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18 Geo. Mason U. C.R. L.J. 339 (2007-2008)
Only Law Enforcement Will Be Allowed to Have Guns: Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans Firearm Confiscations

handle is hein.journals/gmcvr18 and id is 345 raw text is: ONLY LAW ENFORCEMENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO HAVE GUNS: HURRICANE KATRINA AND THE NEW ORLEANS FIREARM CONFISCATIONS by Stephen P. Halbrook* INTRODUCTION When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the police declared that only law enforcement would be allowed to have guns and that lawfully-possessed firearms would be confiscated from civil- ians. Police proceeded to seize firearms at gunpoint from persons in their motor vehicles, boats, houses, and business premises. Citizens were left without protection in a city besieged by looters and criminals. The National Rifle Association (NRA) filed suit in federal court against New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and obtained a preliminary injunction against any further confiscations and an order that firearms be returned to their rightful owners. The Sheriff of St. Tammany Par- ish, a co-defendant, returned confiscated guns and agreed to a perma- nent injunction, leading to a voluntary dismissal as to that party. New Orleans initially denied having any confiscated arms, but after a motion for contempt was filed, took NRA counsel to view some 1,100 seized firearms. NRA's causes of action include infringement of the right to keep and bear arms, deprivation of liberty and property without due pro- cess, violation of equal protection, and unreasonable search and seizure. New Orleans moved to dismiss, arguing that a State or local- ity may confiscate firearms without violating the Second Amendment. * Stephen P. Halbrook (with co-counsel Daniel Holliday) represents the plaintiffs in NRA v. Nagin. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Florida State University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to arguing Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), and other cases in the Supreme Court, he is author of FIREARMS LAW DESKBOOK (2007); FREEDMEN, THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, & THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS (1998); THAT EVERY MAN BE ARMED (1984, 2000); A RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS (1989); THE Swiss AND THE NAZIS (2006); and TARGET SWITZERLAND (in five languages) (1998). See also www.stephen halbrook.com.

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