Posted on 02/18/2006 5:48:06 AM PST by girlangler
Bill forbids taking of weapons during emergencies
By HOWARD FISCHER Friday, February 17, 2006 8:25 AM CST
PHOENIX -- State lawmakers want to make sure that state officials do not take your guns the next time a hurricane strikes Arizona.
Or an earthquake, flood, invasion or pandemic.
The Senate Government Committee approved legislation Thursday that would specifically make it illegal for the governor or any official to confiscate legally kept firearms during a state of emergency. The 5-2 vote sends the measure to the full Senate.
Sen. Dean Martin, R-Phoenix, said this isn't some academic exercise.
He said that in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, New Orleans police began taking guns from residents. Martin said that included not only criminals but other people who were simply defending themselves or their homes.
"In one case it was a little old lady sitting in her own house," he said.
The action in Louisiana eventually resulted in a federal judge issuing a restraining order blocking further seizures and ordering police to return confiscated firearms. Martin said it should not have to come to that here.
Existing state law gives the governor broad powers during a declared emergency. That includes "all police power vested in the state by the constitution and laws of this state."
Gary Christensen, a member of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association, said the experience of Katrina proves that some statutory limits are necessary here.
"If ever there was a time to support the Second Amendment it's during a state of emergency," he said. "People are left on their own in the initial stages of natural disaster and riots."
Sen. Bill Brotherton, D-Phoenix, said the measure, SB 1425, is built on the incorrect presumption that constitutional rights can never be suspended in emergencies. He said, for example, that a curfew can interfere with the First Amendment right of people to assemble.
And Brotherton said there may be legitimate reasons to control the number of guns on the street during an emergency.
Sen. Albert Hale, D-Window Rock, was more blunt, calling the legislation "a license to shoot first and ask questions later."
Martin said nothing in his legislation prohibits police from exercising control through things like a curfew. He said people who go on the streets during prohibited hours with their weapons would still be subject to arrest.
He acknowledged that nothing in his legislation would bar similar action by the president in the case of a nationally declared emergency, as state lawmakers have no sway over federal law.
bookmark
Or drought. ;-)
If the constitution doesn't stop the gun grabbers then I seriously doubt a law will.
I support the sentiment behind the law.
The idea that some nitwit politicians would want to take away citizens' means to self defense is more than a little repulsive. This legislation should not be necessary.
Given what happened in New Orleans this law makes sense. Funny, isn't it how the ACLU is never involved when it comes to protecting gun rights?
"If the constitution doesn't stop the gun grabbers then I seriously doubt a law will".
Very perceptive. The "proper authorities" will simply do whatever they want to do, laws will not stop them. Laws never stop them. They are so rarely held accountable for breaking the law themselves that they know they have little to fear when they break the law. They are above the law.
I'm kind of curious as to what part of the constitution allows suspension of constitutional rights. I don't recall reading that when I was a kid. And I thought that constitutional righs were absolute. Did I miss something in ole Ms. Jackson's government class?
I think you wanted to address some other poster.
Amendment II A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
We need laws to make the Constitution legal.
Next time someone asks you why you oppose firearm registration, cite the case of New Orleans. They can't confiscate what they don't know about.
It's the Zeroth Amendment, which comes before all the others and reads in its entirety "When convenient,..."
Deano is alive???
And he's a Senator???
Jerry Lewis will be 'shocked and stuned'!
Excellent! This bears repeating!
"Bill forbids taking of weapons during emergencies "
..or from Cold Dead Hands ;-)
I especially like the signs outside the 33% of the nation owned by the government, "Abandon all rights ye who enter these gates".
If our government was serious about this Constitution thing, then their property would be miniscule and that would be the one place your RTBA and Freedom of Speech would be absolute. But try speaking your mind in a courhouse or walking in with your sidearm in its proper place.
In 1967, a hurricane named Katrina devastated San Felipe, BC, and probably brought a good deal of rain to Arizona.
The usual suspects, all Democrats, chime in. My money says Hale will be among the first to scream "Wild West shootouts!" and "Massacres over fender-benders" when National Reciprocity is introduced.
I apologize if I ping you all too much.If so, let me know and I'll quit.
Just thought this article is food for thought, and wonder what the state laws read in other states (despite Constitutional rights). If it can be done in New Orleans can it be done elsewhere (confiscation of firearms during emergencies/disasters)?
Let me tell you, Louisiana is known as "Sportsman's Paradise," and there are lots of hunters/gun owners there.
Tennessee is also known for its rural heritage, but did you know it was home to the first gun control case in the U.S., according to a Chattanooga judge, Judge Bob Moon, who wrote an article about this years ago for Tennessee Valley Outdoors Magazine. I don't have access to the article right now (it ran long before TVO was on the net), but I do remember it being an eye-opening article.
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