, then you automatically become the enemy, and our duty is to preserve, protect, and defend that Constitution against YOU!"
The fact that there is no such organization of police officers in Connecticut is disturbing, according to Vernon.
Although his final statement is not quite true (Oathkeepers has members in Connecticut, and they are dedicated to doing exactly what Vernon says is needed), he makes a worthy point. Law enforcement officers of every stripe and type must come out and be counted, taking their stand for the Constitution and the gun rights of citizens. Think of the impact this would have in Connecticut and in the nation as a whole.
Vernon is convinced that the public would overwhelmingly support such law enforcement officers, so much so that a grassroots citizen wildfire would sweep the land.
Point well taken. However, I still have a major problem with someone who would misrepresent themselves in this manner, much to the embarrassment of good men and women who took the story and ran with it. I do not think this is the way to do business, and I am convinced there are better ways to accomplish the same goals.
I also have a problem with the suggestion that all who engage in opposing the government leviathan should do so openly and publicly. Some people cannot do that and remain valuable members of their agencies at this point in time, not to mention that it could get you killed. We want to protect human life, especially those on our side.
..............................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-...-officer-hoax?
Examiner
Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner
3/12/2014
Excerpt:
This is where we stand after five days of intrigue and frenzy created by a person claiming to be Tyson F. Jackson, who claimed that a "Connecticut Peace Officers' Association" had written an open letter containing the signatures of 250 police officers who promised not to enforce Connecticut's new draconian gun and magazine control laws.
Tyson F. Jackson apparently does not exit. The Examiner, thus, issues a correction and retraction of that part of the original article (http://www.examiner.com/article/conn...e-new-gun-laws) that treated the fictitious character as a real person.
Further, there is no Connecticut Peace Officers Association. Again, the Examiner issues a correction and retraction of that part of the original article that cited the fictitious association as a real entity.
And then there is therefore no open letter containing 250 names of officers who belong to this bogus organization. No law enforcement group as an organization has released such a letter that bears the official stamp of approval of the organization itself. Thus, the part of the original story that cited the letter as factual is now corrected and retracted by the Examiner.
The rest of the original story contains factual information.
We apologize for the errors that were reported in good faith, believing that the claims were true. Our sincere apologies go to those who trusted the article and passed it along to others. It was never, ever our intention to mislead or to convey false information.
So, who sent this fictitious letter to attorney and gun rights activist David Hardy, and why did they send it?
The Examiner did some digging and made a few interesting discoveries.
The author of the bogus letter about the Connecticut Peace Officers' Association is one Jim Vernon, or so he claims, who states that he lives in California. This claim, however, cannot be verified for obvious reasons. Email communication is difficult to verify unless one is speaking to a person whom they know personally. I have never heard of nor met a Jim Vernon in California, and therefore, the emails he sent my way must be treated with healthy skepticism.
And this, says Vernon, is one of the reasons he created this elaborate scheme. He stated he supports the Second Amendment and he wants Connecticut to get rid of its new restrictive gun laws. But he also wants bloggers and reporters who use the Internet to be careful about who they choose to trust. In order to successfully fight the forces of the opposition to gun rights, our side must be factually solid, providing verification to every claim we make. Unless we do that, says Vernon, the opposition will use our sloppiness against us.
But there is an even more important reason Vernon claims he wrote the bogus letter to Hardy. He wanted to advocate for the founding of such an organization of police officers who would exhibit the courage and fortitude to stand up and be counted, and to do their part on behalf of a movement that says to government and law enforcement brass, "Here we stand. We will uphold our oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic. If you give us orders that violate Constitutional principles, then you automatically become the enemy, and our duty is to preserve, protect, and defend that Constitution against YOU!"
The fact that there is no such organization of police officers in Connecticut is disturbing, according to Vernon.
Although his final statement is not quite true (Oathkeepers has members in Connecticut, and they are dedicated to doing exactly what Vernon says is needed), he makes a worthy point. Law enforcement officers of every stripe and type must come out and be counted, taking their stand for the Constitution and the gun rights of citizens. Think of the impact this would have in Connecticut and in the nation as a whole.
Vernon is convinced that the public would overwhelmingly support such law enforcement officers, so much so that a grassroots citizen wildfire would sweep the land.
Point well taken. However, I still have a major problem with someone who would misrepresent themselves in this manner, much to the embarrassment of good men and women who took the story and ran with it. I do not think this is the way to do business, and I am convinced there are better ways to accomplish the same goals.
I also have a problem with the suggestion that all who engage in opposing the government leviathan should do so openly and publicly. Some people cannot do that and remain valuable members of their agencies at this point in time, not to mention that it could get you killed. We want to protect human life, especially those on our side.
..............................................
View the complete article at:
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-...-officer-hoax?