It is absolutely asinine that this guy is encouraging Texans to shoot other Texans over something that hasn't even happened yet. But that's what we've come to. And for the record, NO you cannot shoot someone over a statue.

According to a Facebook post that has since been taken down, Phil Ryan claims that in Texas you have the legal right to use deadly force against someone who is attempting to vandalize or remove public statues. THIS IS NOT TRUE! And it's ridiculously dangerous to make that claim.

Ryan stated that he's a police academy instructor, although he is clearly keeping his social media stuff private due to the backlash from this ignorant post. Therefore I can't verify whether he is an officer or not.

I can, however, point to a group of people who claim to have found out that he is actually a facility security manager for Adeptus Health. Which would mean he has lied about being a police officer.

I can also verify that what he stated is absolutely false.

The Texas penal code states that deadly force is available for use if it is to stop someone from damaging or removing another person's tangible or movable property. Statues are not tangible or movable property. And they are also public, not private, property, which places another caveat on the entire situation.

The bottom line is that it is absolutely NOT legal or even OK to use deadly force over a statue. You don't own them; all of us own them together. And while some might disagree over them, if you think shooting someone over one is the right thing to do, maybe your right to carry a firearm should be questioned first.

And in case you don't believe me because I'm just a dumb DJ, then you better believe this Houston legal expert. And yes lawyers, aka legal experts, are often more knowledgeable about the legal ramifications of using weapons than are the police. (Our police are amazing wonderful people and this blog is not anti-police in any way, so please do not attempt to assign any negativity to it. It's about not killing someone over a chunk of metal.)

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