BELLEVUE, Wash. — Sept. 23, 2025 — Twenty years ago, as the residents of New Orleans were reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent P. Edwin Compass III ordered law enforcement officers to seize lawfully owned firearms from civilians stating at the time “Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), along with the National Rifle Association (NRA), filed suit against the city and, 20 years ago today, were granted a consent order forcing law enforcement to immediately stop confiscating firearms. Thanks to the continued work of SAF and the NRA after Katrina, President George W. Bush signed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, which included provisions prohibiting the seizure of legally owned firearms during emergencies.
“In the aftermath of one of the worse natural disasters this country has ever seen, the mayor and law enforcement in New Orleans unthinkably decided to go door-to-door confiscating firearms when citizens needed them most,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This case serves as a great reminder of why SAF must continue its critical work. The Second Amendment rights of American citizens cannot be wiped away just because a handful of people want to disarm a population.”
In the 20 years since the unthinkable Second Amendment violation in New Orleans, SAF continues to fight those who wish to trample our right to keep and bear arms. The organization currently has more than 50 active lawsuits across the nation challenging unconstitutional firearms regulations such as “assault weapon” bans, magazine capacity bans, young adult carry laws, “sensitive places” restrictions, red flag laws without due process protection, and many, many more.
Most notably, SAF and its partners recently filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act and have petitioned the Supreme Court to review two cases challenging an “assault weapons” ban and the 18-20 handgun purchase prohibition.
“The New Orleans firearms confiscation fiasco is a perfect example of why SAF continues to work across the nation to defend, secure and restore our Second Amendment rights,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We want to make certain constitutional violations like what happened after Katrina are never repeated. In the past 20 years we have secured numerous victories, but there is still much work to do. All it takes is to look at our more than 50 active cases to see that there are those in this nation who wish to make the Second Amendment a second-class right, and we will continue to fight to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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