Military/Law Enforcment illegally confiscating firearms in N.O

[DYNAGOD]

The article is longer, the first few paragraphs posted below


New Orleans Begins Confiscating Firearms as Water Recedes

By ALEX BERENSON and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 - Waters were receding across this flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating weapons, including legally registered firearms, from civilians in preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still living here.

No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns, or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.

But that order apparently does not apply to the hundreds of security guards whom businesses and some wealthy individuals have hired to protect their property. The guards, who are civilians working for private security firms like Blackwater, are openly carrying M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.

Nearly two weeks after the floods began, New Orleans has turned into an armed camp, patrolled by thousands of local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, as well as National Guard troops and active-duty soldiers. While armed looters roamed unchecked last week, the city is now calm. No arrests were made on Wednesday night or this morning, and police received only 10 calls for service, a police spokesman said.
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kiss your 2nd and 4th amendment rights goodbye..
now they can kickin your door and take away your licenced firearms without a warrant or just cause.. theres also no mechanism in place for the retireval of these confiscated firearms to their owners.

[ChadTower]

They've been illegally confiscating food and water from people, why not their guns too?

[DYNAGOD]

the military cannot be used against the people.
you cant kick in a private citizens door, wrestle them to the ground, handcuff and detain them them and take their legally owned firearms without due process.

[ChadTower]

They can now, apparently, as it is being done.  Next up is forced evacuation and seizure of property.

[DYNAGOD]

umm,no they cant..not legally, and whoever is responsible for this constitutional travesty is going to have to answer for it in a court of law.
this is the destruction of the very fabric of our free nation.
this is like taking a big shi t on the graves of all the men and women who gave their lives to make this a free country.

[DYNAGOD]

Law enforcement/military officials are confiscating the legally-owned firearms from law-abiding citizens without due process, without warrants, and without cause


what country is this???

[SirPoonga]

See 4th Amendment.

[JB]

umm,no they cant..not legally, ...

Can during a martial law-type situation.
While Louisiana does not have martial law as such, their state of emergency laws have similar clauses in them.

[DYNAGOD]

martial law is no excuse to trample the constitutional rights of Americans..
if they want to evacuate people , they should have done it Before, not after..

Its a little late isnt it? the waters are receding,60,000 gallons a second are being pumped out....the miliatry has taken over and restored order? so why are they NOW going in and confiscating legally ownder firearms?

[JB]

martial law is no excuse to trample the constitutional rights of Americans..
if they want to evacuate people , they should have done it Before, not after..

Its a little late isnt it? the waters are receding,60,000 gallons a second are being pumped out....the miliatry has taken over and restored order? so why are they NOW going in and confiscating legally ownder firearms?

I agree it's stupid and inexcusable.
But legally, they can do it.

[Zakk]

I think law enforcement officers have a right not to be shot above and beyond the sacred American "right to bear arms".

I think the shooting of rescue helicopters may have contributed to this situation, and I can only assume that the authorities have been told once or twice in the past couple of days "try un take me offun' my prop'ty and I dun shoot ya where yun stand!"


Now if only we can declare a state of emergency everywhere else and take away ALL of your guns!

[markrvp]

Boy, that makes me nervous.  The government disarming the people to make them easier to dispose of is BAD.

I know that sounds trite, but above all people should have the ability to defend themselves and it appears that NOLA law enforcement is not defending the people very well.

[JB]

Hey, the law enforcement from nearby Gretna was firing on unarmed people trying to LEAVE New Orleans.
Local law enforcement in Louisiana seems to views the people as a nuisance, not a responsibility.

[DYNAGOD]

the NRA has been mute on the subject, their website has NOTHING..
what the hell are they doing!

[Dartful Dodger]

The Nazis did the same thing to the Jews.

[Dartful Dodger]

the NRA has been mute on the subject, their website has NOTHING..
what the hell are they doing!

It's on the home page of the Illinois State Rifle Association, and they are usually late with reporting Illinois laws.

[fredster]

who's gonna stop them?  Anybody?

I don't know what the laws are that govern "martial" law.

It's "Martian law" down there...

[ChadTower]

I blame fredster.  He had the ability to save these people. 

Flying monkeys are the perfect solution for picking people from rooftop strandings.

fredster could have acted and did not.

[Stingray]

Flying monkeys? Brilliant!

-S

[Shape D.]

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do americans have the right to bear arms.

[Dartful Dodger]

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do americans have the right to bear arms.

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do americans have the right to freedom of speach.


SO SHUT UP!

[Stingray]

speech

-S

[ChadTower]

I would like to point out that nowhere on the menu at Denny's am I given the right to order Moons Over My Hammy.

But I do.

[Shape D.]

SO SHUT UP!

um, no.

[fredster]

They tried.  I lost 10% to snipers.

The other ones were obsessed on saving the arcade machines.  I did manage to salvage a MsPac.

One however did manage to save a ferret.  However, he is now engaged.  The ceremony will be next week.

I always wondered about clyde.  He never hung with the other monkeys.

[DreamArcades]

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do americans have the right to bear arms.

Ya, but have you heard of the bill of Rights? The constitution would not have been ratified without a guarantee that the Bill of Rights was to follow.

[JB]

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do americans have the right to bear arms.

Ya, but have you heard of the bill of Rights? The constitution would not have been ratified without a guarantee that the Bill of Rights was to follow.

And amdendments to teh constitution are parts of the constitution.

He IS right, though.
The bill of rights as concieved doesn't actually grant rights. As worded, it provides legal protection of what were believed to be "natural" rights.
Including "the right of the poeple to keep and bear arms".
So it doesn't grant that right, it just protects it.

[TOK]

Very refreshing to me to see a primarily (for now) pro-gun thread on here.
I'm having a tough time predicting where this is going to go. As a sport shooter, I also read a few gun forums, and there is a lot of discussion on this topic.

Should be crazy to see how this shakes out in the months after things start normalizing.

[JCL]

Very refreshing to me to see a primarily (for now) pro-gun thread on here.
I'm having a tough time predicting where this is going to go. As a sport shooter, I also read a few gun forums, and there is a lot of discussion on this topic.

Should be crazy to see how this shakes out in the months after things start normalizing.

The problem is that if the government only allows guns when things are "normal" then
1) people won't have guns when they think they need them most, ie. during a crisis and
2) it means that gun "rights" are so conditional as to not be a right at all.

Strong gun rights supporters *should* be up in arms about this (figuratively at least).

[RayB]

what country is this???

This is Bush's America.

[Shape D.]

I would like to point out that no where in the constitution do Americans have the right to bear arms.

Ya, but have you heard of the bill of Rights? The constitution would not have been ratified without a guarantee that the Bill of Rights was to follow.

And amdendments to teh constitution are parts of the constitution.

He IS right, though.
The bill of rights as concieved doesn't actually grant rights. As worded, it provides legal protection of what were believed to be "natural" rights.
Including "the right of the poeple to keep and bear arms".
So it doesn't grant that right, it just protects it.

The bill of rights actually gives an " organised militia" the right to bear arms.

[TOK]

Militia:
   1. An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers.
   2. A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency.
   3. The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service.

If things keep going the way they're going, #1 is very possible.

[Dartful Dodger]

I was watching Nightline or one of those other late news shows and they were following a guy who was checking up on an old aunt, or some other female relative.

[NoOne=NBA=]

The bill of rights actually gives an " organised militia" the right to bear arms.

Nope.

It clearly states that the right of "the people" shall not be infringed in Amendment 2.
These are the SAME "people" protected by Amendments 1, 4, 9 and 10.

Unless you would hold that only an organized militia has the right to free speech, freedom from unlawful search and siezure, etc...

[Shape D.]

The Nazis did the same thing to the Jews.  It was legal for them too.

The Jews that fought back were seen as heroes.

I'm not encouraging anything, I'm just saying, the Jews that broke the law then are now seen as heroes....

by the way, I declare goodwins law.

[TOK]

Its Godwins Law. You seem to be misinformed on both matters of the internet and the Constitution.

[DYNAGOD]

i need to find a copy of the video that was on oreily last night and good morning america this morning of two national guardsman taking a 70 year old, 90 lb woman to the ground in her own home to disarm her, and then cuffing and detaining her..without due process or a warrant..
this is the death of the American way and the trampling of individual rights..
problem is people dont even know what their rights are anymore..
this is setting a horriffic prescedent. if this is a sign of things to come , then we are on our way to becoming another russia or china..

[DYNAGOD]

RS 29:721 CHAPTER 6. THE LOUISIANA HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER ACT

(4) Subject to any applicable requirements for compensation, commandeer or utilize any private property if he finds this necessary to cope with the local disaster.
(5) Direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from any stricken or threatened area within the boundaries of the parish if he deems this action necessary for mitigation, response, or recovery measures.
(6) Prescribe routes, modes of transportation, and destinations in connection with evacuation within the local government's jurisdiction.

(7) Control ingress and egress to and from the affected area, the movement of persons within the area, and the occupancy of premises therein.
( Suspend or limit the sale, dispensing, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, and combustibles.

SUSPEND OR LIMIT THE SALE OF,NOT CONFISCATE!!

ABC world news video.
proboly the last you will see since the military has been issued an order by the department of homeland security to forcibly remove all cameras from NO as of noon today...

[TOK]

i need to find a copy of the video that was on oreily last night and good morning america this morning of two national guardsman taking a 70 year old, 90 lb woman to the ground in her own home to disarm her, and then cuffing and detaining her..without due process or a warrant..
this is the death of the American way and the trampling of individual rights..
problem is people dont even know what their rights are anymore..
this is setting a horriffic prescedent. if this is a sign of things to come , then we are on our way to becoming another russia or china..

Quite a few video's were linked in here.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=155308
322 posts on this one topic in just about one day. This is making a lot of people angry.

[DreamArcades]

Sorry, but you are wrong. The right to bear arms is an individual right.  Everyone understands that, including the Supreme Court, except a few misguided people who don