2nd Amendment debate OVER

Andy Sullivan of Reuters reports"Neighbors tell of gun battles after the storm".

NEW ORLEANS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - After the storm came the carjackers and burglars. Then came the gun battles and the chemical explosions that shook the restored Victorians in New Orleans' Algiers Point neighborhood.

"The hurricane was a breeze compared with the crime and terror that followed," said Gregg Harris, a psychotherapist who lives in the battered area.

Why haven't the Red Star and the New York Times investigative staff looked into the efficacy and utility of personal firearms to combat the looting and pillaging by the beasts in New Orleans?

After the storm, the neighborhood association had to act as law enforcement and emergency response unit as city services collapsed and the police force was unable to protect them.

Citizens organized armed patrols and checked on the elderly. They slept on their porches with loaded shotguns and bolted awake when intruders stumbled on the aluminum cans they had scattered on the sidewalk.

How badly would you want firearm protection in the event your city went dark in the throes of some catastrophe? You would want some hot lead, and fast.

We love the police, but what if you lived under the New Orleans PD or similar? Then you should prepare to defend yourselves:

For Harris, the first warning sign came on Tuesday, the day after the storm, when two young men hit his partner, Vinnie Pervel, over the head and drove off with his Ford van.

"A police car drove up behind me and saw it happening but he didn't do anything," said Pervel, who heads the 1,500-household neighborhood association.

People took it upon themselves to protect the neighborhood and each other:

A Texas woman who runs a Web site called Polimom.com served as a link between those who stayed and those who had left. With her help, they stockpiled an arsenal of shotguns, derringer pistols and an old AK-47.

They were put to use the next day.

"Some looters came up and pulled a gun on the wrong group of men," said Harris, who said he did not fire a gun himself and declined to say who else was involved in the battle.

The bottom line is that the police are by nature responders. Especially in the event of a major catastrophe. We pray for protection, but we may end up on our own. One has to be prepared for any circumstance. New Orleans could conceivably happen anywhere.