Book Review: The Great New Orleans Gun Grab

By Ken Hanson

I recently finished reading The Great New Orleans Gun Grab: Descent Into Anarchy by Gordon Hutchinson and Todd Masson.

To give you an idea of how interesting this book is, I finished all 190 pages PLUS the Appendix materials in just under three hours. Both Hutchinson and Masson are professional writers, and they do an excellent job conveying a story that is fascinating, frightening, horrifying, and often, beyond belief. I found myself muttering, numerous times, "Certainly this did not happen in the United States."

Well, it did happen. And every gun owner owes it to himself to at least know the story of Katrina and the complete failure of law enforcement vis-a-vis the law-abiding gun owner. "Descent into Anarchy" is a mild description of what happened.

The book begins by outlining the development of Katrina as a storm, which was spellbinding in itself. The number of factors that came together to form the "perfect storm" are laid out in clear, concise format by the authors, allowing the reader to understand what happened, and how clear it was that something like Katrina was bound to happen in New Orleans. It is the aftermath of Katrina, however, that should never have happened.

I have been a firearm trainer for over 6 years, and I have been a high school soccer coach for two different high schools. Something I have always reinforced in my students and my players is responsibility for self. Often in my training classes, I would talk about Katrina, and then ask people what their experiences were in Columbus when a snow storm was coming to lay down 4 inches of snow. Can’t even buy a gallon of milk at the supermarket because everyone is losing their minds in the face of approaching white death, right?

I would point out to people that if they did not have at least 4 weeks of food, water, medicine and emergency supplies on hand, they would be one of the people standing in front of the cameras yelling about the government not getting their free $500 ATM card to them quickly enough.

Messrs. Hutchinson and Masson have helped me understand just what a naive boob I’ve been. What happens when you have all of those supplies, are surviving just fine, thank you, and your government comes along to force you to abandon your supplies so they can move you to the safety of the Superdome (aka the "Thunderdome" of Mad Max fame, for all the raping and pillaging going on inside)? Oh, and for good measure, if you are armed, they will forcefully disarm you to level the playing field for the criminal overlords.

I really wish I was making this up. Even more so, I wish I could go back in time and smack myself in the head. I am ashamed to admit it, but I was one of those gun owners back in September 2005 who urged restraint and caution when stories began to emerge about the government cracking down on armed civilians. "Surely there is some other side of the story" I thought. Having worked in law enforcement as a prosecutor for 8 years, I was blinded to the fact that perhaps there was no reasonable explanation for the government's actions. Perhaps it is as simple as "the government has gone insane and someone needs to stop them."

The Great New Orleans Gun Grab is not a gun show "meat and potatoes" manifesto full of wild conspiracies and extremists views. In the words of the folks who suffered through the injustices, the actions of our elected government are laid bare for all to inspect. It is not anti-police nor anti-government; it is pro-truth. And the truth will enrage you.

The Great New Orleans Gun Grab is available from Buckeye Firearms Foundation for just $19.95 (plus $3.00 shipping and handling). All profits from the book sale will be used to support the foundation's charitable purpose: Advancing and defending firearm rights of citizens through education and legal action.