Alphecca

FEMA to Reconsider Gun Ban

Alphecca gets results! Well... Okay, the NRA and the SAF get results. I first mentioned the gun ban at FEMA City in Tuesday's Weekly Report (you DID read it didn't you? Cam and I also talked about it during my Tuesday gig on his show). Now, FEMA is reconsidering:

BATON ROUGE, La. - Amid complaints from gun-rights groups, FEMA said Wednesday it is reconsidering a ban on firearms at emergency housing parks built in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"We've got attorneys who are looking at that as we speak and they're trying to figure out who wrote the rules, what the intent was," FEMA spokesman Butch Kinerney said.

The dispute arose at a nearly 600-trailer encampment that opened last week near Baton Rouge. Katrina evacuees will be allowed to stay there rent-free while they try to find permanent housing. Similar encampments are scattered across the hurricane zone, but this was the first big one to open.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has been general policy at FEMA for several years to prohibit guns at such parks anywhere in the country.

But the National Rifle Association threatened to sue, and another gun rights group, the Second Amendment Foundation, said it, too, was looking at legal action.

"Whether it's a national disaster, whether it's by nature like Katrina, or a flu pandemic or an earthquake, the Constitution can't be thrown out the window," said NRA leader Wayne LaPierre.

Of course, "reconsidering" doesn't mean they'll actually do the right thing and allow the folks in that trailer city to exercise their constitutional rights. We shall see... And this is another example (along with the suit filed to block NOLA police from confiscating legally owned firearms) of why, even if you don't agree with everything the NRA or the SAF or the GOA does, they deserve your support anyway. It's only $35 bucks a year or so but they ARE out there fighting for our rights. You should also be supporting local organizations since they're on the front lines of your state. Nobody's perfect but they're the best we have going for us. That, and electing leaders who actually have read and understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Update 10/14:The local sheriff's office takes responsibility for gun ban. From the Baton Rouge Advocate:

But a top sheriff's official said that while it was a "close decision," public safety became the most-important concern rather than constitutional rights.

"I'm a member of the NRA and a firm supporter of the NRA in most instances," said Col. Greg Phares, chief criminal deputy for the Sheriff's Office.

"But in this instance, I had to balance the responsibility of the Sheriff's Office with constitutional rights," Phares added. "I think it's the right decision. It wasn't a comfortable decision, but it is right."

He said the proximity of the 572 "thin-walled" trailers -- situated only 8 feet apart -- created a dangerous situation.

"A bullet could possibly penetrate through several trailers," he said. "They're just too close together and too lightly constructed."

Phares said he doesn't consider the ban on a guns a constitutional violation because tenants can decide whether to sign the lease or not.

[...]

Beyond asking for a ban on guns in the park, Phares wanted tenants to be issued photo identification cards so "we know who lives there and who doesn't," he said.

He also asked that FEMA require all tenants to provide Sheriff's Office "numerical identifiers like driver's licenses or social security numbers so we can check everyone for outstanding warrants and see whether they're sexual offenders."

The Sheriff's Office, along with a private security company that Phares didn't identify, will provide security at the trailer park.

FEMA officials said Thursday that they could not confirm whether identification cards had been issued or whether numerical identifiers on each tenant had been given to the Sheriff's Office.

But they did say all of FEMA's park rules were being reviewed, particularly its ban on guns.

Phares sounds like a "little Hitler" trying to create the perfect Singapore replica.

I don't see how signing a lease should equate to signing away your constitutional rights. Even if this were privately owned, I don't see that but remember, this is government provided public housing. Walls to thin? Does that mean that anyone living in apartment buildings should be banned from owning guns? I'd be screwed!

Posted by Jeff Soyer at October 13, 2005 07:42 AM