Last week, the NOLA City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee overwhelmingly voted to send a misguided and potentially unlawful package of gun control ordinances to the full Council for consideration and a vote this Thursday, September 8. The package, which has already been drastically amended in acknowledgement of the numerous unlawful provisions that were previously highlighted by your NRA-ILA, still represents a troubling reminder that the Clinton/Bloomberg/Landrieu gun control agenda’s number one priority is to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
In fact, Mayor Landrieu has not only adopted Hillary Clinton’s severe antagonism towards law-abiding gun owners, but he has also shown a propensity to mimic some of her favorite rhetorical tricks. He, like Hillary Clinton, believes that if he brands his proposal as a “crime control” bill, law-abiding gun owners will defer to his judgment in accomplishing this objective. But here are the facts about Mayor Landrieu’s two primary initiatives.
A reporting mandate for lost and stolen firearms only impacts law-abiding gun owners.
The primary provision in Mayor Landrieu’s scheme would require lost or stolen firearms to be reported to the police within 48-hours of discovery that the firearm is missing. Failure to promptly and properly report the loss or theft would be punishable by a $250 fine for the first offense, and a $500 fine for subsequent offenses. Aside from potentially violating the state’s firearm preemption statute and subjecting the city to costly litigation, this provision will do nothing but turn victims into potential criminals. Even after the firearm is reported lost or stolen, there is no mechanism that will allow law-enforcement to track the firearm through subsequent criminal transfers. Instead of punishing victims of theft and misfortune for political gain, Mayor Landrieu would be much better served by enforcing current laws that target individuals who are knowingly supplying firearms to prohibited persons. In other words, he should punish criminals for engaging in criminal behavior, not law-abiding individuals who simply forgot to share their misfortunes within a certain time period.
Criminals do not disarm when confronted with “gun free zones.”
The second major proposal would prohibit the possession of firearms in over 100 parks and recreation areas by non-permit holders. During his press conference announcing the initiative in April, Mayor Landrieu admitted that this proposal would NOT deter crime but would raise awareness among law-abiding gun owners of their “responsibilities.” Proposals such as this place unlawful restrictions on citizens’ right to possess a firearm for self-defense and simply disarm law-abiding gun owners while subjecting them to potential victimization.
Please contact the New Orleans City Council and Mayor Landrieu and let them know that your “responsibilities” as a law-abiding gun owner do not include cowering in fear to violent criminals who have no regard for the law. Help raise awareness as to their “responsibilities” as your elected representative; a responsibility that includes upholding the Constitution, the laws of the state of Louisiana, and your fundamental right to life and liberty.
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