Hurricane Harvey Looters Demonstrate Need for Expanded Concealed Carry

Cajun Navy
Cajun Navy Deploys, Houston Area Harvey 2017
U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)
U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA)

Texas – -(Ammoland.com)- As Hurricane Harvey continues to bear down on communities in Texas, looters are taking the opportunity to steal property left behind in retail shops and abandoned homes. Based on several encounters people have had with the looters, they have been violent. In one case, they fired shots at law enforcement officials.

In another, a rescuer for the famed Louisiana Cajun Navy says looters tried to steal their boats and fired shots at them while they were trying to save Houston residents from flooded homes. “There’s looters out here, as in any time you have a natural disaster or catastrophe,” he said. “We’re OK.”

With law enforcement focused on rescue and relief efforts, the need for civilians to be able to protect and defend themselves and their families with a firearm from these criminals has never been higher.

“There’s always the possibility that law enforcement officials are unable to immediately respond to a crime,” said Tim Schmidt, Founder & President of the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, one of the fastest growing pro-Second Amendment organizations with a membership of over 250,000 responsible gun owners.

“Fortunately for the victims of the Hurricane in Texas, they have the right to defend themselves through concealed carry and other pro-gun laws. Every American should be able to protect and defend themselves and their families with a firearm, and situations like these demonstrate the need for other states to adopt similar laws in order to ensure the safety of their citizens in any situation.”

The U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) provides education, training and self-defense insurance to responsible American gun owners. Headquartered in West Bend, WI, the USCCA is the largest and fastest-growing association whose sole focus is the responsibly armed American.

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Dr. Strangelove

I would not have clicked on this article had I known that it was an ad for USCCA.

Robert Hartwig Jr.

I also see an ad for IMR powder with this article. USCCA writes many self-defense articles for Ammoland. I also see ads for the NRA and other pro-gun groups doing the same thing, so I don’t see your problem. Without advertisements, these articles would never see the light of day.We live in a Capitalist society and as the saying goes ” money makes the world go round”. I also get tired of so much advertisement but it is the cost of getting information.If you really want to complain then you should complain about having to pay a cable bill and… Read more »

erik odinnson

we have had several looters and they were shot in corpus Christi tx and in port a and rockport .the signs on the houses say at home and locked and loaded .

Wild Bill

@erik odinnson, Well, Son of Odin, this is exactly why I live in Texas! The people are polite enough to warn even a sneak thief before they shoot… the scum with the loot.

Samuel Stephens

All looters need to be shot and killed, they’re of no good to society. Looters use to be shot on site, but now no they’re misunderstood BS. They’re thieves low life scum, shoot’em and bury’em while the ground is soft.

Jo Ann

Cajun Navy says,”We’re all right”. Translation: “We are armed to the teeth.”

William Morton

@Jo Ann – A, “perhaps”, more accurate translation would be, “they shot at us, we left ‘gator food.” Most of the, “bayou folks”, I have known would literally give you the shirt off of their backs and the last bite of food from their pot; unless you tried to TAKE from them! At that point, you would be (pardon the expression), “IN DEEP YOGURT”!

Eaglesnester

This is a good argument for Posse Commetatus (sp) How so you deploy federal troops withing CONUS without violating this premise? There does appear to be a need for control here. Should it be left up to armed citizens to invoke the Second Amendment and to use deadly force to protect property and lives? I believe this is a case in point why the Second Amendment was codified into law by our founding fathers. I wonder how many elected gun grabbers wish they had a firearm about now? Then again the elected officials have their armed body guards and sources… Read more »

SK

Shoot at me I will return fire.

marc disabled vet

Don’t Federal Disaster Area’s Fall under federal Law ?
Martial law where Looters are shot ! If not it needs to be.
These Human Piles of $#it need to be towed behind the,
boats of the Cajun Navy without life preservers .
( honest they where skiing )

Wild Bill

@Marky, Worry not. Martial law does not automatically go with federal disaster declarations. As I recall, the Posse Comitatus Act precludes use of federal troops in state law enforcement activities…unless! Unless, the Governor of a given state makes a specific and limited request for federal troops to restore order. The Governor’s request must include a declaration that local (meaning state) law enforcement can not restore order to the community. “The community” could be Yantis, Texas or the Houston to the Louisiana border area.

oldshooter

No, declaring an area a federal disaster area does NOT place it under federal law, and any suggestion that it should, would (and ought to) be strongly resisted. Houston is in TX, and the state’s laws apply. IF Martial Law were to be declared, a very drastic step that is rarely taken, and has not been taken in the Houston area, THEN the authorities, which would typically still be the state (ie, the Governor, who could use the National Guard to enforce Martial Law) would have the option of issuing orders to shoot looters. However, such orders are given at… Read more »

Chuck

So the media should not be upset when a few of the looters are shot and killed; after all the alligators have to eat to survive.

Janek

Meanwhile some ‘bozos’ in the ‘media’ are saying you can’t label people as ‘looters’ when they’re just trying to survive? What will it take for ‘Liberals’ to wake up? A total breakdown of civilized society?

Bill

If they’re “just trying to survive, why are they wearing masks ???”

Sid Pits

And why does their survival equipment seem to consist primarily of consumer electronics and name brand sneakers?

Wild Bill

@Janek, Apparently the media thinks that it is ok to steal the things that you need to survive so that the looter can survive? This is why people do not want to leave their houses in the face of impending disaster.

oldshooter

Keep in mind that there may be a huge difference between a masked person running out of a closed electronics store with a big screen TV, and someone leaving a closed sporting goods store with a couple of life jackets under his arm. Both are legally “looters,” but I’d consider the latter far more justified by the circumstances than the former.

oldshooter

Keep in mind that there may be a huge difference between a masked person running out of a closed electronics store with a big screen TV, and someone leaving a closed sporting goods store with a couple of life jackets under his arm. Both are legally “looters,” but I’d consider the latter far more justified by the circumstances than the former.