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Main Page Gun owners want rights protected in a disaster
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: resqjyw0

By Lindsey Parietti/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Tue Jan 08, 2008, 12:29 AM EST

BOSTON - The Gun Owners' Action League, a Northborough gun rights protection group, has authored a bill that would make it illegal for police and public officials to seize legally owned weapons during a state of emergency.

Hoping to prevent local officials from seizing their guns in a crisis as Louisiana officials did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Massachusetts gun owners are pushing the state for an extra guarantee of their Second Amendment rights.

"In New England, we're just as likely to become a victim of storms like Katrina. Here winter storms are the worst," said James Wallace, the league's executive director and owner of more than a dozen guns.

"It's not that there are criminals out there trying to rob you, but people of that ilk coming to take the food and water away that you've set aside, and if the police can't get to you, what's their nerve taking away the only thing that could protect you," he said.

If passed, the bill would impose fines between $500 and $5,000 for each firearm confiscated, or prison sentences of up to 10 years.

State Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, who sponsored the legislation on behalf of the league, said he is not sure if the penalties are appropriate, but supports the concept.

Moore said that during a disaster he could envision anti-gun communities across the state interpreting emergency powers as New Orleans officials did. He declined to name specific communities.

"The law enforcement should not use a state of emergency as an excuse to violate people's rights, whether it be this one or any others," he said, calling the bill a message that needs to be sent.

Wallace said urban centers such as Boston, Worcester and Springfield, as well as Cambridge and Brookline, might be inclined to seize weapons.

The Boston Police Department did not return calls for comment. State police said they do not comment on pending legislation.

Virginia, West Virginia, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma are among more than a dozen states that have passed similar legislation, Moore said.

In October 2006, President George W. Bush signed a bill making it illegal for federal employees or officers to confiscate weapons "during any major disaster or emergency."

"When civilized government fails, as it does in times of extreme stress, good people are often left without basic services provided by government - water, electricity, and fire and law enforcement service. That is no time to disarm the good people of the commonwealth, as we know the criminal element will thrive in such chaos," the Gun Owners' Action League wrote in a letter to the Legislature.

The league's bill is awaiting action from the Legislature's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x817806394

Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Why I vote Second Amendment....If they wont trust me to protect myself, I wont trust em with my vote.

Posted by: BB-59

I hope in my heart that this passes, but in the great liberal bastion of Massachusetts you have an uphill battle.

After all, only the educated liberal mind knows what is best for us.

Posted by: rg1283

Guns? why do the police need guns?

Posted by: asquared

Sponsored by a Democrat?

Posted by: Hatt

Perhaps in an emergency, cops should sweep for illegal guns. I would certainly hope that if a cop came for my gun, he/she would then offer to stay on premise and protect me with his or her gun, against armed criminals. Point is, it’s not a good idea to scoop up legal guns in a disaster. It's the illegal gun owners that win in that situation.

I think most cops agree with this. Most of the confiscation in LA was done by blackwater ops as far as I remember. Imagine a corporation like Blackwater… its’ agents coming, armed to the teeth, to your door demanding your weapons? Imagine then, they simply leave at that point. Night falls and someone who wasn’t on their gun owner list comes crashing through your door with an unregistered 590 and executes you and yours for your wisely stockpiled food and water fillter!

I have been thinking about this a lot after watching the relevant videos on youtube. I will vote for this if it makes the ballot. If it is not a public matter, I hope out 94 percent liberal legislature makes the right choice. I certainly have my doubts. New Hampshire is really calling my name right about now.

Like I said, I don’t believe most cops think that confiscating legal guns is a good idea. I believe that most of the police understand the importance of a responsibly armed populace, as they, the police, cannot be everywhere, and that is certainly more likely during an emergency situation. There should be a little police truck dispatched to licensed firearm owners’ homes to sell ammo to those who didn’t think to stockpile a few thousand rounds for such an event before they should come and take the legal guns from those thoughtful enough to have them.

Posted by: Wolfman

Quote:

Perhaps in an emergency, cops should sweep for illegal guns.

(Minor rant) There is no such thing as an "illegal gun" - it is the unlawful possession of the gun that is illegal. A person with a suspended drivers license does not operate an "illegal car". "Illegal gun" is another term that is used to strike fear into the hearts of the uneducated.(End minor rant)

Posted by: dcs2244

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatt

Like I said, I don’t believe most cops think that confiscating legal guns is a good idea. I believe that most of the police understand the importance of a responsibly armed populace, as they, the police, cannot be everywhere, and that is certainly more likely during an emergency situation.

I believe you are right...but I also believe most cop bosses...political hacks, bureaucrats and control freaks that most of them are, believe otherwise.

Note to same: come for my firearms...I will return them to you one round at a time.

MOLON LABE.

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

We'll put DCS !

Posted by: USMCMP5811

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcs2244

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