http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081008/ap_on_re_us/katrina_confiscated_guns
NEW ORLEANS - City officials have agreed to return hundreds of firearms that police officers confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, part of a deal to resolve a lawsuit filed by gun lobbying groups.
Police department spokesman Bob Young said it has stored 552 guns that were confiscated after Katrina, through Dec. 31, 2005. Police have said that most of the confiscated firearms had been stolen or found in abandoned homes, but the NRA claims police disarmed some people who were trying to flee the city.
In April 2006, police made about 700 firearms available for owners to claim if they could present a bill of sale or an affidavit with the weapon's serial number. Halbrook, however, said few people could present proof of ownership after Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of the city.
Wow...read the whole article. The city of New Orleans has agreed to give back what was stolen, in complete violation of the 2nd Amendment as well as the 4th Amendment (illegal search and seizure). What about all those gun lost, stolen (taken home as trophies by cops), or damaged. I am quite sure no one bothered to check the guns for rust in the past 3 years. I am sure New Orleans finest has gone out of their way to protect these weapons from scrapes and dings.
Do people get compensation for lost or damaged property? What if they do not have serial numbers or receipts, since all their homes were damaged by the hurricanes? Who is going to make sure this never happens again? Sure, new laws were passed in recent years disallowing confiscation of guns in a natural disaster, but what happens during martial law....? Laws are suspended.
