LETTERS
Katrina anniversary

To the Editor:

As we approach the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina we can expect to see plenty of news reruns of the devastation caused by the costliest cyclone to ever hit the USA; but one aspect of the calamity which probably won't get much play is how the officials in New Orleans ruthlessly, and illegally, confiscated firearms from law-abiding citizens, thereby preventing them from personally defending their homes from thugs and looters, while "9-1-1" was under water. You may remember Deputy Chief Warren Riley being quoted as saying, "No one will be able to be armed - we are going to take all the weapons," and you may have seen the ABC News video of National Guard troops smashing down doors and confiscating firearms. Such Gestapo-like actions were unconscionable, unconstitutional, and ignored the fact that many people had already properly used legally-owned firearms to successfully defend their lives and property. Later, when the National Rifle Association (NRA) brought a law suit charging infringement of Second Amendment rights, the City of New Orleans had the audacity to argue that the Second Amendment did not apply to residents in Louisiana and New Orleans (I'd like them to show me the footnote on the Bill of Rights that reads, "Not

applicable in Louisiana"). Worse, New Orleans ignored a federal court order to end the illegal confiscation of firearms, and even falsely claimed that the confiscations never occurred! After months of deception, circumvention and outright lying, the city finally admitted they had the firearms, and reluctantly agreed to make arrangements to return them to their rightful owners. Predictably, details of the arrangements were never properly communicated to the gun owners, and red tape involved in the process resulted in few firearms being returned. The good news is that this month, the US District Court denied the City of New Orleans' motion to dismiss the NRA's lawsuit, and held that the Second Amendment does indeed apply to law-abiding residents in Louisiana. The case now moves to the discovery and pre-trial preparation phase, and could drag on for months, or years. New Orleans residents who lost firearms in the illegal confiscation can probably taste the irony of having to pay (with their tax dollars) for the city to defend its violations of their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. God Bless America.

Cordially, Chuck Esposito

Suches, GA