Remember when the hurricane came through and the communist who is governor of the U.S. Virgin Island ordered seizure of guns and ammunition?  We discussed it.  Well, he’s at it again.

U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp renewed a highly controversial executive order in January that allows the National Guard to seize arms from everyday civilians.

The executive order Mapp extended on Jan. 2 was first issued in September. The order declares that the U.S. Virgin Islands is in a “state of emergency” and gives the adjunct general power “that may be required by the military forces for the performance of this emergency mission.”

Mapp told The Daily Caller in a December 2017 phone interview that the national guard is “not authorized to take arms and munitions from civilians,” and said those that continue to think the order authorized that power are being “foolish.” While Mapp continues to make the same assertion when questioned about the order, the language of the text explicitly authorizes the seizure of arms and ammunition.

The governor said in the Jan. 2 order that the nation is still in a state of emergency following the devastation brought on from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The order also says that the “state of emergency declared effective 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2017  is hereby renewed, and such State of Emergency, along with all terms previously declared in the order.” That would include the language authorizing the seizure of arms, ammunition and other property.

And it doesn’t even matter.  As I’ve previously noted, confiscation of guns and ammunition is irrelevant when you’re not allowed to have any to begin with.  Communists gotta’ be communists.  It’s what they do.  Can a leopard change it spots?

News of St. John.

I’m scared. Those are words I never thought I would write when referring to St. John. But I’m scared. We’re only four days into this mess, and we’re hearing some awful things. For starters, Joe’s Rum Hut was broken into the day after Irma hit. The ATM was stolen. They attempted to get cash out of the register, but it was empty as Joe’s closed for season earlier this month. The ATM next to Cruz Bay Landing was stolen. The ATM at the ferry dock was stolen. Scoops has been broken into. St. John Insurance has been broken into. They hold almost all of the insurance policies on this island. Makes you wonder the intentions of that burglary, doesn’t it? Dolphin Market in Coral Bay was looted the very first night. The very first night. We heard this morning that the Customs building in Cruz Bay was broken into and that guns were stolen. We heard that there was at least three robberies at gunpoint on Gifft Hill. This is not St. John anymore. I’m not sure what it is. What I do know is that I am scared. My friends are scared. And we don’t know what to do.

Last night I was able to go home. What I failed to mention was that we had to install a bar on the inside of our door so no one could break in. This is our new reality. Last night, for the first time since moving here, I was afraid to walk down the streets of Cruz Bay. And it was only 6:30 p.m. People are getting desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures from some unfortunately. We are only on day four. What’s going to happen next?

I have seen absolutely no aid today except a few boxes of MREs walking down the street. I haven’t seen one helicopter land today. We hear help is on the way. Let’s hope so. We need the military. We need men and women guarding our streets with guns. Our police force does nothing. They sit in their cars and yell at people over the loudspeaker. I kid you not. They’re not even helping with traffic in areas where it’s needed. You know who is? Our homeless people. Our homeless people are directing traffic, and our police are not. Let that sink in for a minute. Several police officers can be seen constantly at Ronnie’s Pizza – our new cell phone spot – and they’re scrolling through Facebook rather than patrolling our streets. Im (sic)shocked they actually got out of their cars for that. I took pictures and I cannot wait until I have internet so I can share them with the world.

We need help. We need the United States government to step up. We need military. We need security. We all survived this monster storm. But will we survive the aftermath? No one knows. And that’s not me being dramatic at all. That, unfortunately, is the new reality of St. John. This is no longer paradise. This is no longer my happy place.

Ah, the wonderful police.  People still believe the myth that the police are there to protect and provide security.  It’s all a lie, so says the U.S. court system.  Understand that.  Your life depends on it.

Neither is it the job of the U.S. military to protect you or your family.  That’s your duty, your responsibility, your God-given right.  These poor people are in a place where they cannot effect that security because guns are not allowed for the peaceable and law abiding citizens, only the criminals.

I’m always of two minds when I hear reports like this.  On the one hand, I have compassion (what normal man wouldn’t have compassion for these people or people in situations like that), and I want the criminals killed.  Not imprisoned, but killed.

Similar thoughts sweep over me when I hear of criminals and gangs dominating cities where gun control is king.  I feel especially sorry for those who want to defend their families but can’t because they live in places where the collectivists rule.

On the other hand, there is nothing more basic and dutiful that the protection of family and life, and if you live in a place where that protection cannot obtain because the collectivists rule you, then you need to get out of there.  That goes for the U.S. Virgin Islands, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, California or Hawaii.

Relocating, pulling up roots and leaving is hard, and nearly impossible in some circumstances.  But you either have to fight the good fight and win, or you have to leave.  Fighting the good fight and losing, while no reflection on you or your character, is the same as not fighting at all.  Either way, you lose and cannot effect the protection of your family.

At some point, you have to be willing to cut your loses and move on.  I feel sorry for the woman writing the blog.  I’m sure her report is accurate.  I feel compassion for her plight.  But if change doesn’t come, and very soon, she has to cut her ties to the place and people and move on.

David Codrea:

“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,” Michael Bastasch reported Tuesday at The Daily Caller.  “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.”

David updates the article with an attempt at damage control that actually makes matters worse, essentially saying that not only can they do this, they regularly do it as a matter of course and they have the right to do it.  At least that’s the way I read it.

I’ll point out a few things.  First of all, there is the British Virgin Islands and the U.S. Virgin islands.  The two are not the same thing, and this is occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Second, while the people there are technically considered U.S. citizens, they aren’t treated that way.

For example, the U.S. Code (48 U.S. Code 1561) outlines a bill of rights for their citizens that doesn’t include any hint of bearing arms.  This seems to me to be ripe the litigation before the SCOTUS, but apparently that’s for another time.

Third, even though no one can effect change in the confiscation at the moment, this does go to show the first reflex of collectivists.  And you do understand how they know who has firearms, don’t you?

Finally, in a somewhat related vein today I saw a discussion thread at reddit/r/firearms that needs to be addressed.  When responding to a post that compared these confiscations to those post-Katrina, one commenter said this.

No, what happened in Katrina was very different. The order in Katrina was given by the local police superintendent, not the governor. As well, the overwhelming majority of those confiscated in New Orleans were abandoned in houses or forfeited upon being rescued when people were taken to refugee sites. By in (sic) large if a person wanted to stay in their home with their gun, they could.

This is simply a lie, and the commenter knows it.  The comment sounds like it was written by a LEO or former LEO, but it’s wrong in the superlative degree.  There were weapons confiscations done forcibly, i.e., without owner consent, and those weapons were either never gotten back or were in such bad shape (having been cared for poorly) that they were non-functional.

They were returned only because the NRA sponsored a lawsuit to force return of the weapons.  Those confiscations were conducted by local police and military contractors (insert groups like DynCorp here), with supplemental manpower and backup provided by the Louisiana National Guard under the command of Russel Honore, who is proud of his gun confiscation efforts during Katrina.