H. R. 5013, Also known as the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006, has passed the senate and heads to President Bush's desk. The President is expected to sign it into law.
The bill looks like it only restricts federal law enforcement from confiscating firearms during an emergency. There is verbiage that vaguely indicates that it restricts states as well. Consider the following quote from the bill:
`(a) Prohibition on Confiscation of Firearms- No officer or employee of the United States (including any member of the uniformed services), or person operating pursuant to or under color of Federal law, or receiving Federal funds, or under control of any Federal official, or providing services to such an officer, employee, or other person, while acting in support of relief from a major disaster or emergency, may--
It mentions "receiving Federal funds". Do states not receive federal funds? Some counties and cities do as well. So does this mean that states and cities as well as the feds can't take your firearm during an emergency?
Also, didn't Georgia have a similar bill that died?
Okay, so the feds have passed this law. I saw no publicity about it in the news. How are Georgia Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police, Mayors, and other local authorities supposed to know about this law? I am not aware of any mechanism in place to bring this law to their attention, and therefore the law may have absolutely no effect if some disaster or riot breaks happens in our state and some totalitarian authority figure orders all privately-held guns confiscated for the duration of the emergency.
I would suggest that either we, as individuals, write to the heads of our local law enforcement and civil defense personnel and direct their attention to this law. Our letters should have a brief summary of the law, and an exact reproduction of its text as passed into law, and a citation to where that law can be looked-up.
In addition to law enforcement agencies, mayors, and the governor, I would also suggest notifying GEMA, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, including local / regional heads, the Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF), the Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard, the commander of the State Patrol, and the head of any county emergency management agency that your county might have.
Does anyone know what authority Congress cited as the basis of their power for passing such a law? Is it only their power to put conditions and "strings" on the money they give out? Sort of a contractual thing-- you want our money, you have to follow our rules? Or does Congress claim to have authority under the Interstate Commerce power, like all other gun control laws? Or did they cite the Second Amendment, and say that they are passing this law to give force and effect to the Second Amendment in the face of unjustified diarmament of the people, which would be a violation of the 2A?
If they were relying on the commerce clause or 2A, they wouldn't have had to tie it to receiving federal funds. They must be relying solely on the quid pro quo idea.
You may recall (or have heard) some years ago, about Montana having no speed limit. They (relatively) recently changed that perspective and added speed limits to interstates when the withholding of Federal Highway Funds had an impact on their infrastructure.
The power of the purse at work.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Georgia Firearm Forums - Georgia Packing
1.7M posts
10.3K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Georgia firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about optics, hunting, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!