New Orleans Admits To Saf Attorneys They Have Seized Guns.

azfreedom

Inactive
I heard that some people here think that the world is flat and
that the gun confiscations were isolated
incidents in New Orleans.





NEW ORLEANS ADMITS TO SAF ATTORNEYS THEY HAVE SEIZED GUNS

BELLEVUE, WA – In a stunning reversal, the City of New Orleans
revealed today to attorneys representing the Second Amendment
Foundation and National Rifle Association that they do have a
stockpile of firearms seized from private citizens in the wake
of
Hurricane Katrina.

The disclosure came as attorneys for both sides were preparing
for a
hearing in federal court on a motion filed earlier by SAF and
NRA to
hold the city in contempt. Plaintiffs’ attorneys traveled to a
location within the New Orleans city limits where they viewed
more
than 1,000 firearms that were being stored.

“This is a very significant event,” said attorney Dan Holliday,
who
represents NRA and SAF in an on-going lawsuit seeking to enjoin
the
city from seizing privately-owned firearms.

“We’re almost in disbelief,” admitted SAF Founder Alan Gottlieb.
“For
months, the city has maintained it did not have any guns in its
possession that had been taken from people following the
hurricane.
Now our attorneys have seen the proof that New Orleans was less
than
honest with the court.”

Under an agreement with the court, the hearing on the contempt
motion
has been continued for two weeks, the attorneys said. During
that
time, according to Holliday and fellow attorney Stephen
Halbrook, the
city will establish a process by which the lawful owners of
those
firearms can recover their guns.

“While we are stunned at this complete reversal on the city’s
part,”
Gottlieb said, “the important immediate issue is making sure gun
owners get their property back. We’re glad that the city is
going to
move swiftly to make that possible, and naturally we will do
whatever
is necessary to make this happen.

“What happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was an
outrage,” Gottlieb observed. “Equally disturbing is the fact
that it
apparently took a motion for contempt to force the city to admit
what
it had been denying for the past five months.
 
Some people claimed that the incidents of gun confiscation were minor, exaggerated, and mostly fabricated.

I wonder what those people are saying now.
 
I think some people need to go to jail for theft and civil rights violations. From the city officials that implemented this right down to the POS LEO's that seized the firearms.:mad:
 
Contempt?

Sounds more like treason to me. Everybody, vote them all out next election. Go with an independent candidate not tied to the Dem's or the Rep's. This is phase three of the U.N. world wide disarmament mandate. No treaty with a foreign govt shall override the Constitution, none period........


.. .
. ..
 
wildcard said:
I think some people need to go to jail for theft and civil rights violations. From the city officials that implemented this right down to the POS LEO's that seized the firearms.


I am thinking that each gun owner should receive not only his/her property back, but it should be cleaned, accompanied by four spare magazines, 1000 rounds of high-quality ammunition, and a kiss on the @%% along with a written apology on the City of New Orleans' mayor's letterhead in a gilt frame.

And those who stole their firearms should do 10 years' hard time.

To keep other government thugs from thinking of doing the same crap next time.


-azurefly
 
Actually law enforcement couldn't have cooperated too well with the order from city government or New Orleans hasn't come completely clean yet.

1,000 firearms is certainly not an isolated incident but it is nowhere near even a fraction of the number of firearms in New Orleans. Either the majority of law enforcement officers did not comply with the confiscation order issued by the NO Chief of Police or there are a lot more firearms stashed somewhere.

By the way, according to the radio interview Wayne Lapierre gave on 870AM in New Orleans this morning, inside tips from law enforcement have been critical to the NRAs case and gave them the evidence necessary to seek the contempt action as well as telling them where to find the firearms the city was claiming it had not confiscated.
 
Part of what I think some posters are alluding to are some of the longer-term 'residents' and staff of TFL who basically poo-poo'd the idea that the confiscations happened....but then the video of that elderly lady being body-slammed by LEOs when she wouldn't give up her revolver made the news.

So that poo-poo'ing (that the confiscations weren't happening) became "well, they weren't wide-spread."

I dunno...seems like the (at least) 1,000 firearms confiscated is more widespread than an isolated incident or three. And, as pointed out, the city took forever to even admit to THAT many.
 
I would love to know the true, 'inside story' of how this happened in the 1st place. Who ordered it, what was their thinking/justification, what did they plan to do with the weapons, etc.

I hope this continues to see the light of day until all those people get their property returned and there is some accountability in this event.
 
I certainly would not have given up my weapons without a fight, I wonder how many of the dead were as a result of the same train of thought?

Would be interesting to know the cause of death for the victims eh ?
 
1st person account. I saw many weapons in vehicles that we pulled over (which initially was odd to us who work the streets of Los Angeles). Our team went by the LAW of the area, which allowed weapons to be kept in plain sight in the vehicle (as long as the weapon was not concealed, therebye requiring a concealed permit). As long as the weapon was not reported stolen, or the carrier of the weapon not prohibited from having weapons, the person was sent on their way. ALL the other out-of-town agencies acted the same way (as far as I know). Obvioulsy, some didn't. But, I know that most of us that WERE THERE did not want to take away any weapons from citizens that had them legally in the 1st place. My conscience is clean in that regard.
 
Our team went by the LAW of the area, which allowed weapons to be kept in plain sight in the vehicle (as long as the weapon was not concealed, therebye requiring a concealed permit)
You are wrong on that point BreacherUp. In Louisiana a vehicle is an extension of one's home. As such, a weapon can be carried in any manner. See LRS 14:95.2 (C) (5). Keep in mind, according to the Louisiana constitution, this law cannot be abridged.

Car/Gun law summary
Date updated: Jul 29, 2005 @ 12:56 pm
A user called the Louisiana State Police and was told state law considers your car an extension of the home, similar to Florida with their glove box law. Carrying a loaded gun in the car is an accepted practice there.
Admin note
In an email from the Louisiana State Police I was told that Louisiana has no law coving [sic] firearms inside motor vehicles. Since there is no law anyone who can legally possess a firearm can carry a loaded firearm inside a vehicle. It can be the glove box, console or under the seat. Even without any laws covering firearms inside vehicles I would still be very careful without a Louisiana CCW or one they honor from another state.


A weapon is not considered concealed if it is in your closet at home. Likewise, it is not considered concealed if it is under a newspaper in your automobile. It is considered concealed ONLY if it is concealed on your person. In Louisiana there is a duty to inform a LEO on official business of a concealed weapon. Obviously it would be advisable to inform of one that is accessible in your vehicle. That is common courtesy.

Part of the problem in NOLA was out of state law enforcement doing anything they were told to do. We certainly appreciated the help, but a knowledge of the law should be a prerequisite to it's enforcement.

Many were (and are still) saying the confiscations were not widespread. These people are in denial, plain and simple. Remember that the confiscations only occured for less than 48 hours before they were stopped. A thousand guns is a heck of a lot to confiscate in 48 hours from people who basically want to be left alone. That's about one gun every three minutes, given a 48 hour period of time.

One must remember that this was not just an issue of constitutionality, or the law. It was an issue of removing people's ONLY means of self defense when they needed it the most. Whether legal or not, that was unnecessary and horribly wrong. It did not take a legal scholar to figure that one out.

Thank you, Breacher, for your assistance in our time of need. We hope we never have to return the favor, but stand ready to do so if needed.
 
excuse my ignorance here but....

Excuse my ignorance here but, has anyone from the city goverment of New Orleans or NOPD actually testified that there were no confiscations? I know they have repeatedly said there werent, but has anyone testified to that? And if they did cant they be then charged with perjury? Wouldnt a guilty perjury verdict disqualify a police officer from his job? Or a lawyer? Or a politician?

Curious.

EricN
 
bartholemew roberts said:
Actually law enforcement couldn't have cooperated too well with the order from city government or New Orleans hasn't come completely clean yet.

1,000 firearms is certainly not an isolated incident but it is nowhere near even a fraction of the number of firearms in New Orleans. Either the majority of law enforcement officers did not comply with the confiscation order issued by the NO Chief of Police or there are a lot more firearms stashed somewhere.

Well, since guns are not "registered" the way they make it seem they all are on t.v. shows like Law & Order, one wonders how the police would have managed a campaign to attempt confiscation of all the privately owned guns in N.O.

Isn't it possible that 1000 guns confiscated could mean that "any time they encountered a homeowner with a gun they could see, they took it?" That would explain the fact that it wasn't hundreds of thousands of guns (or some number approximating "all the guns in N.O.), and also not just one or two (which would indicate a very limited cooperation among police to make confiscations).

-azurefly
 
Excuse my ignorance here but, has anyone from the city goverment of New Orleans or NOPD actually testified that there were no confiscations? I know they have repeatedly said there werent, but has anyone testified to that? And if they did cant they be then charged with perjury? Wouldnt a guilty perjury verdict disqualify a police officer from his job? Or a lawyer? Or a politician?
September 23,2005
Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued a temporary restraining order on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and National Rifle Association (NRA), bringing an end to firearm seizures from citizens living in and around New Orleans. District Judge Jay Zaney issued the restraining order against all parties named in a lawsuit filed Thursday by SAF and NRA. Defendants in the lawsuit include New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Chief Edwin Compass III. News reports quoted Compass as saying that only law enforcement officials would be allowed to have firearms and Deputy Chief Warren Riley as saying, "We are going to take all the weapons." Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association, states his group documented 30 to 40 cases of people having their weapons illegally confiscated by law enforcement after Hurricaine Katrina hit Aug. 29. The location and disposition of these weapons is being sought, as well as civil and criminal charges against those who instituted the acts of confiscation.

Not surprisingly, in documents filed in federal court in Baton Rouge, La., New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Police Chief Eddie Compass and St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain deny ordering the confiscation of firearms. To wit:

Defendants, C. Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans and P. Edwin Compass, III, Superintendent of Police for the City of New Orleans, deny the allegations in the Complaint For Declaratory Judgment and Injunctive Relief and specifically deny that it was or is the policy of the City of New Orleans nor the New Orleans Police Department to illegally seize lawfully possessed firearms from citizens;

Defendants C. Ray Nagin, Mayor of the City of New Orleans, and P. Edwin Compass, III, Superintendent of the Department of Police for the City of New Orleans, specifically deny each and every allegation in the Complaint for Declaratory Judgment and Injunctive Relief and specifically reserving all rights herein and waiving none, assert the following:

1. C. Ray Nagin has not issued, nor has he any intention of issuing, any order, declaration, promulgation, and/or directive pursuant to the authority granted unto him by LSA-R.S. 29:721, et seq., ordering the seizure of any lawfully-possessed firearm from law abiding citizens, nor has C. Ray Nagin delegated any authority granted unto him pursuant to LSA-RS 29:721, et seq. to any other city official, department head, officer, employee, and/or agent of the City of New Orleans including, but not limited to, P. Edwin Compass, III, Superintendent of the Department of Police for the City of New Orleans and/or Warren Riley, Deputy Superintendent of the Department of Police of the City of New Orleans;

2. P. Edwin Compass, III acknowledges that no authority has been delegated to him by C. Ray Nagin, Mayor of the City of New Orleans, pursuant to the powers granted unto the said Mayor by the provisions of LSA-RS 29:721, et seq. to order the seizure of lawfully-possessed firearms from law abiding citizens and that any and all statements which are allegedly attributed to him in such regard do not represent any policy, statement, ordinance, regulation, decision, custom or practice of either C. Ray Nagin or the City of New Orleans, its agencies and/or departments;

3. C. Ray Nagin and P. Edwin Compass, III affirmatively deny that seizures of lawfully possessed firearms from law abiding citizens has occurred as a result of the actions of officers, city officials, employees and/or agents of the City of New Orleans or any of its departments and further affirmatively deny that any such weapons are presently in the possession of the City of New Orleans, its agents and/or departments;

4. C. Ray Nagin and P. Edwin Compass, III further affirmatively deny that it is the custom, practice and/or policy of the City of New Orleans, either officially or unofficially, to seize and/or confiscate lawfully-possessed firearms from law abiding citizens.
 
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XB, you are correct. As my statement said, the law allowed plain view. And yes, we all understood, after we were sworn in by the state's AG, that a vehicle is an extension of a person's home. And that concelaed was on a person's body (not in a trunk). Many guys had pistols hidden between seats and under, but they were free to go as well. Sorry I was not clearer.
 
Side Comment:
Ya know Breach...you were THERE. You VOLUNTEERED to be THERE.
Whatever happened; whatever I can decry as unjust (and I will)....
You Were There.

Thanks to you and your colleagues for that.
Rich
 
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