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Riley says he'll confiscate weapons if disaster strikes, gun rights activists outraged

10:29 PM CDT on Friday, June 2, 2006

Jonathan Betz / WWL-TV News Reporter

Gun rights activists were up in arms Friday after New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley said he would confiscate weapons should disaster strike.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Frederick Thomas, from New Orleans, leaves New Orleans Police with his semi-automatic pistol that was confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on Monday April 17, 2006.

The chief’s comments came after a federal lawsuit forced the city to return hundreds of firearms that were seized in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview with WWL Radio, Riley said his officers would seize guns from people on the streets if another storm was to hit New Orleans.

“During a circumstance like that, we cannot allow people to walk the street carrying guns…as law enforcement officers we will confiscate the weapon if a person is walking down the street and they may be arrested,” Riley said.

The National Rifle Association sued the city and forced it to return hundreds of guns, after officers seized them during Katrina. Gun rights activists were once again outraged by Riley's comments.

”It’s shocking, there's nothing about a police chief's opinion that gives them a super sized authority to throw the constitution out the window,” said NRA Executive Vice-President Wayne Lapierre.

“God spared a lot of people in this storm, he also spared a lot of violent people who were committing violent crimes with firearms,” one ATF agent said regarding the confiscation of weapons during Katrina.

But gun activists said the move robbed people of their right to protect themselves when chaos ruled the city.

“Your firearm in your home, was the only protection from the criminal element,” said State Representative Steve Scalise.

Chief Riley said Friday that officers would not again enter people’s homes to seize weapons.

During Katrina, state law gave the chief the authority to take guns during an emergency. Since then lawmakers have re-written the law, making it a crime, one they said the chief was threatening to commit.

“He does not have the right to confiscate their firearms, nobody in this country does, that's why we have a 2nd amendment to our constitution,” said Scalise.

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl060206jbguns.4aac3cf1.html
 
In that case, Mr. Police Chief, since you've demonstrated utter contempt for the U.S. Constitution, in direct violation of your oath of office, you should be forthwith voted out of office, with extreme prejudice, if'n ya get my drift. :mad:
 
Just another example of why I prefer a sheriff to a police chief. The sheriff is ELECTED by the PEOPLE. The police chief is appointed by, and beholden to, the mayor.
 
At those times when civil government is unable to adequately perform its basic function of protecting the rights of the governed, each man is returned to that natural state where he must defend, as best he can, his own rights, his life, his liberty and his property. It is at these very moments when civil authority is either unable or unwilling to protect our rights that a free man is most in need of the recourse to arms.

I found the events that transpired in New Orleans to be very disturbing and symptomatic of a society in decay. When the enforcement of the law should fail and the conduct of the individual is restrained only by his own conscience, the character of each man is revealed, be it noble or base, and the measure of a great many of the people of New Orleans was severely wanting.

The NOPD should not have been confiscating guns, instead they should have been disturbing the same to any in need of a weapon to defend themselves against the unrestrained actions of those who viewed the tragic disaster as an opportunity to enrich themselves.

New Orleans should be ashamed of itself.

Best Regards,
Richard
 
Well I hope he tries it...then hopefully the Govenor will grow a pair and send the state police to arrest him for breaking the law and confiscate his shiny badge and sidearm and put him in a jail cell with the other lawbreakers.
 
Well I hope he tries it...then hopefully the Govenor will grow a pair and send the state police to arrest him for breaking the law and confiscate his shiny badge and sidearm and put him in a jail cell with the other lawbreakers.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that, but it's not likely. What has the governor done about the lawless confiscations from the first tragedy? Nothing, it took the NRA to get things moving in the right direction. The police chief should already be in jail. But instead his boss, Nagan, was just re-elected. Maybe them down south need another hurricane and another round of looting, riots, and confiscations before they start voting with some intelligence. They'll probably get the chance to in the next month or so. If there's any New Orleans left to vote afterwards.

And anyone who says it won't come to that again is living in a dream. All that the new legislation passed recently, barring confiscations during an emergency does, is back up what the 2nd Amendment should have made very clear. The city government violated the 2nd, what makes people think they'll pay any more attention to the new laws?:cool:
 
Riley Backs Down on New Orleans Gun Grab After SAF Calls for Investigation

6/6/2006 1:26:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation, 425-454-7012

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Within two hours of an announcement that the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) was calling for a Justice Department investigation of New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley's plan to confiscate guns again if a major storm hits the city this year, SAF learned that Riley has backed off.

"Somehow," said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, "I don't believe this is a coincidence. Earlier this year, as our attorneys were about to enter a motion for contempt against Riley and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin in federal court, the city finally admitted that it did have hundreds of seized firearms in its possession. That came after months of denial the city had taken guns from anybody.

"Now, days after Riley told a New Orleans radio station that he was planning another gun grab," Gottlieb continued, "we have him suddenly back pedaling almost immediately after we announce our complaint to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"We know that since his announcement Friday on WWL-AM about the plans to confiscate firearms, the station has been getting a very negative public reaction toward the police chief," Gottlieb noted. "Whether his remarks on Friday were some sort of trial balloon just to gauge public sentiment, or whether he was serious, our decision to file a complaint with the Justice Department was equally serious, if not more so.

"For months, we and the National Rifle Association, who was our partner in the lawsuit against the city, were stonewalled, ignored and lied to about the post-Katrina gun confiscations," Gottlieb said. "After Riley's statement on Friday, SAF decided that enough was enough. Two weeks ago, we warned the city that we would be watching for this sort of thing. Our letter to the Attorney General stands, because we want Riley, and anybody else who considers gun grabs to be a good idea, to understand that we're simply not kidding around.

"We warned the city that we would adopt a zero tolerance policy about these illegal gun grabs," Gottlieb concluded, "and we meant it."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=67014
 
Next time Riley decides he's going to, "gauge public sentiment". They ought to take him down to the docks, file a complaint, and let him back pedal off the pier.:D
 
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