Disarmed and ready

This lawsuit is important, if only to make the statement Americans aren't going to simply accept the government can act this way at will:

The NRA is trying to locate gun owners for a federal lawsuit that the lobbying group filed against Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of firearms after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

In the lawsuit, the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation claim the city violated gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms and left them "at the mercy of roving gangs, home invaders, and other criminals" after Katrina.

The NRA says the city seized more than 1,000 guns that weren't part of any criminal investigation after the hurricane. Police have said they took only guns that had been stolen or found in abandoned homes.

Oh, really?


Given the chaos following the disintegration of police and law enforcement, is it really unreasonable for honest citizens to want to retain the means of self-defense? Disarmament of law-abiding citizens is always a precursor to tyranny. It reinforces dependence on government for protection from thugs, and reduces the ability to fight back when government oversteps itself. The aftermath of Katrina revealed dangerous trends--the proposed gutting of Posse Comitatus, the illegal seizure of private arms, and the incompetence of various levels of the government to do much besides employ ham-handed force. The more Americans accept this as "just the way things are," the more it will grow worse. Our lands, our homes, our arms are no longer held sacrosanct, and the Constitution in general is honored mainly in the neglect. Is this the kind of country we want to live in?