U.S. Citizens’ Guns & Ammo to be Seized in Virgin Islands

Years ago, a friend of mine wrote a book about the theft of firearms from American citizens in the wake of hurricane Katrina. He called it The Great New Orleans Gun Grab, and it was appalling to read of the abuse of power by municipal authorities against everyday citizens trying to defend their own property.

Well, it’s happening again right now, as the governor of the US Virgin Islands has ordered the National Guard to forcibly steal guns and ammunition from American citizens.

On Monday, the order was signed… and as with most dangerous government orders, it reportedly contains language designed to calm fears and let folks go along. To wit:

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp signed an emergency order allowing the seizure of private guns, ammunition, explosives and property the National Guard may need to respond to Hurricane Irma.
…
The order allows the Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands to seize private property they believe necessary to protect the islands, subject to approval by the territory’s Justice Department.

By including that language, I guess they can try to justify the action by claiming they need the guns and ammo of private citizens so they can somehow use it to protect the islands from attacks. You know, from a hurricane, which is super-military and made up of things you can shoot… like wind and water. Say huh?

You can read the full order here. It’s pretty astounding if you value your freedom at all.

Folks, this is not good at all, and in my opinion represents a practice swing. If we allow it to go unnoticed and unprotested, we send the message that we are ready and willing to give up our only means of self-defense simply because some well-protected government entity decides that we should.

I suggest we make some noise about this. Meanwhile, I sincerely hope the National Guard will refuse to take away the arms and means of defense of their fellow citizens.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.