The local police are in charge of law enforcement decisions. The military is not there to make decisions about people and their guns.
For what it's worth, I think a law abiding citizen who had a right to a gun before a hurricane still has the same right after a hurricane. How to implement that is another matter. The system had broken down in just about every way, when rescue boats and helicopters or when firemen and police are SHOT AT by thugs in the aftermath of a hurricane.
The overwhelmed and broken down law enforcement then resorted to a blanket decision that people could not go around with guns in NO. The military is there to execute disaster relief in their prescribed role of support to local Government during a disaster that overwhelmed the locals. General Honore is not some kind of monster or would be tyrannical dictator whose goal is to remove everybody's lawful gun.
The situation is the pits.
If I were a stranded citizen in NO, and people around me had been looting, raping and shooting, I would be very scared to be thrown in with other citizens who were carrying guns, not knowing if they were good guys or bad in that extreme moment.
If I were one of the citizens who had a gun to protect myself from the bad guys, and the government (local decision) took it away from me, I would be very upset about that.
It is a no win, either way it cuts.
In NO everything just broke down. And I mean everything, including how to treat legitimate gun owners. Not a surprise, just understandably troubling.
I think that we can agree, for example, that the NO evacuation plan broke down, given that the school buses sat unused in a flooded parking lot. That was not the plan.
However, we disagree about the plan regarding disarming the evacuees. The plan was always to require that people be disarmed in order to be eligible for government evacuation.
Consider the following scenario: The evacuation buses will be used as per the NO plan. However, even numbered buses will be labelled with a large, red circle with a picture of a gun with a slash through it. Evacuees who wish to have everyone disarmed may board such buses and take comfort that only the government and those who will not obey the rules will be armed.
The odd numbered buses will be labelled with a large, green sign with a picture of a gun on it. Evacuees will be permitted to bring their firearms and will be evacuated to a place where all may be armed.
Now the critical question. Which bus will you board? And will you be armed?