[align=center]NRA FILES SUIT TO STOP
FIREARM SEIZURES IN NEW ORLEANS[/align] [blockquote]
[/blockquote] Thursday, September 22, 2005 (Fairfax, VA) - Today, the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking a temporary restraining order to block authorities from confiscating law-abiding citizens" firearms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"New Orleans is the first city in the United States to forcibly disarm peaceable law-abiding citizens and it must be the last. Victims are dealing with a complete breakdown of government. At a time when 911 is non-operational and law enforcement cannot respond immediately to calls for help, people have only the Second Amendment to protect themselves, their loved ones and their property," said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
"The NRA stands with law-abiding Americans, who agree that at their most vulnerable moment, their right to defend themselves and their families should not be taken away," said Chris W. Cox, NRA"s chief lobbyist.
According to The New York Times, the New Orleans superintendent of police directed that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns and that "only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons." ABC News quoted New Orleans" deputy police chief, saying, "No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons."
"The NRA is determined to stop this blatant abuse of power by local politicians. It is disgraceful that any government official would further endanger the lives of innocent victims by issuing this ridiculous order. We are very grateful to the many rank and file police officers who have come forward and assisted NRA in exposing these violations of constitutional freedoms. We are also pleased that the Second Amendment Foundation is joining us in this effort," added Cox.
"The actions of the New Orleans government have destroyed the one levee that stands between law-abiding citizens and anarchy - the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The NRA will not rest until this injustice is resolved," concluded LaPierre.
It is a disgrace what has happened. It also saddens me about the lack of outrage in the media and among our politicians. May be there has been some and I haven't noticed but it sure seems pretty quiet to me. My hat is off to the NRA!!!!
The NRA and the SRF (Second Amendment Right Foundation, or approximately) got an injunction from a court stopping these confiscations. Now it will be interesting to find out what punishments, if any, they can bring on those clowns. It is amazing that such idiots are entrusted with executive authorityin major cities thathave no better understanding to the US consititution than to summarily, and probably without legal counsel, suspend a civil right of a whole city of citizens.
Most of our fellow citizens are idiots. The whole proposition of democracy -- self-governance by all the citizens -- is fundamentally flawed and subject to the problem of ignorance identified by Plato (or Socrates, if you want to credit him as Plato does for much of the insight provided in Plato's dialogs). How can people who don't understand the value and importance of their basic rights preserve those rights and their free government? These are the same people who think every problem is the president's responsibility to solve and even prevent -- hurricanes, power blackouts in California, etc.
NRA files suit to stop N.O. gun seizures
