VCDL tries to stay within the bounds of Virginia as much as possible. However, once in a while, we have to deal with the fact that we are Americans above all else.  Our fellow citizens matter to us and sometimes events require that we cast our eyes, our anger, and our influence elsewhere in this nation.

And so we shall.

I am ex-law enforcement and have a soft spot for police, most of who do their jobs with great honor.

However, there are some who make me ashamed.  At the top of that list are the Chief of Police of New Orleans and the brass who work for him.  They should all be fired for ordering their officers to disarm all remaining citizens in New Orleans (many of whom are in dry areas and do not want to leave everything they have left in the world to go live in a shelter somewhere).  At a time when self-defense is critical, they want only the police to have guns.

I also call for the resignations of the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana, who either actively supported this effort or are allowing it to continue unchecked.  I consider them both to be buffoons and derelict of their duties.

The hypocrisy and cowardice of the police and federal officers involved in this are breathtaking.   According to statements by the New Orleans police, the police are doing this for THEIR safety.  What about the safety of the citizens they have sworn to protect?  What kind of police put their own safety above the safety of innocent lives?  Where are those brave men and women who charge into danger to protect lives, not run the other way or actively endanger people who are already victims?

Even if you disregard the extreme danger from vicious criminals that are always present, there are other dangers.  Dogs are starving on rooftops.  At some point, as the water recedes, those dogs are going to come down, form packs, and try to survive in whatever way they can.  Diseases, like rabies, are going to make those dogs and other animals very dangerous.  There are alligators in the area as well.

I give no slack to those police officers who are actually enforcing this disarmament.  In my eyes they are acting no better than thugs themselves.  No police officer or military soldier has a duty to obey an unlawful or unconstitutional order.  And they certainly don't have a right to endanger citizens.

This is America and if someone wants to stay in their house, then they have a right to be able to do so, even if that decision could be hazardous to their health.  People jump out of perfectly good airplanes with a parachute on their backs.  That, too, could be hazardous to their health.  But it is their right to do so and but they must accept the consequences if things go wrong.  That's called being free.  Both the third-world city of New Orleans and the U.S. Marshals have overstepped their boundaries.

WHAT CAN WE DO?  Part I

We can contact Senators Allen and Warner ask them to publicly condemn New Orleans' actions.  They can also DEMAND that any and all federal employees immediately desist in collaborating with the New Orleans Police Department in disarming the public.

Senator George Allen:
202-224-4024
http://allen.senate.gov/index.cfm?c=email&which=Standard

Senator John Warner:
202-224-2023
http://warner.senate.gov/contact/contactme.htm

Suggested message:

Dear Senator,

I am furious!  I ask that you publicly condemn New Orleans' actions to disarm its citizens at a time when those citizens need to have protection the most.

According to a Washington Post article United States Marshals are participating in this activity!  That is outrageous.  The story documents US Marshals pointing their rifles at a 55 year old woman and disarming her.

This is the America.  A law-abiding citizen should never be treated this way by any level of government, especially when that person fears for their safety.  Even those with permits to carry concealed weapons, the most law-abiding group of people in this country, are being disarmed!

I am counting upon you to see that these actions stop and that all federal officers, military, and federal employees cease and desist from civilian disarmament.

Please let me know what you are going to do.

Sincerely,
[NAME]
[ADDRESS]

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WHAT CAN WE DO?  Part II

I challenge those of you with research skills to find out if there are any provisions for local or state government to disarm us in Virginia in the event of a similar crisis or disaster, and let me know so we can take action now.

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I have been flooded by members with links to stories on the New Orleans disarmament.  Here is the one from the Washington Post:

http://tinyurl.com/7f4ft

Troops Escalate Urgency of Evacuation

By Timothy Dwyer and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 9, 2005; A01

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.

...

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.

With floodwaters continuing to recede and cleanup efforts beginning in earnest, police and the military set out on an aggressive door-to-door campaign here Thursday, urging remaining residents to leave or be removed by force.
...

P. Edwin Compass, the superintendent of police, said there are thousands of people remaining in the city but that authorities are determined to get everyone out. He said as little force as necessary would be used but that staying is not an option. Anyone with a weapon, even one legally registered, will have it confiscated, he said.

"No one will be able to be armed," Compass said. "Guns will be taken. Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns."

--

Here is an article where the police and MILITARY disarmed citizens because citizens might become 'jittery.'  Sounds like the police are the ones who are jittery.  Perhaps, they should be disarmed, too, using their own logic.  What kind of low-life police and military would disarm a law-abiding citizen who is trying to protect himself or herself from being looted or killed?

And when are people like Officer Riley going to become adults and finally realize that they CANNOT disarm all the criminals!  And don't get me going on some of the photos showing New Orleans police in the act of looting, either.

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050909/D8CGQ5DO5.html

...

Police and soldiers seized numerous guns for fear of confrontations with jittery residents who have armed themselves against looters.

"No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons," Riley said.

On Thursday, in the city's well-to-do Lower Garden District, a neighborhood with many antebellum mansions, members of the Oklahoma National Guard seized weapons from the inhabitants of one home. Those who were armed were handcuffed and briefly detained before being let go.

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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians.  The membership considers the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms to be an essential human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org