"No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons." Those were the words from one of New Orleans' top cops in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s destructive path in 2005.
True to his words, the directive from Deputy Chief Warren Riley was enforced at gun point.
This video shows the story of several peaceable citizens in the Bayou who were forced to hand over their firearms. In one case, Robert Zas saw his confiscated weapons beaten against the curb. One lady was tackled by officers and punched in the face in order to pry her unloaded handgun from her hands.
Yet another confiscation victim asked police for a receipt, only to be told, "No, we're not giving receipts. If we give receipts, we'd be out here all day writing receipts for all the weapons we've confiscated."
He was then told to get a lawyer if he wanted to get his guns back.
Videos such as this and the orginal confiscation footage outraged gun owners nationwide. GOA made CDs available to legislators all across the country; as of March 2008, 15 states had enacted laws to prohibit any such future confiscations in their jurisdictions. Additionally, GOA-backed leglisation was signed by President Bush on October 4, 2006 to prohibit federal law enforcement or agencies from confiscating firearms during states of emergency.