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Sunday, July 20, 2008 2:06 AM MDT

Editor:

This letter is in response to the ACLU investigating the rainbow family. When you camp on public lands in Wyoming, the law enforcement officers have the right to come and check on you to make sure that no state and federal laws are being broken.

They have a right to question your behavior and if that questioning brings up possibilities of laws being broken, they have a right to search your camp, and if they find just cause, they can arrest or fine you according to the law.

If you as person decide to not cooperate with these officers, they are allowed to use force in order to protect themselves while they are enforcing the laws they are sworn to uphold.

In Wyoming we have highly qualified law enforcement officers, and thus a very low crime rate; we see police presence as a deterrent to crime, as it should be. If you live in Wyoming or come here to visit and you are a law upholding citizen, then you will find no friendlier or helpful person than the local officer.

If you come here to trample the land and see how many laws you can break, you will find no greater foe. If the Rainbow people did not find their vacation to the great state of Wyoming a wonderful experience, like most people do, they don't have to come back. We won't miss them and neither will the Boy Scouts, who had their plans messed up.

As a wife of a law enforcement officer, I am thankful to those officers who stood up to protect our public land, and keep the people of Wyoming safe, not just for this gathering but every day of the year.

BARBARA BOULEY, Rawlins


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Comments to this story.

flounder wrote on Jul 20, 2008 3:46 PM:

" The ACLU is investigating the Rainbow family? Huh, did they turn into a detective organization or something? "

Sgt wrote on Jul 21, 2008 5:16 AM:

" Well said! "

Sagebrush Sage wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:19 AM:

" flounder--there seems to be no end to your stupidity !!! "

Jody wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:26 PM:

" Bravo Barbara Bouley,
Officers of the law keep up the good work. Keep the State of Wyoming a State to be reckoned with. To many other states are already condoning people who do not obey the USA Laws. And re-writing the laws to help these groups of people out.
Stay strong Wyoming Law Enforcement and Stay Safe.
Also is Flounder so bored that he puts his opinion in on everything even when he knows nothing? "

More WY Lies wrote on Aug 5, 2008 2:44 PM:

" You actually printed a letter with ERRONIOUS INFO? What kind of morons rin this paper?? "

Matthew S. wrote on Aug 5, 2008 2:46 PM:

" Theboy scouts had their plans mesed up because the forest service decided to start a fire so they could order a mandatory evacuation. When you go into a situation expecting hostility, it is you that is creating the hostility. There is no reason for the forest service to be invetigating people until there have been complaints. This was a premeditated attempt to subdue a group that the forest service and it's executives diagree with in favor of other political forces. This is public land, for everyones use and not just for the use of those the forest service likes. The forest service does not own the land, they service it. The people, all of us own it.
Officers have no reason to shoot rubber bullets when [people are around. These people were peaceful, they had no weapons and this is proven by the fact that the only thing they had to protect themselves with against the forest services guns was sticks and stones. They would not have hurt anyone, there were no fights and just cause some idiot was smoking pot in front of a cop doesn't mean everyone has given up their rights against search and seizure. Ever read the Bill of Rights? "

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