MIAC Returneth

GET LIVE TWITTER UPDATES FROM THE MIAC HEARING

*HERE*

A trio of local conservatives sound off on what they hope Wednesday's MIAC hearings at the State Capitol will achieve and if the recent killing of a Kansas abortion doctor will alter the debate about who law enforcement needs to track.

*WATCH CLIPS ABOVE*

Nixa State Rep. Ray Weter said the goal of the Missouri Information Analysis Center hearings should be to differentiate between what's a legitimate approach to targeting and what's an overreaction. He said the report didn't offend him personally, but that his constituents reacted intensely to certain labels used. Rep. Weter called the suspect who is charged with the killing of a Kansas abortion doctor "an outlier," and not a problem Missourians had to worry about.

Right to Life's Dave Plemmons said the goal of the hearings should be to determine "who knew what, when they knew it and why they thought it was ok to issue this on a state level." He called the actions of the Kansas suspect "anti-abortionist," but not "pro-life." Plemmons believes law enforcement has the right to track those with a previous criminal history, but not people who are just associated with a particular group or belief.

2010 State House candidate Kevin Elmer said he wanted these questions answered: "How are they applying it? Where did it come from? What's the reasoning behind it?" He found the MIAC report so general that it could target "anybody who shows up for an abortion debate."

Hearings on the function and procedures of MIAC begin Wednesday afternoon in Jefferson City at 2 p.m. They will be chaired by Springfield Rep. Bob Dixon.

The hearings come after this controversial security document targeted some conservative groups and ignited a political firestorm in Jefferson City that lead to elimination of the report and the replacement of the MIAC director.

Dixon has said the hearings would help ensure that future reports produced by MIAC are "properly and adequately supervised."

To read a timeline of The Notebook's coverage of MIAC for the past few months, click HERE.