Bill seeks to limit gun confiscationsTALLAHASSEE -- Police shouldn't be allowed to confiscate guns from hurricane victims as they reportedly did in New Orleans, said a state lawmaker who has introduced legislation to make sure that doesn't happen in Florida.
The National Rifle Association supports the bill from state Rep. Mitch Needleman, R-Melbourne, but Gov. Jeb Bush questioned it Friday.
"In our state, we respond to hurricanes effectively, so we're not in a crisis situation," Bush said. "If there is a problem, then I'd certainly consider it, but I don't necessarily think there is one."
The bill (HB 285) would amend a law that permits the governor to suspend the sale, dispensing or transportation of firearms. It would add that nothing in the law "shall be construed to authorize the seizure, taking or confiscation of firearms that are lawfully possessed."
"We have an opportunity to reassert the right to bear arms and avoid the clear violation that occurred in Louisiana," Needleman said in a prepared statement.
NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer said the organization obtained a court order that stopped New Orleans police from confiscating legal firearms and required them to return guns they had already taken after Hurricane Katrina.
People need guns to protect themselves and their property as they did in South Florida after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Hammer said.
"There were many, many signs: 'You loot, we shoot,' " Hammer said. "Fireams, studies have shown, unquestionably helped reduce the amount of looting and crime."
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