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Gun owners want rights protected in a disaster
By Lindsey Parietti January 7, 2008 ... State Sen. Richard Moore, D-Uxbridge, is sponsoring a bill that would make it illegal for police and public officials to seize legally owned weapons during a state of emergency. "The law enforcement should not use a state of emergency as an excuse to violate people's rights, whether it be this one or any others," he said, calling the bill a message that needs to be sent. Hoping to prevent local officials from seizing their guns in a crisis as Louisiana officials did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Massachusetts gun owners are pushing the state for an extra guarantee of their Second Amendment rights. "In New England, we're just as likely to become a victim of storms like Katrina. Here winter storms are the worst," said James Wallace, the executive director of the Northborough-based Gun Owner's Action League and owner of more than a dozen guns. "It's not that there are criminals out there trying to rob you, but people of that ilk coming to take the food and water away that you've set aside, and if the police can't get to you, what's their nerve taking away the only thing that could protect you," he said. If passed, the bill would impose fines between $500 and $5,000 for each firearm confiscated, or prison sentences of up to 10 years. Moore said he is not sure if the penalties are appropriate, but supports the concept. Moore said that during a disaster he could envision anti-gun communities across the state interpreting emergency powers as New Orleans officials did. He declined to name specific communities. Read the entire story at the Milford Daily News. |
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