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Urban League chief charged with bringing gun to school. (massive hypocrite alert)
Tacoma News Tribune ^
| 7-5-2002
| a.p.
Posted on 07/05/2002 8:39:49 PM PDT by TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig
SEATTLE: Urban League chief charged with bringing gun to school
The Associated Press
James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, has been charged with carrying a gun onto school grounds. Kelly, 47, admitted in a written statement to police that he carried a handgun when he attended a community meeting at Rainier Beach High School the night of May 29.
Under state law, it is a misdemeanor to have a gun on school grounds. If convicted, Kelly faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. He also would lose his concealed-weapons permit for three years.
Police responded to the school after Kwame Garrett, 25, the son of a local activist, and two others accused Kelly of briefly displaying a gun.
Kelly said he has faced threats over the past year and a half as the Urban League negotiated a deal with the Seattle School District to buy the former Colman School for $1.2 million.
The Urban League has proposed converting the school into a $24 million center that would include a black-heritage museum, condominiums and Urban League headquarters.
The league has been opposed by Garrett's father, Omari Tahir-Garrett, and others who plan their own black history museum at the school.
Kwame Garrett said Kelly displayed the gun after he was confronted about the Urban League's plan to "steal" the property from museum supporters. Kelly declined to comment specifically on the charges.
"I trust the process. I believe in the system," he said.
Omari Tahir-Garrett, a former mayoral candidate, was accused last year of bashing former Mayor Paul Schell in the face with a bullhorn. His first trial on a charge of second-degree assault ended with a hung jury May 9. A new trial begins Monday.
(Published 12:30AM, July 5th, 2002)
TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: banglist; rhodesia; secondammendment
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To: *bang_list
And here is the Seattle P-I story on this.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ local/77347_kelly05.shtml
Urban League leader faces weapons charge
James Kelly accused of carrying handgun onto school grounds
Friday, July 5, 2002
By PHUONG CAT LE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
The president of the Urban Metropolitan League of Seattle is facing a
weapons charge for allegedly carrying a handgun onto school premises.
The City Attorney's Office filed a misdemeanor charge against James Kelly
after completing a monthlong investigation into allegations that the community
leader displayed a gun outside Rainier Beach High School on May 29.
Kelly has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but state law prohibits
carrying it onto school premises, City Attorney Tom Carr said.
"That statute is quite clear," Carr said.
His office finished interviewing witnesses earlier this week and filed charges
Wednesday in Seattle Municipal Court.
If convicted, Kelly could face up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. His
concealed-weapons permit could also be revoked for three years.
No court date has been set.
Attempts to reach Kelly for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. He is chief
executive officer of the Urban League, a non-profit group founded 70 years
ago that works on issues of economic development and equality.
According to a police report on the May 29 incident, Kelly became involved
in an argument with Kwame Garrett in the parking lot outside Rainier Beach
High.
Garrett is the son of Omari Tahir-Garrett, who was recently tried on assault
charges for allegedly hitting former Mayor Paul Schell with a megaphone last
summer. A jury in that case deadlocked, and Garrett will be retried.
The dispute was over the Urban League's plans to build a museum, offices and
apartments at the old Colman School on the Interstate 90 lid.
Garrett has fought the development plans and considers himself among the
rightful leaders of the school. In 1985, he and other activists broke into the
vacant school and demanded it be turned into a museum.
Herman McKinney, an Urban League board member, said he hasn't talked to
Kelly and that the board will wait until the next board meeting to discuss the
issues.
"We don't have enough information," McKinney said. "I still want to wait on
any comments until after the board has had a chance to review."
To: big ern
To: big ern
HAHAHAHAHAHA......let me get ahold of myself here, Big Ern!......
Okay....now ask yourself....if Omari was stalking you, wouldn't you carry? At least a bullhorn????!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
To: big ern
I had a discussion with this gentleman last year concerning gun control. I told him his community stands to be hurt more by gun control and helped the most by citizens being lawfully armed.
His response was "I don't believe the answer is for everyone to go arm themselves."
There is just no reasoning with these hypocrites.
To be fair to him, the man he had a disagreement with is the son of a total nutjob (who hit the ex-mayor of Seattle in the face with a megaphone and got off by a stupid jury who didn't trust the police who testified against him. He may have needed to use his weapon to protect himself but it is against the law to carry on school grounds no matter how stupid that law is.
To: big ern
It's a stupid law and they should let him walk free on this charge.
But I'm curious, why was he "briefly brandishing" his weapon in public?
To: monkeyshine
He probably just wanted to let Garret jr. know "I ain't no Mayor Schell so you better check yourself".
To: HairOfTheDog
I searched ever variation of that title and just his name and it didn't pop up so go figure?
I also went to the Times website and they didn't have a story in their
To: monkeyshine
I need to clarify something.
I don't want to crucify Kelly for having a CPL or even carrying on school grounds (that law is idiotic) because as anyone knows if you're in danger it doesn't do any good to leave you gun in the car when you go to a school.
My problem with Kelly is his hypocritical stance on Gun Control for everyone else but himself.
To: big ern
Yeah well, no big crime in posting is again, really, is there?
To: big ern
Okay, I'll bite.
Sounds like he was confonted with a hostile mob and brandished a weapon.. Good idea or not, that's what it sounds like.
How is the individual in question or the Urban League (which I am not familiar with) guilty of gross hypocrisy?
11
posted on
07/05/2002 9:11:38 PM PDT
by
Jhoffa_
To: Jhoffa_
It was one man, not a mob, but that makes no difference.
Look at reply 5 for an answer to your question. They/he push gun control and yet he (and I would bet most on the Urban League Board) has a CPL and brandishes a weapon when he is scared. By his own admission he was not assaulted but thought he would be assaulted if he didn't show his weapon. I'm not sure but that sounds like a stretch of thin ice to be standing on in a court of law.
To: Squantos; Travis McGee; 11B3
attencion por favor
To: big ern
Okay, I get it.. Thanks for the clarification..
I'm not sure but that sounds like a stretch of thin ice to be standing on in a court of law.
well, it didn't work for the NY subway shooter (I forget his name now) But to be honest, it probably should have.
(still more slack than gun toting Rosie O' types deserve though. )
14
posted on
07/05/2002 9:23:48 PM PDT
by
Jhoffa_
To: Jhoffa_
No slack. They need to have their hypocrisy publicly pointed out so that when they speak on the issue again the public will be less likely to listen to their faulty logic.
To: big ern
LOL !!!
Seattle....what a sewer.
Isn't this the place that elected that liberal scumbag, dot-com lottery winner, Maria Cantspell?
To: big ern
Yeah, this Kelly took a page right out of the handbook of that other liberal scumbag hypocrite, Carl Rowan.
To: big ern
I trust the process. I believe in the system," he said.........This is typical of all elitest SOB's. The unconstitutional laws we're burdened with don't apply to them.........
Stay Safe Ern !
18
posted on
07/05/2002 9:36:38 PM PDT
by
Squantos
To: Lancey Howard
I will give kelly some credit. If I was being stalked by those folks I would be carrying everwhere no matter what the law.
That family that he is having problems with is a freak show. Patriarch actually is collecting SSI because he is disabled due to his inability to work for or with white people. He is also the guy who attacked the ex-mayor of Seattle with a bullhorn in front of hundreds of
No I'm not joking and yes it's true. Omari Tahir Garret said so himself on the Micheal Medved radio show.
To: big ern
I trust the process. I believe in the system," he said. Translation: I have a very good lawyer.
20
posted on
07/05/2002 9:41:07 PM PDT
by
pariah
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