Confiscation in N.O.LA
A lot of us have seen or at least heard about the Channel 2
video reported by Ken Wayne who accompanied the California
Highway Patrol (CHiP) to New Orleans. To recap:
The ChiPs ran into a Patricia Konie, an elderly woman
whose house on Magazine Street was dry and intact. She
saw no need to evacuate. She had survived hurricanes before
for several days without running water or electricity.
Patricia Konie: "You're gonna have to shoot me because
I'm not going. I don't want you in here, period.
"I'm ok. I've got food, water, supplies, I'm not
afraid of looters, I've got a gun".
CHiP: "Can I see your gun?"
Konie: "Sure."
She held the gun around the cylinder, butt down, barrel up.
Three CHiPs the size of football lineman bodyslammed Konie
into the wall, yelling "She's got a gun!" They took her gun
and dragged her out of her house. She was taken by military
transport to be processed at the Convention Center: yes
indeed, much safer than her own home, especially a home with
a gun in it.
Reporter Ken Wayne justified this treatment to his
newsanchors back in California by saying that "it's an
indication of what highway patrol officers and police from
all over the nation are finding as they assist [local police]
in trying to evacuate this city. Dennis, Julie."
Dennis: "Ken, they are obviously going to use physical
force to remove someone who does not want to go. The obvious
question now is, would they use deadly force?"
Ken: "Well, I don't think so, Dennis. I mean, here you
had a woman with a gun, she's eldery, she doesn't appear to
be a threat, but a gun is a gun. And the officers certainly
had the option, you would think, in using deadly force. They
are not kicking down doors. They are not dragging people
from their homes, but in this case the woman had a gun, so
that's a bit of a different scenario. In the cases, the
other cases we saw, there were dozens of other people who
were removed. Most came out willingly, a few grumbled
about it...." otherwise they were good little sheeple and
not like the big, bad wolfwoman.
California troopers could not understand the mindset of
New Orleaners who are used riding out hurricanes then
doing without electricity or tap water for days, especially
people who traditionally keep guns at home for protection
and stockpile food, water and medicine for emergencies.
NOPD, LaNG and 82nd Airborne all indicated they would
not forcibly disarm or evict people in their own homes.
That is why outside blue state police were brought in:
they would have no respect for citizen sovereignty.
------------------------------------------------------
New York Times
September 8, 2005
New Orleans Begins Confiscating Firearms as Water Recedes
By ALEX BERENSON and TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 - Waters were receding across this
flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating
weapons, including legally registered firearms, from civilians in
preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still
living here.
No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols,
shotguns, or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass, the
superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to
have weapons," he said.
But that order apparently does not apply to the hundreds of
security guards whom businesses and some wealthy individuals have
hired to protect their property. The guards, who are civilians
working for private security firms like Blackwater, are openly
carrying M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said he was
aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to
make them give up their weapons.
....
----------------------------------------------------------
Washington Post
Friday, September 9, 2005; Page A01
By Timothy Dwyer and Ann Scott Tyson
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 -- Outside Kajun's Pub, between the
relatively dry French Quarter and the heavily flooded Ninth
Ward, bar owner JoAnn Guidos loaded up her 1991 Ford
Econoline van with clothing, liquor and other necessities
Thursday morning. After holding out for 10 days, Guidos and
her friends were finally leaving New Orleans and heading to
high ground.
The beer was still cold, thanks to a working generator, and
hopes for customers were strong as the flood-ravaged city
fills with thirsty soldiers and emergency workers.
But on Wednesday night, Guidos said, armed federal agents
identifying themselves as U.S. marshals confiscated her weapons
and ordered her and six friends to leave by noon Thursday.
"When you get 15 M-16s pointed at you and they line you up
against the wall, it's kind of scary," said Guidos, 55.
....
---------------------------------------------------------------
Times-Picaynue, New Orleans,
Saturday, September 10, 2005, bottom of page A-9
"Pencil behind ear, and .38 on hip" By Chris Rose, Columnist
....
The California National Guard came by and wanted an accounting
of every weapon in the building and they wrote the serial numbers
down....
They took all our information and bid us a good day and then
sauntered off to retrieve a dead guy on a front porch down the
street.
Then the California Highway Patrol - the CHiPs! - came and
demanded we turn over our weapons.
What are you going to do? We were certainly outnumbered, so we
turned over the guns. Then, an hour later, they brought them
back. With no explanation.
....
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, I know, four anecdotes do not data make, but four
independent sources not quoting each other meets my standard
for anecdotal evidence.
Some people will realize there are other people with a
religious-like fervor to ban and confiscate guns only when
Rebecca Peters and George Soros show up on their doorstep.
The CHiPs and their embedded reporter saw a woman having
a gun for protection against home invaders as a threat to
the Highway Patrol of the Peoples' Republic of California!!!.
Reporter Ken Wayne: "And the officers certainly had the option,
you would think, in using deadly force.... the woman had a gun,
so that's a bit of a different scenario."
Patricia Konie and her nickleplated .32 top-break are not a
threat to ANY of US. The attitude of the CHiPs and their media
apologists is a threat to ALL of US.
And please note Chris Rose's story: first they just wanted
the serial numbers, then they came for the guns. Cue the music:
(Well, I was going to upload "The Twilight Zone" theme but THR
doesn't recognize .WAV files: Deedle dee dee Deedle dee dee...)