NEW ORLEANS _ City officials have agreed to return hundreds of firearms that police officers confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, part of a deal to resolve a lawsuit filed by gun lobbying groups.
After a three-year legal battle over the confiscation of lawfully owned firearms, the City of New Orleans has agreed to settle a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF). Police department spokesman Bob Young said the city has stored 552 guns that were confiscated after Katrina, which hit New Orleans Aug. 29, 2005.
Said Wayne LaPierre, NRA’s executive vice president, “We fought for three long years in a fundamental legal challenge to assert the inherent self-defense rights for law-abiding citizens, knowing the Constitution would prevail.”
Judge Carl J. Barbier presided over the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Judge Barbier signed the permanent injuncation against the City of New Orleans. The city admitted the firearm confiscations carried out by Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Chief Warren Riley were unconstitutional and illegal.
Under the terms of the injunction, Nagin, Riley and any agents or employees of the City of New Orleans shall:
- Cease and desist confiscating lawfully-possessed firearms from all citizens;
- Make an aggressive attempt to return any and all firearms which may have been confiscated during the period August 29 to December 31, 2005;
- Within one month of the settlement, post on the city website the procedure for the return of confiscated firearms. This notice must include an interactive form for those claiming firearms to fill out, resulting in timely transmission of the information to the appropriate official. All other information on claiming a firearm will also be included on the site.
- Within one month of the settlement, the city must mail notices to all individuals who are identified on the property tags of firearms in the city’s possession which were confiscated during the aftermath of Katrina.
