Updated: 3:18 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2013 | Posted: 12:23 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2013
Acevedo debates gun control on Twitter
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American-Statesman Staff
3 p.m. update:
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said a tweet he sent and then deleted
Sunday night calling someone a “lying extremist” while discussing gun
control was directed at one person he said repeatedly lies about him and
calls him corrupt.
He said that user then misconstrued the tweet to suggest that Acevedo thinks people who support the Second Amendment are lying extremists.
Rather, Acevedo said he was responding to someone who resorts to slander when talking about contentious issues such as gun control.
Earlier: For months Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo has lobbied lawmakers to expand background checks to more gun sales. On Sunday night, the debate continued on Twitter, where the city’s top police officer sparred with users over the need for increased gun control.
It certainly wasn’t the first time Acevedo has engaged with the Twitter population and discussed why he thinks new gun restrictions are necessary. But some of his comments drew criticism on a conservative website that aggregates tweets.
The conversation seems to have started when the chief replied to a Twitter user who asked how many criminals will submit to a background check.
“They don’t have to they are buying firearms at gun shows & from straw purchasers,” Acevedo said.
According to Twitchy, Acevedo eventually replied to one user — and later deleted the tweet — saying, “I love that fact that I have pushed the button of your lying extremist undeveloped brain. Thank God for the rest of America!”
The chief couldn’t immediately be reached for comment but he explained to another user Monday morning that he deleted the tweet because “it was spun to be about something and people it wasn’t intended for.”
The comment was meant for someone “who tweets that I’m corrupt daily,” Acevedo said. “Not about (or) directed to anyone else.”
He said that user then misconstrued the tweet to suggest that Acevedo thinks people who support the Second Amendment are lying extremists.
Rather, Acevedo said he was responding to someone who resorts to slander when talking about contentious issues such as gun control.
Earlier: For months Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo has lobbied lawmakers to expand background checks to more gun sales. On Sunday night, the debate continued on Twitter, where the city’s top police officer sparred with users over the need for increased gun control.
It certainly wasn’t the first time Acevedo has engaged with the Twitter population and discussed why he thinks new gun restrictions are necessary. But some of his comments drew criticism on a conservative website that aggregates tweets.
The conversation seems to have started when the chief replied to a Twitter user who asked how many criminals will submit to a background check.
“They don’t have to they are buying firearms at gun shows & from straw purchasers,” Acevedo said.
According to Twitchy, Acevedo eventually replied to one user — and later deleted the tweet — saying, “I love that fact that I have pushed the button of your lying extremist undeveloped brain. Thank God for the rest of America!”
The chief couldn’t immediately be reached for comment but he explained to another user Monday morning that he deleted the tweet because “it was spun to be about something and people it wasn’t intended for.”
The comment was meant for someone “who tweets that I’m corrupt daily,” Acevedo said. “Not about (or) directed to anyone else.”
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