Fellow Tattler Bryan Preston reported that Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price was arrested by the FBI on numerous counts of using his position for personal gain. Another news item puts Dallas County in even better perspective.
According to Dallas Morning News, Dallas County fails “to enforce laws that forbid certain domestic abusers to have guns.” State and federal laws allow the disarming of certain persons adjudged to have committed, or to be a threat of, domestic violence. Some application of these laws are suspect, but that’s for another column. It’s true that some people are a danger to spouses and family members, and the law should allow some due process for rendering them less of a threat.
As the gun banners will tell you: If it saves a life, it’s worth it. On that note, let’s look closer at Commissioner Price. He’s reported to have called one person a “fat boy” in public, and told white people to all go to hell.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice:
We define domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone…
Emotional Abuse: Undermining an individual’s sense of self-worth and/or self-esteem is abusive. This may include, but is not limited to constant criticism, diminishing one’s abilities, name-calling, or damaging one’s relationship with his or her children. [Emphasis added]
Price is documented to use his position as a county commissioner to threaten, name-call, and psychologically intimidate people who disagree with him. He does this in order to gain or maintain power and control over his alleged constituents. Now, the FBI agrees that he has also used his power to enrich himself at the People’s expense.
Politicians offer a clear and present threat of domestic violence, and should be licensed and registered. After all, if it saves one life…
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