SAF Hails New Louisiana Law Prohibiting Gun Grabs

6/14/2006 5:22:00 PM


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To: National and State desks, Legal Reporter

Contact: Alan Gottlieb of Second Amendment Foundation, 425-454-7012;
Web: http://www.saf.org

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Second Amendment
Foundation (SAF) today applauded Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for
signing into law a new statute that will prohibit the kind of
sweeping firearms seizures from law-abiding citizens that happened in
New Orleans in the wake of last year's devastating Hurricane Katrina.

The new state law, which took effect immediately, makes it clear that
emergency powers granted to the governor and local officials "do not
authorize the seizure or confiscation of a firearm, weapon, or
ammunition from any individual if the firearm, weapon or ammunition
is being possessed or used lawfully." The statute does allow an
officer to temporarily disarm an individual under some circumstances,
but the officer is required to return the firearm to that person
before they part ways.

"This law is a direct outgrowth of the joint lawsuit we filed against
the City of New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish last year following
Hurricane Katrina," said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. "Once state
lawmakers understood the outrageous nature of last year's gun grab,
they acted properly to make sure that kind of thing never happens
again in Louisiana.

"The irony is that it took leading gun rights organizations to remind
the police and public officials that in the aftermath of a natural
disaster, citizens still retain their civil rights," Gottlieb
observed. "People cannot be stripped of their property, including
firearms, without warrant or due process. That's what our lawsuit was
all about, and that's what this new law insures."

SAF was joined in the landmark New Orleans lawsuit last September by
the National Rifle Association on behalf of SAF and NRA members
residing in the storm area. After New Orleans police and visiting
officers from other jurisdictions began taking guns, attorneys for
the two groups secured a restraining order from federal Judge Jay
Zainey that brought the gun seizures to a halt.

"The right to keep and bear arms is an individual civil right
protected by both the Louisiana and federal constitutions," Gottlieb
said. "It is not subject to the whim of any official, and this new
law makes that absolutely clear."

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The Second Amendment Foundation ( http://www.saf.org ) is the
nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research,
publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional
right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in
1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and
supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the
public about the consequences of gun control.

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/