Bill would protect right to possess weapons during emergency
NRA-backed bill would prohibit firearm confiscation during state of emergency
By David Rauf
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, April 02, 2007
Gun-toting Texans could get some legal protection against having their weapons and ammunition seized by law enforcement if a bill that bulleted through the Senate with unanimous approval gets signed into law.
Designed to prevent the same kind of gun confiscation that happened during the post Katrina chaos in New Orleans, two identical bills Senate Bill 112 and House Bill 258 were written to limit authorities' ability to to seize firearms and ammunition during states of emergency.
The authors of the bills, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, and Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, said they used New Orleans as a case study and determined that the measure would enhance the ability of citizens to protect themselves by prohibiting law enforcement from going "door to door confiscating weapons at will."
"All we're doing with this legislation is just assuring that law-abiding citizens have the right to protect their person and their property," Carona said. "This bill would not have been conceived of, nor would there be any necessity, were it not for the unfortunate occurrences in New Orleans."
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officers with the New Orleans Police Department confiscated about 800 weapons, said Sabrina Richardson, spokeswoman for the New Orleans Police Department. The National Rifle Association successfully sued to have the weapons returned. And as of September, 154 of those weapons have been returned to their owners, Richardson said.
The influential, deep-pocketed, pro-gun group has since lobbied state legislatures to amend their emergency powers laws. The NRA has sought to prohibit officials from confiscating firearms during declared times of emergency. So far, the NRA has been successful in 11 states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, which passed their measures in the past year. Seven other states have similar measures pending in their legislatures.
Corte, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and carrier of a concealed handgun license, said the bill also clarifies ambiguities in Texas law pertaining to traveling with a firearm. Interpretations of the law have varied from county to county, causing some district attorneys around the state to adopt their own statutes, or in some cases, ignore the law all together.
"In essence, the way the law could be interpreted is that those weapons cannot be transported, and they would be confiscated," Corte said. "What we want to do is allow law-abiding citizens to travel with their weapons and not be confiscated."
Charley Wilkison, legislative director for the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said he is concerned the legislation would dilute local law enforcements' jurisdiction and the use of officers' discretion. He said police need to weigh the public's right to own firearms against the need to keep the peace in times of emergency.
"There's a balance," Wilkison said. "We're watching to make sure this bill doesn't tip that balance."
Carona, chairman of the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, and Corte, chairman of the House Committee on Defense Affairs and State Federal Relations, contend that their bills, which have a caveat that allows law enforcement to disarm a citizen who is committing a crime or endangering other people, do not compromise police officers' authority.
"There may be somebody who will say law enforcement won't be able to do their job. I disagree with that," Corte said. "Law enforcement is going to have to do a better job of determining whether or not these people are real threats before taking their weapons."
Police have raised concern about the idea of allowing evacuees to keep their firearms while being housed in shelters or while being transported. Those concerns, Carona said, were quelled early on in the process. The bill allows local governments to prohibit guns in emergency centers and while being evacuated.
Offering an example, Carona said if a city does not allow firearms in sports arenas, like New Orleans' Superdome, then local ordinances would still apply.
The Senate unanimously approved Carona's bill, and Corte's measure was voted favorably out of the House Committee on Defense Affairs and State Federal Relations on March 20. If Corte's bill gets House approval, the differences would be worked out by a conference committee and sent to the governor for his signature.
"I think the likelihood of passage is strong," Carona said. "Texas has a long history of protecting gun owner's rights."
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/04/03/3Guns.html
