[John Lenin]

Is it temporary confiscation or permanent ?

[Firefigher NC]

That's crazy. If I were over there, they'd have to fight me for my guns. As far as I can tell from the news, guns are life for honest folks stuck in the disaster zone.

[hillary's_fat_a**]

Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons

What good are they and their weapons if they are looting at Wal-Mart?

http://www.zippyvideos.com/8911023771013466/countdown-looting-in-walmart/

[Nov3]

Boy the bootlickers will love this.

[spanalot]

Let that levee flood it again - forever - might as well - it can't be part of this country anymore.

[tubebender]

Bad News Ping...

[andyk]

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.

If the private guards can have guns, how can they justify taking weapons away from people in NO who's homes were unaffected by the storm? There's no martial law, AFAIK.

[NonValueAdded]

Don't worry, the ACLU will step in with an injunction to preserve the population's civil and constitutional liberties [sound of wet crickets chirping] ...

[andyk]

including legally registered firearms

NO has a law requiring registration of firearms?

[dimquest]

What Is Martial Law? And is New Orleans under it?

By Keelin McDonell


Military presence? Yes. Martial law? No.

On Tuesday reports began circulating that New Orleans officials had put the flood-ravaged city under martial law. The attorney general's office of Louisiana quickly issued a denial.

Confusion persisted, however, after White House press secretary Scott McClellan told a group of journalists on Wednesday that "martial law has been declared in Mississippi and Louisiana."

Yesterday National Guard Lt. Gen H. Steven Blum sought to set the record straight, saying, "This is not, as it has been erroneously reported, martial law."
What is martial law? And who can declare it?


Martial law occurs when the military assumes police powers because local authorities and courts aren't functioning.

Although the president usually imposes martial law, federal regulation allows for a "local commander" to do so "on the spot, if the circumstances demand immediate action." Federal armed forces are expected to relinquish these powers as soon as the local government is once again operable.
During martial law, the military may arrest and try civilians, seize private property, and institute curfews, among other emergency powers.

In practice, however, martial law has been all but barred since the late 19th century. During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and set up military courts in several states in the South and Midwest. Many at the time felt that Lincoln had superseded his authority, and in 1878 Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids the military from performing civilian law enforcement without congressional approval.

The Posse Comitatus Act effectively limited the president's power to declare martial law, but it did not entirely end it. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the governor of Hawaii called for martial law. President Roosevelt approved the motion, and the islands remained under military authority until October of 1944.

Additionally, governors can still request that the president immediately dispatch federal troops to assist police during emergencies. This happened during two notable instances of rioting in recent history at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and after the verdict was handed down in the Rodney King trial in Los Angeles in 1992.
Neither instance constituted martial law (or violated Posse Comitatus) since federal troops were supporting and not supplanting local leaders.
During the 1987 Iran-Contra scandal, it was revealed that Oliver North had helped FEMA draft plans to overrule Posse Comitatus and impose martial rule if a major instance of civil unrest occurred.


More recently, civil libertarians have worried that the military may become the de facto enforcer of law if the United States is attacked.
The Katrina relief effort includes military assistance, but it is not martial law.

National Guard units are acting under the direction of governors, and federal troops are providing humanitarian relief.
Neither of these violates Posse Comitatus.

While martial law has not been imposed, a state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, signaling that some civil liberties, such as the right to congregate, may be limited because of extreme conditions.

http://slate.msn.com/toolbar.aspx?action=read&id=2125584

---

The "extreme conditions" in New Orleans do not justify the confiscation of weapons from residents on their private property.

State & local authorities are exceeding their constitutional powers, and will [hopefully] pay the political price.

[Lazamataz]

Anna, you were 100% spot-on.

Now back to my regularly-scheduled lurking.

[spunkets]

Arms for me, but not for thee. Kiss yer home good bye too. Now get out!

[billnaz]

Democrats are confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens. No surprise there.

[tall_tex]

Can anyone put up or FReepmail me a link to this thread, I have a long list to forward it to.

Thanks in advance.

[Graymatter]

Definitely not legal.
They picked a bad day to quit listening to their lawyers.

[Sender]

Well the intent was to disarm the looters and snipers, and somebody decided that to do that, they have to disarm all.

The elderly lady that they evicted early today or late yesterday who was on all the news, she was holding her own against the evictors, arguing that she had plenty of food, water etc. It was pretty much a standoff.

Then when trying to convince the cops that she could take care of herself, she mentioned "and I have a gun", so they would know she had self-protection.

That's when they tackled her.

[Betis70]

Unbelievable bookmark.

[snowsislander]

My guess is that this will eventuate in defeat for the gungrabbers.

If I cannot convince at least two more friends to join the NRA after this, I will be greatly disappointed. If the NRA cannot find the political will to turn this into an eventual victory, I will be more greatly disappointed.

I believe that we can make immense political hay from this.

But that's taking the long view. In the short view, this is as bad as I want to think about. The poster Petronski used the word "obscene", and that certainly is my feeling also. This is an obscenity, an unnecessary and ugly blight on the proud history of our nation.

I have this forlorn hope that whomever in government that is responsible for this heinous action is held responsible and prosecuted under as many laws as can be found (and I think that even civil rights legislation might be bent to this purpose.)

But my assumption is that no one will take responsibility for this action and certainly no official will be prosecuted for this disgraceful action.

[B Knotts]

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.

Huh?

LEOs are civilians.

[Sir Gawain]

Who is issuing the order to confiscate??????????????