Compass Changes Direction

JT · October 1st, 2005, 10:13 AM

As you know, on September 22, NRA filed a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to block authorities from confiscating law-abiding citizens' firearms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. On September 23, the Court sided with NRA and issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The controversy over gun confiscations erupted when The New York Times reported that the New Orleans Superintendent of Police Eddie Compass directed that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns and that "only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons." ABC News quoted New Orleans' Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley, saying, "No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons."

This week--fast on the heels of the restraining order--Compass abruptly resigned his post. At the same time, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's office was quick to distance itself from the statements made by Compass and Riley.

The one big question that remains to be answered is who actually issued the controversial confiscation order in the first place.

Under Nagin's leadership, the city's murder rate increased and there were frequent reports of corruption within the police department. In addition, during the region's wide-spread, post-Katrina violence, looting, and civil unrest, roughly 250 police officers deserted their posts. Amidst the anarchy, a television crew filmed police officers apparently participating in the looting of a store.

Shotgun Willie · October 1st, 2005, 01:16 PM

I read the other day that Compass had resigned with no given reason for doing so. I forgot when reading that, that he had made those comments. Not the brightest career move(re. the comments) IMO. Too bad Nagin hasn't resigned. I was glad to hear the former FEMA director point out the mayor and governors mistakes. The accused faults of FEMA were not FEMA's responsibility in the first place, they were they responsibility of the local government. Just a lot of political manuvering from Nagin and the Gov. if you ask me. First rule of thumb when saving ones butt in the political arena is to shift the focus and blame on the biggest target possible. Creates more contraversy and a bigger distraction that way.

I heard of the corruption in NO long before Katrina so none of this was too suprising.

Hope everyone gets their guns back and in the same condition as when they were removed. I'm glad the NRA got involved.

Tangle · October 1st, 2005, 01:59 PM

You know, officials violated the law AND the rights of law abiding citizens. I hope anyone that had anything to do with it has to face the consequences. They yell about us "taking the law into our own hands", but that's exactly what they did.

I dearly hope somebody makes an example out these power abusers!

Yep, I'm angry!

How could you tell?

QKShooter · October 1st, 2005, 02:31 PM

If Compass did not make Nagin aware of the intended confiscation then Nagin needs to hurry up and file serious criminal charges against Compass.
And the State also needs to file charges against SOMEBODY for a direct violation of the State Constitution during a statewide crisis situation.
There had better be a butt "hung out to dry" for this Constitutional crime.
Demand an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION...that is what the liberals would do if the situation were reversed and it was a "Right To Choose" that was violated.

Shotgun Willie · October 1st, 2005, 05:07 PM

What frustrated me about all of the NO thing was overwhelming evidence of political posturing rather than proper relief and security measures. All anybody was getting from the local goverment was press releases saying its not our fault it is Bush's or so and so's, blah blah blah. Take some responsibility and take action(legal and appropriate).

I still dont understand the logic of taking away guns from the LAW ABIDING CITIZENS! Has anyone figured out a solid line of logic and reason for why they chose to break constitutional law?

"Forget the roving bands of gangs shooting at aid workers, lets go get the guns from those law abiding citizens barracading themselves in their homes from theives and murderers."

What a dumb idea! Besides being illegal as hell. There better be some heads rolling from this one. I certainly hope this is not a shadow of things to come with other disasters.

P95Carry · October 1st, 2005, 08:58 PM

There are two sides to this - the whole deal will help us in future disaster scenarios - or it will be whitewashed and ''allowed to die'' - as if it never happened .... and then happen all over again.

It is particularly scary to me when supposed LE, and those generally '' in authority'', take it on themselves to interpret (write??) the law to suit their whims at the time. ''This is in the best interest'' - yeah right.!

Even in the best policed city like NO - no way at all can LE do the 'protect' bit - it just can't happen - and obviously even less so in the chaos such as we saw. It's quite an eye opener to see rights trampled with such audacity and a wake up call too if you ask me.

Time will tell tho whether it has done us a favor - or not.

Scott · October 1st, 2005, 10:09 PM

It's called plausible deniability.

The Mayor or someone in his office instructed the Chief to issue the order. Then when it hits the fan the chief takes the fall.

Or the chief convinced the mayor that the order was necessary and so on.

Either way you look at it the Mayor is the one who has to take this on. It is his responsibility. Of course the legal system will lilkely do this for him since he doesn't seem like the type to take responsibility for things.

-Scott-

Bumper · October 2nd, 2005, 04:23 AM

Im not sure whether Compass "retired" over the gun confiscations or that he made a complete and total ass out of himself on TV. He was the one standing out front of the Superdome with Geraldo Rivera ranting about all of the murders and rapes happening inside. He also claimed that "babies were being raped" and that "bodies were stacked up" inside the stadium and, appearing on Oprah saying that he had personally seen thousands of dead bodies inside houses in New Orleans. None of that happened. Deaths were in the hundreds (and he probably saw few if any of them), there were a total of 6 bodies inside the Superdome (most not victims of crime) and no reported rapes, much less "rapes of babies".

He was, and is, a liar on a scale that most liars never get to enjoy and he got caught. He should have been fired, not allowed to "retire". Nagen should be right behind him along with the Governor of the State.

I sincerely hope that after this whole fiasco that the news media takes a long hard look at their sensationalistic ways and that the people of this country do, as well. There's a lot to be learned from this whole NO mess, and most of it is related to liberalism....

RSSZ · October 2nd, 2005, 08:44 AM

I almost hate to say it but,the only way that these people that got their weapons confiscated(stolen)are gonna get any kind of justice is to sue,sue,sue. Nowadays it seems that this is the only way to get your "pound of fleash". Also by doing this,through sworn testimony,it might bring to light,who did what,when.-------

buzzg · October 2nd, 2005, 09:31 AM

Poor Compass. He's finding out what happens when you do stupid things like that at the direction of his superiors. If you fail, you're on your own. If you succeed, you could have done nothing without the full cooperation and direction of the secretariat. As it turned out he failed and the NRA and SAF now have an injunction against further confiscation, and a court ordered directive to return all firearms to their rightful, legal owners. (That could take months.) In the meantime, Compass is acting just like a compass in an iron mine. He doesn't know which way to turn. Serves him right. Now if the rest of the corrupt government officials throughout the state could be deposed, LA and NO in particular could come under the rule of law again.

October 1st, 2005, 10:13 AM	#1
JT Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 1,099	Compass Changes Direction As you know, on September 22, NRA filed a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to block authorities from confiscating law-abiding citizens' firearms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. On September 23, the Court sided with NRA and issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The controversy over gun confiscations erupted when The New York Times reported that the New Orleans Superintendent of Police Eddie Compass directed that no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to have guns and that "only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons." ABC News quoted New Orleans' Deputy Police Chief Warren Riley, saying, "No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons." This week--fast on the heels of the restraining order--Compass abruptly resigned his post. At the same time, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's office was quick to distance itself from the statements made by Compass and Riley. The one big question that remains to be answered is who actually issued the controversial confiscation order in the first place. Under Nagin's leadership, the city's murder rate increased and there were frequent reports of corruption within the police department. In addition, during the region's wide-spread, post-Katrina violence, looting, and civil unrest, roughly 250 police officers deserted their posts. Amidst the anarchy, a television crew filmed police officers apparently participating in the looting of a store. __________________ Blessed be the Lord my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. Psalm 144:1 Si vis pacem, para bellum

October 1st, 2005, 01:16 PM	#2
Shotgun Willie Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 158	I read the other day that Compass had resigned with no given reason for doing so. I forgot when reading that, that he had made those comments. Not the brightest career move(re. the comments) IMO. Too bad Nagin hasn't resigned. I was glad to hear the former FEMA director point out the mayor and governors mistakes. The accused faults of FEMA were not FEMA's responsibility in the first place, they were they responsibility of the local government. Just a lot of political manuvering from Nagin and the Gov. if you ask me. First rule of thumb when saving ones butt in the political arena is to shift the focus and blame on the biggest target possible. Creates more contraversy and a bigger distraction that way. I heard of the corruption in NO long before Katrina so none of this was too suprising. Hope everyone gets their guns back and in the same condition as when they were removed. I'm glad the NRA got involved. __________________ Kurt - Shotgun Willie

October 1st, 2005, 02:31 PM	#4
QKShooter Assistant Administrator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Off Of The X Posts: 19,968	The Buck Stops With Nagin If Compass did not make Nagin aware of the intended confiscation then Nagin needs to hurry up and file serious criminal charges against Compass. And the State also needs to file charges against SOMEBODY for a direct violation of the State Constitution during a statewide crisis situation. There had better be a butt "hung out to dry" for this Constitutional crime. Demand an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION...that is what the liberals would do if the situation were reversed and it was a "Right To Choose" that was violated.

October 1st, 2005, 05:07 PM	#5
Shotgun Willie Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 158	What frustrated me about all of the NO thing was overwhelming evidence of political posturing rather than proper relief and security measures. All anybody was getting from the local goverment was press releases saying its not our fault it is Bush's or so and so's, blah blah blah. Take some responsibility and take action(legal and appropriate). I still dont understand the logic of taking away guns from the LAW ABIDING CITIZENS! Has anyone figured out a solid line of logic and reason for why they chose to break constitutional law? "Forget the roving bands of gangs shooting at aid workers, lets go get the guns from those law abiding citizens barracading themselves in their homes from theives and murderers." What a dumb idea! Besides being illegal as hell. There better be some heads rolling from this one. I certainly hope this is not a shadow of things to come with other disasters. __________________ Kurt - Shotgun Willie

October 1st, 2005, 08:58 PM	#6
P95Carry Assistant Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South West PA Posts: 25,366	There are two sides to this - the whole deal will help us in future disaster scenarios - or it will be whitewashed and ''allowed to die'' - as if it never happened .... and then happen all over again. It is particularly scary to me when supposed LE, and those generally '' in authority'', take it on themselves to interpret (write??) the law to suit their whims at the time. ''This is in the best interest'' - yeah right.! Even in the best policed city like NO - no way at all can LE do the 'protect' bit - it just can't happen - and obviously even less so in the chaos such as we saw. It's quite an eye opener to see rights trampled with such audacity and a wake up call too if you ask me. Time will tell tho whether it has done us a favor - or not. __________________ Chris - P95 NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member. "To own a gun and assume that you are armed is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!." If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

October 1st, 2005, 01:59 PM	#3
Tangle Senior Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chattanooga Posts: 5,788	You know, officials violated the law AND the rights of law abiding citizens. I hope anyone that had anything to do with it has to face the consequences. They yell about us "taking the law into our own hands", but that's exactly what they did. I dearly hope somebody makes an example out these power abusers! Yep, I'm angry! How could you tell?

October 1st, 2005, 10:09 PM	#7
Scott Senior Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Old Dominion Posts: 4,469	It's called plausible deniability. The Mayor or someone in his office instructed the Chief to issue the order. Then when it hits the fan the chief takes the fall. Or the chief convinced the mayor that the order was necessary and so on. Either way you look at it the Mayor is the one who has to take this on. It is his responsibility. Of course the legal system will lilkely do this for him since he doesn't seem like the type to take responsibility for things. -Scott-

October 2nd, 2005, 04:23 AM	#8
Bumper Administrator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Arizona Posts: 14,226	Im not sure whether Compass "retired" over the gun confiscations or that he made a complete and total ass out of himself on TV. He was the one standing out front of the Superdome with Geraldo Rivera ranting about all of the murders and rapes happening inside. He also claimed that "babies were being raped" and that "bodies were stacked up" inside the stadium and, appearing on Oprah saying that he had personally seen thousands of dead bodies inside houses in New Orleans. None of that happened. Deaths were in the hundreds (and he probably saw few if any of them), there were a total of 6 bodies inside the Superdome (most not victims of crime) and no reported rapes, much less "rapes of babies". He was, and is, a liar on a scale that most liars never get to enjoy and he got caught. He should have been fired, not allowed to "retire". Nagen should be right behind him along with the Governor of the State. I sincerely hope that after this whole fiasco that the news media takes a long hard look at their sensationalistic ways and that the people of this country do, as well. There's a lot to be learned from this whole NO mess, and most of it is related to liberalism.... __________________ Bumper Administrator DefensiveCarry.com Forum Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde; Beware the anger of a patient man.

October 2nd, 2005, 08:44 AM	#9
RSSZ Distinguished Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Posts: 1,847	I almost hate to say it but,the only way that these people that got their weapons confiscated(stolen)are gonna get any kind of justice is to sue,sue,sue. Nowadays it seems that this is the only way to get your "pound of fleash". Also by doing this,through sworn testimony,it might bring to light,who did what,when.-------

October 2nd, 2005, 09:31 AM	#10
buzzg Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Grants Pass, OR Posts: 132	Poor Compass. He's finding out what happens when you do stupid things like that at the direction of his superiors. If you fail, you're on your own. If you succeed, you could have done nothing without the full cooperation and direction of the secretariat. As it turned out he failed and the NRA and SAF now have an injunction against further confiscation, and a court ordered directive to return all firearms to their rightful, legal owners. (That could take months.) In the meantime, Compass is acting just like a compass in an iron mine. He doesn't know which way to turn. Serves him right. Now if the rest of the corrupt government officials throughout the state could be deposed, LA and NO in particular could come under the rule of law again.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode