National Rifle Association slams New Orleans for confiscating guns
The National Rifle Association slammed New Orleans
authorities Monday for seizing firearms in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, saying that citizens must be able to “protect themselves”
during a time where there is “breadown of law and order,” RAW STORY has learned.
The release was issued on their website Monday.
“What we’ve seen in Louisiana – the breakdown of law and order in the aftermath of disaster – is exactly the kind of situation
where the second amendment was intended to allow citizens to protect themselves,” NRA chief Wayne LaPierre said in a statement.
“When law enforcement isn’t available, Americans turn to the one right that protects all the others – the right to
keep and bear arms,” LaPierre added. “This attempt to repeal the Second Amendment should be condemned.”
A Louisiana state
statute allows the chief law enforcement officer to “regulate possession” of firearms during declared emergencies, the NRA notes.
But, quipped the NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, “regulate doesn’t mean confiscate.”
“The NRA will not stand idly
by while guns are confiscated from law-abiding people who’re trying to defend themselves,” he said.
“Local
authorities in New Orleans are turning nature’s assault on human life into man’s assault on human rights,” LaPierre added. “Four million
NRA members intend to stop this unconstitutional power grab.”
I wondered days ago what the NRA thought
about this. Why did it take them so long to react?
“The one right that protects all the others”? These guys really believe that,
don’t you know. So, instead of standing idly by, what are they going to do — shoot someone? No, they’re going to use the Media and the
Courts — the real tools for defending freedom, not your gun. mjh
mjh’s blog — What Does the NRA Think? (Friday 9/9/05)
