The Untold Story of Gun Confiscation After Katrina

[Saginaw79]

Yeah it was messed up, and answered that age old question "Will they do it" and the answer was yes

[RogerinTPA]

I relatively certain Martial Law does not trump the constitution. Could be wrong but I don't think I am.

Yes, it does trump the Constitution. It is a temporary suspension of Habeas Corpus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus

It is the Military Tribunal which is the law and what governs during Martial Law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law

[Robert 02]

There are two traditional competing accounts of the legal foundations of martial law. 1- According to the dominant view, martial law derives from a more general common law right to repel force by force. 2- An alternative view locates the legal foundation for martial law in the Crown's prerogative. Whereas under the former approach there is one legal system that is applicable in normal times and in times of grave crises, the prerogative approach identifies emergency powers in general and martial law powers in particular as constituting a special system that is geared towards overcoming exigencies. However, that special emergency system is still part and parcel of the legal system and does not operate outside it.

both approaches consider martial law to be a legal mechanism, operating within a broader constitutional framework.

The bottom line is as follows:
The United States Constitution specifically included the English common law procedure in the Suspension Clause, located in Article One, Section 9. It states:

“ The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it. ”

In Katrina there was no rebellion or invasion so Martial Law if delared would not allow them to take your arms, it is a common sense decision, if the order does not make sense you should not follow or enforce it.
Normal law is not suspended.

[Low Drag]

Yes, it does trump the Constitution. It is a temporary suspension of Habeas Corpus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus

It is the Military Tribunal which is the law and what governs during Martial Law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law

IIRC Martial Law was not declared in NO after Katrina.

Martial Law or not, if I'm caught up in a similar disaster I will not be left unarmed. That means I would have a very difficult decision to make.

I ran this by my wife, she came to the same uncomfortable conclusion I did. We won't be disarmed and left defenseless.

[mmike87]

Orders or no orders, you and you alone are responsible for your actions. "I was given an order" does NOT excuse ANYONE from responsibility for their actions IMO.

No one accepts responsibility - it always the fault of the "boss" and the "order" they were given.

[Low Drag]

Martial law was not declared in Louisiana in relation to Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php...a:_Martial_Law

Then of course there's the issue of "lawful orders" in your promotion warrant.

Unless you can find that this post is incorrect, Martial Law if off the table.

[RogerinTPA]

I stand corrected. I wasn't defending the right to seize arms from law biding citizens. The mere act is one of the most unconstitutional and un-American acts against its citizenry I can think of. The whole story is not known. Like I said, more info is needed as to determine who issued the order, and what legal action has been filed against that person or organization that issued that order and under what circumstances the order was given. Was it for the entire southern LA, MS effected areas or just a localized incident. Whether the order was legal or not remains to be seen.

[A-Bear680]

I stand corrected. I wasn't defending the right to seize arms from law biding citizens. The mere act is one of the most unconstitutional and un-American acts against its citizenry I can think of. The whole story is not known. Like I said, more info is needed as to determine who issued the order, and what legal action has been filed against that person or organization that issued that order and under what circumstances the order was given. Was it for the entire southern LA, MS effected areas or just a localized incident. Whether the order was legal or not remains to be seen.

Was it a state order or a city order? Or what?

Some source links would help to drag the discussion back to reality.


ETA:
IIRC , the NRA reported , in some detail , that the Chief of the NOPD gave the order and made the public announcement.

So pinning this mess on the military , especially the Federal military is a real stretch.