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A federal court has issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from peaceable and law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation had challenged the action of Police Supt. P. Edwin Compass III and the New Orleans Police Department in seizing firearms from citizens in the Katrina's aftermath which saw looting and unrest, saying that only law enforcement personnel would be allowed to have weapons.
But the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisana agreed with the gun rights groups saying that the action was unconstitutional and was "without warrant or probable cause".
"This is a significant victory for freedom and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina", Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA said. "The court's ruling is instant relief for the victims who now have an effective means of defending themselves from the robbers and rapists that seek to further exploit the remnants of their shattered lives".
Joining LaPierre in hailing the U.S. District Court decision was NRA chief lobbyist Chris W. Cox. "This is an important victory. But the battle is not over. The NRA will remedy state emergency statutes in all 50 states, if needed, to ensure that this injustice does not happen again."
The NRA also pledged that it will continue its work to ensure that every single firearm arbitrarily and unlawfully seized under this directive is returned to the rightful law-abiding owner. 9-25-05
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