"Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."

Just last weekend, I got into an argument with a friend about gun control. My friend agreed with me that governments shouldn't ban guns, but couldn't understand my opposition to registration of firearms. I said that my problem with gun registration is that it would let the government know exactly who owns guns, and which guns they own. This would make a gun ban easier to implement. My friend said that my concerns were ridiculous; no government in America would ever try to implement an outright ban on private firearms.

Well, the City of New Orleans just did. As the New York Times reported on Friday,

Mr. [P. Edwin] Compass [III], the police superintendent, said that after a week of near anarchy in the city, no civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns, or other firearms of any kind. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.

Gun registration would be a valuable tool for tyrants like Mr. Compass.

At Reason, Dave Kopel explains why the New Orleans gun ban is illegal under Louisiana law:

Louisiana statutory law does allow some restrictions on firearms during extraordinary conditions. One statute says that after the Governor proclaims a state of emergency (as Governor Blanco has done), "the chief law enforcement officer of the political subdivision affected by the proclamation may...promulgate orders...regulating and controlling the possession, storage, display, sale, transport and use of firearms, other dangerous weapons and ammunition." But the statute does not, and could not, supersede the Louisiana Constitution, which declares that "The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person."

(entire article here, link via Hit and Run)