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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (110188)	4/19/2005 12:22:42 PM
From: Lane3	Respond to of 793743

I found this piece interesting Soldier is casualty in war of words over border issues Apr. 19, 2005 12:00 AM The people calling Army reservist Patrick Haab a hero for holding seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint must also believe that he is a liar. There is no other option. Haab can be a hero of the anti-immigration movement only if he pulled a weapon at an Interstate 8 rest stop with the express purpose of preventing seven suspected undocumented immigrants from getting away. But that's not what Haab says he was doing. He says that he feared for his life as the men approached him and that he didn't even know that they might have been border crossers. In other words, politics and illegal immigration had nothing to do with it. advertisement Under Arizona law a person can threaten to use force - as in pointing a gun - only for suspected crimes like murder, arson, rape, etc. Illegal entry into the country doesn't quite meet the standard, particularly when Haab didn't witness anybody crossing the border. It would be like a man pulling a gun on a kid in a store parking lot because he had a "sneaking suspicion" that the boy might be a shoplifter. Arizona law does allow a person to make a citizen's arrest if he witnesses a crime being committed. But all that Haab witnessed was a group of men he didn't know getting into a vehicle. A person can draw a weapon if he fears for his life, however, and that's what Haab says happened. The people wanting to transform him into a prisoner of conscience and a political icon either aren't listening to what he says, or they assume that he's using the self-defense argument to give himself a chance at beating the rap. Haab's family says is has have received offers of support from across the country. Haab, who has admitted taking medication for depression, has expressed gratitude for the support. Local talk-radio shows are filled with callers saying Haab is a hero for detaining the men. It's the same with letters to the editor in local papers. But that isn't Haab's story. He could have said that he detained the men because he suspected them of being in the country illegally. He could have said that border security is a joke and that he was performing a function that his country seems unable or unwilling to tackle. He could have dared authorities to arrest him for knowingly violating the law in the same way civil rights protesters allowed themselves to be jailed for acts of conscience in the 1960s. But that's not his story. Instead, Haab is being elevated to martyr status by people who either don't know the law or refuse to listen to him. Or perhaps they base their evaluation of the 911 call that Haab made from the scene, in which he speaks of holding suspected undocumented migrants. Or on Haab's description of how he followed the men to their car and pointed a weapon at them, ordering them out. Sheriff's deputies say such actions indicate a man who did not fear for his life but was taking aggressive action. That's why they arrested him. Some supporters of Haab say he deserves a medal. They speak as if each of us should be able to pull a gun on anyone whom we suspect of being in the country illegally. Meaning who? The man busing tables at the restaurant? The woman getting fresh towels at the hotel? The men building houses or taking care of yards? Any Spanish-speaking people we meet at rest stops? Haab is neither a scapegoat nor a hero, just a young man in trouble with the law who wandered into a raging political battle. Guilty or innocent, he has been wounded by the crossfire. Unfortunately, the military doesn't issue body armor for a soldier caught in a war of words. azcentral.com