Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Posts: 8187 Location: Fingerlakes - NY usa
Gun Seized After Katrina? NRA Wants You
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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN | Associated Press Writer
11:23 PM EST, December 26, 2007
NEW ORLEANS - The National Rifle Association has hired private investigators to find hundreds of people whose firearms were seized by city police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers filed this week.
The NRA is trying to locate gun owners for a federal lawsuit that the lobbying group filed against Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of firearms after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
In the lawsuit, the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation claim the city violated gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms and left them "at the mercy of roving gangs, home invaders, and other criminals" after Katrina.
The NRA says the city seized more than 1,000 guns that weren't part of any criminal investigation after the hurricane. Police have said they took only guns that had been stolen or found in abandoned homes.
I hardly see any justice in demanding money as compensation for damages. Fortunately, lawsuits (or simply suits) are not only for monetary compensation. Check out these definitions:
n. generic term for any filing of a complaint (or petition) asking for legal redress by judicial action, often called a "lawsuit." In common parlance a suit asking for a court order for action rather than a money judgment is often called a "petition," but technically it is a "suit in equity."
See also: lawsuit
n. a common term for a legal action by one person or entity against another person or entity, to be decided in a court of law, sometimes just called a "suit." The legal claims within a lawsuit are called "causes of action."
An action. The word suit in the 25th section of the judiciary act of 1789, applies to any proceeding in a court of justice, in which the plaintiff pursues, in such court, the remedy which the law affords him. An application for a prohibition is therefore a suit. 2 Pet. 449. According to the code of practice of Louisiana, art. 96, a suit is a real, personal or mixed demand, made before a competent judge, by which the parties pray to obtain their rights, and a decision of their disputes. In that acceptation, the words suit, process and cause, are in that state almost synonymous. Vide Secta, and Steph. Pl. 427; 3 Bl. Com. 395; Gilb. C. P. 48; 1 Chit. Pl. 399; Wood's Civ. Law, b. 4, c. p. 315; 4 Mass. 263; 18 John. 14; 4 Watts, R. 154; 3 Story, Const. §1719. In its most extended sense, the word suit, includes not only a civil action, but also a criminal prosecution, as indictment, information, and a conviction by a magistrate. Ham. N. P. 270.
So we should wonder why the word "lawsuit" has become synonymous with "monetary compensation".
1. Federal Reserve and the IRS - By perpetually leeching 30% of the currency, they have reduced the standard of living and created a demand for more money (to re-attain the standard of living, one must work 30% harder). The slaves squabble with each other over the remaining money supply.
2. Lawyers - Since people know nothing of law, they are forced to depend on lawyers. Lawyers guide them in the direction of monetary compensation.
Regarding the NRA case, it is just another farce of law designed by lawyers to avoid any real justice from being done. At the least, if convicted by a jury, the accused government servants should be removed from office and prevented from holding one again. All weapons should be returned in the same condition they were unlawfully taken. And if any human being was harmed as a consequence of their actions, they should compensate the damaged parties in a way that satisfies the damaged parties. (I am not so sure that imprisonment is an acceptable form of punishment.) We should not trust these bar-licensed, "law practicing", snakes to re-present us in court.
NRA: The Untold Story of Gun Confiscation After Katrina
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The video you will see on this web site is horrifying. The crimes committed against law-abiding gun owners are beyond comprehension. The arrogance of anti-gun politicians and government officials and their hate of freedom will churn your stomach.
The law is the law, the Constitution is the Constitution. If ONE local mayor or police chief can decide what the Second Amendment means, it opens the door to tyranny—where ANY mayor or police chief can say what the Second Amendment means.
You've seen this brand of abuse of freedom in the history books—in the pages about days of gun confiscations leading to the terror of Stalin, Mao and Hitler. But you'd never in a million years think it could happen in America.
Well, it can and it did. And it will happen again unless we take action today.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Police Superintendent P. Eddie Compass unleashed a wave of confiscations with these chilling words:
"No one will be able to be armed. We will take all weapons. Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns."
Thousands of firearms were then confiscated from law-abiding gun owners. The police gave no paperwork or receipts for those guns. They just stormed in and seized them.
With your help we're going to make the first time in New Orleans the LAST time in America. Thank you!
Now, one year later, these crimes against gun owners have snowballed into a far greater threat to our freedoms.
Even though NRA secured a court order demanding their immediate and unconditional return, almost every single confiscated firearm remains locked in government trailers.
With the stroke of a pen, Mayor Nagin and Police Superintendent Compass are getting away with "murder"—a savaging of the second, fourth and fourteenth amendments of our Constitution. And they have put America on notice that they're going to keep seizing lawfully owned guns under any pretense.
New Orleans gun owners are showing up at these trailers, with serial numbers of their firearms, expecting Mayor Nagin and his band of anti-gunners to respect the Federal courts.
They are met by stony-eyed bureaucrats who say serial numbers aren't enough—and that gun owners now need PROOF OF PURCHASE of these firearms.
How many of those gun owners do you think had original receipts for those firearms? And even if they did, how many do you think could find those receipts in the wreckage of a hurricane?
Many of these firearms were passed down from father to son, generation to generation. Some are precious heirlooms. Some are collector's pieces won in our wars. And they were all lawfully owned and they must be returned to their owners.
With your help we're going to make the first time in New Orleans the LAST time in America. Thank you!
New Orleans Police Illegally Confiscating Guns After Katrina
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New Orleans Police Illegally confiscating Guns after Hurricane Katrina.
When the government was Informed that this was taking Place they ... all » Immediately Ordered that it cease.
As of February 2006 none of the confiscated guns have been returned to there Owners and the NOPD Chief who is on this video is Denying saying what he did on the video.
"The Great New Orleans Gun Grab" Co-author Gordon Hutchinson talks about Patricia Konie and her experience with the gun confiscation of New Orleans citizens after Hurricane Katrina
Feds Train Clergy To "Quell Dissent" During Martial Law, Pastors Will Cite Romans 13 To Encourage Public's Submission To Police State. Visit my news blog 'The Rabbit Hole' at http://rabbitholenews.blogspot.com
Isn't that nice. Lets look at Romans 13:
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1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
1/25/2008 1:04:35 AM Former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has been appointed to head an influential panel advising the US government on arms control.
The State Department confirmed his appointment as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board, which provides the department with independent advice on arms control and disarmament. Wolfowitz will report on a number of current sensitive issues such as nuclear deals with India and North Korea, and Iran's contentious nuclear program.
Wolfowitz's return to government comes at a time when many leading figures of the Bush administration are leaving.
Wolfowitz, who has long been a controversial figure in US and international politics, was forced to leave the World Bank over a scandal in which he authorized a large compensation package for his girlfriend, who was also the world lending body's employee at the time.
His departure was further clouded by allegations that he had tarnished the bank's reputation and strained relations with other countries - particularly in Europe.
As the Pentagon's number two after Donald Rumsfeld, he was one of the leading architects of the war in Iraq and his insider status at the White House made him many enemies at home and abroad.
NRA: To See Where Gun Licensing Leads, Look To England
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England's increasingly repressive firearms laws often are praised by those who would restrict the American right to arms, so it is important to realize that those firearms laws, which now prohibit the private possession of handguns, rest heavily on one foundation--the British gun owner licensing system. The right to keep and bear arms had been alive in England for eight centuries when Parliament enacted the Pistols Act of 1903. The Act, which prohibited the sale of pistols to minors and felons, also dictated that pistols could be sold only to those who possessed a gun license. Since the license could be obtained at a post office with only the payment of a fee, and since no license was required to keep a pistol solely in the home, there was no opposition. But within a few short years, the licensing system had moved from the post office to the police station. Suddenly, Britons who wanted to own handguns--or rifles--had to prove they had "good reason" for receiving a police permit. Shotguns were considered "sporting" and were exempted from licensing requirements until 1967.
Anti-gun lobbyists in the United States have called for a "needs-based licensing" system and some politicians have lined up to do their bidding.
Is licensing gun owners a good idea? After all, "we license people to drive cars don't we?" If requiring gun owners to obtain a government license seems like a harmless idea to you, you may want to know about "Firearms Form 101." That's the "Application For A Firearms Certificate" that must be filled out by Britons in order to purchase a rifle or muzzleloading handgun. A separate form is required for a "shotgun certificate."
Section 27 of the Firearms Act of 1968 (as amended by the 1997 Act) requires a chief officer of the Police Firearms Licensing Department to be satisfied that the applicant is "fit to be entrusted with a firearm." (Emphasis added) As the applicant, you must provide: * Your home address for the last three years. * Your occupation and business address. * Information about previous convictions, including traffic violations. * Information about any history of Epilepsy. * Information about past treatment for drug use, depression or nervous disorders. * The name of your doctor, and permission for the police to search your medical records to obtain "factual details" about your medical history. * A list of the firearms you already own, including caliber, type, maker's name and serial number. * A list of the ammunition you already own, including caliber and quantity. * A list of the firearms you wish to purchase, stating the reason for wanting to purchase them and where you plan on shooting or hunting with them. * A list of the maximum amount of ammunition you wish to possess at any one time, by caliber. * A list of the maximum amount of ammunition you plan to purchase at any one time, by caliber. * An address where the guns will be stored, for possible future inspection. * Information about whether you have previously held a firearms certificate, or a shotgun certificate. * A letter signed by the secretary of your shooting club or each landowner where you plan to hunt attesting to the fact that you have permission to shoot at those locations. * Four passport size photos of yourself. * A fee of L56 (approximately $90).
As an applicant, you must also designate two "referees" who will fill out a reference form regarding your character. This form will never be shown to you even though it weighs heavily in the final decision to approve or deny the application. The "referees" must: * Have known you for at least the last two years. * Not be a member of your family, a firearms dealer, a police officer or a police employee. * Be of "good character." * Sign the application form declaring that it has been answered truthfully. * Sign and date the back of one of your passport photos attesting that it is an accurate representation of you at that time. * Explain in what capacity they have known you. * Indicate if they are members of a shooting club, and if so their license number and role in the club. * Provide their "opinion as to the applicant's suitability to possess firearms." * Provide information on your personal history, including any history of emotional problems, mental or physical disabilities and explain how knowledge of the information was gained. * Explain any difficulties you have with members of your family which "may give cause for concern given that a firearm or ammunition may be available in the household." * Explain their knowledge of your experience with firearms. * Explain their knowledge of your attitude toward firearms. * Be subjected to a background check and allow personal information to be held on a police computer.
These measures have put Draconian regulations on the law-abiding gun owners of Great Britain and done little to reduce crime. On Jan. 16, 2000, the London Times published an article about the increase in gun crimes, and bemoaning the fact that there are an estimated three million unregistered guns in the nation. Besides confirming the inescapable fact that criminals don't bother to license their guns, the article stated that fatal shootings in London more than doubled between 1998 and 1999, and overall armed crime rose 10%.
So, if licensing honest gun owners doesn't reduce crime--and how could it?--what is the real purpose? For British gun owners, the answer came too late, when the government that licensed them finally decreed that they were not "fit to be entrusted" to own handguns for any reason. Gun owners in the U.S. cannot plead ignorance--here the true purpose of licensing gun owners was defined nearly a quarter-century ago by the first Chair of Handgun Control, Inc. "Our ultimate goal," Pete Shields said, is "to make the the possession of all handguns and handgun ammunition . . . totally illegal ("The New Yorker , July 26, 1976)