It's more than likely that this has been gone over before, but due to recent laws going into effect perhaps the civil preparedness argument is more viable now. Using California as an example; if a state is going to pass laws to cripple the effectiveness (and industry) of certain types of guns it should have the plans and resources in place to protect the residents of the state during times of crisis. If it doesn't then the law can be overturned (in federal court) that prevents a resident of that state from possessing a firearm for that intended purpose. Thus ensuring that other states can't pass similar laws. The argument that day-to-day public safety is of more concern is not valid and is unjustly putting the burden of public safety on the individual, who, in this case is being prevented from doing just that. I would like to hear your thoughts and experiences in regards to my statement.
Gerald H
I think yours is a good question and interesting argument. The scenario surrounding your question somewhat reminds me of what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit. My dad and stepmom live in Biloxi and survived Katrina. As an aside, and contrary to popular belief, the hurricane didn't hit New Orleans. As most Gulf Coasters know, when a hurricane hits, the area to the east of the eye bears the punishing brunt, and that's exactly what happened when Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It wasn't until well after the eye of the hurricane passed that the levee protecting New Orleans breached, causing the massive flooding, destruction and mayhem in that city.
Meanwhile, as soon as I was able to gather enough jerry cans of gas, my cousin and I drove down from Dallas to Biloxi to look for my dad after after seeing news reports of death, looting and destruction Katrina left along the coast. Thankfully, we didn't personally witness any deaths or looting, but did see lots and lots of massive destruction. Also, as we got closer to Mississippi, we started seeing more and more caravans of highway patrols, sheriffs department vehicles and National Guard convoys from different states and parts of the country all headed down alongside us. I was actually afraid I might get stopped and told to turn back around, but luckily they didn't really notice me or the 42 gallons of spare fuel I had in the back of my truck that probably exposed me as a rolling flammable hazard.
I've been through 5 hurricanes in my lifetime after having lived in Puerto Rico, the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Florida. The number one most important item every hurricane veteran knows you need is water, and plenty of it. The second most is a toss up between food and gas. When a hurricane hits, the city water system gets so overwhelmed it stops working. That means, no water coming out of your faucets. The fresh, clean, potable water most of us take for granted, is no longer available. I'm not talking its unavailable for a few hours. It can take days or a week or two or even longer to get clean water back. You need water to drink, wash, clean, cook, flush the toilet, etc. You can't drink bullets or guns to survive. You need to fill every bathtub to the brim with water, every bucket and every container you can find with as much water as possible, and then go to the store and buy up as much water that may be left as the shelves quickly empty before the hurricane strikes. Any water that may come out of the faucet after a hurricane strikes is most likely dirty and contaminated, if it comes out at all. If your somewhat daring, you can jump in the gator and water moccasin infested pond to cool off and take a bath, which we actually did. Maybe a shotgun blast might help if you see a water moccasin along the shore, but I don't think it would be much good if you're already in the water trying to cool off and bathe.
Another thing that happens when a hurricane strikes is the electrical power goes down for days if not for a week or more. When that happens, no a/c to keep you cool in the hot, humid weather of the gulf coast. Stack up on batteries for flashlights so you can see and avoid debris and broken pieces of wood with nails sticking up. Also, with no electricity, gas station pumps quit working. So you can't get gas for your car. Since we live in a society where you need a car to get around in, you better have gassed up before the hurricane hits, and fill up your jerry cans for any generators you may have to keep the fridge on and avoid food spoilage. When we went down there, the gas stations as far away as Monroe, Louisiana (about 5 hours away from Biloxi) had just run out of gas. Once we crossed into Mississippi, there were no open gas stations left, and we still had 3 1/2 hours left of driving to get down there (not to mention we had to get back to Dallas afterwards). Bullets and guns won't fuel your flashlights or car - you need gas (or diesel for a diesel engine).
Next on the list of things that go away when a massive hurricane hits is communications. Hurricane winds will knock down both cell towers and land lines. So you can't call your dad to find out if he's OK, and he can't call you. You can't call his neighbors or the local police, either. I suppose you could try communicating via ham radio, if both of you have one. I don't know if that's even allowed as I'm not a ham radio operator and don't know the rules governing ham radios. All I know is that bullets and guns don't work as communication devices.
Perhaps the most surprising phenomena that has occurred at every hurricane I've experienced is the "coming together" and neighborly help that somehow materializes. Neighbors you never met or rarely spoke to are all of a sudden sharing canned meats, spare generators, water, and anything else you may need. When we were down there, most folks thought we were stranded when they saw the Texas plates on my truck and offered me all kinds of things which I politely declined after explaining I came down to help family. And even in Puerto Rico, one of the most crime-ridden territories of the U.S., neighbors did everything possible to help each other out and recover.
That same neighborly help is instrumental in keeping looters away when the neighborhood gets together during a relatively short crisis like that. This is where bullets and guns finally have their place - protection from possible looters. Luckily, neither I nor any of my neighbors ever experienced any looting, even in Puerto Rico, in the neighborhoods I lived in after a hurricane hit. Even so, it's always better to have and not need than need and not have. But given the choice, I'd still rather have lots of water at my disposable. With that said, I heard that in some parts of Louisiana (a supposedly conservative and gun-friendly state), gun owners had their guns confiscated by law enforcement after the order was issued to do so. So not only did the state not have the resources to provide and protect those poor folks, they had the gall to later confiscate their guns leaving them even more vulnerable. I've since learned they passed laws preventing that from happening again, but who knows if they'll find a way around those laws if another crisis hits.
One last note concerning my hurricane experiences. Believe it or not but certain food industries manage to reopen less than 24 hours after a massive hurricane hits. I know, because I used to work in the food industry as a youngster and was somehow expected to drive around fallen tree limbs and power lines to get to work! Some places like the Waffle House, McDonald's and eateries like that have back-up generators of some sort. So if you're tired of eating canned food and drinking warm sodas by candle light, you might try one of those eateries if you can drive to one before they run out of food supplies - at least until supply trucks are able to get through and re-supply them with more food stuffs.
Just figured I'd pass on my experience of having gone through several short-live crises where everything shuts down. Like I said, I found water, gas, food and batteries to be at the top of the list of things. I obviously believe in the need for protection and think ammo and firearms are also good to have, but will most likely not be needed, at least not like water, gas and food. Now, if things were to shut down and deteriorate for a very long time, like what happened in former Yugoslavia and Argentina in the past, then I think ammo and firearms would be much more necessary for protection and security. But I don't think the OP's original scenario above was referring to that.
It would require a certified Constitutional attorney to argue this.
