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State of Emergency in CT - Can CT Do What Happened During Katrina?

ctgunowner

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
15
Location
CT
Can the state legally come force their way into my home and take my AR during a time of emergency?
Can the Constitution be "put on hold" during a time of emergency?
What if cops try to take my AR and I refuse?
 

Skinnedknuckles

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
108
Location
Connecticut
I wondered this as well and asked my state senator, Senator Witkos, to ask the OLR for more information. Their report can be found at http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/2013-R-0340.htm. While it is not definitive (and seems to say the Governor has largely unlimited powers, IMHO) it includes the following. I hope not to be a test case;)

"Can guns or other legally owned items be confiscated from homes ordered evacuated during a state of emergency?

The statutes do not address the specific issue of firearms and we found no case addressing the issue in Connecticut.

With regard to other items, the law specifically authorizes the governor in the event of shortage or disaster during a declared emergency, when necessary for the protection of the public, to take possession of:"
 

HPmatt

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Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
1,467
Location
Dallas
"Can guns or other legally owned items be confiscated from homes ordered evacuated during a state of emergency?

The statutes do not address the specific issue of firearms and we found no case addressing the issue in Connecticut.

With regard to other items, the law specifically authorizes the governor in the event of shortage or disaster during a declared emergency, when necessary for the protection of the public, to take possession of:"

Looks like to me you have to be careful with what type of Gov you elect in CT. At least these disasters aren't in VA with their incoming McAuliffe Gov. If waterproof metal containers tend to float you need to bury them w lots of rocks beneath the topsoil to hold them down...
 

ctgunowner

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
15
Location
CT
Thank you for that link. As a follow-up, doesn't the Constitution state that any law that attempts to countermand the Constitution is null and void?

And does the need for a warrant to enter my house go away during a declared emergency?

For example:

State of Emergency is declared.
Police come to my door and say "let us in."
Do I have to if they don't have a warrant?
 

davidmcbeth

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Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
16,167
Location
earth's crust
Can the state legally come force their way into my home and take my AR during a time of emergency?
Can the Constitution be "put on hold" during a time of emergency?
What if cops try to take my AR and I refuse?


OK, first the cops cannot take your guns away in any type of emergency state...several court cases of recent history have noted this.

Second, if you want to prevent cops from knocking on your door in CT, all you need to do is serve your local town clerk and PD chief with a notice of trespass ordering them to stay off your land. Then the same with the state police.

If they come onto your land w/o a warrant, they have committed a crime, they are the criminals.

If cops want to take your AR? According to CT law, your recourse depends on where...at your dwelling, feel free to resist; outside of your dwelling, you have no legal right to resist.
 

davidmcbeth

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LESGTINCT

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Aug 24, 2012
Messages
127
Location
Connecticut
OK, first the cops cannot take your guns away in any type of emergency state...several court cases of recent history have noted this.

Second, if you want to prevent cops from knocking on your door in CT, all you need to do is serve your local town clerk and PD chief with a notice of trespass ordering them to stay off your land. Then the same with the state police.

If they come onto your land w/o a warrant, they have committed a crime, they are the criminals.

Incorrect, A policeman may lawfully go to a person’s home to interview him. In doing so, he obviously can go to up the front door, and if that door is inaccessible there is nothing unlawful or unreasonable about going to the back of the house to look for another door, all as part of a legitimate attempt to interview a person. In addition, there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy in a so-called “open field,” even if the property was obviously private. What is an “open field?” It is essentially any unoccupied and undeveloped private residential property that is outside the curtilage of a home. If property is deemed an “open field,” any evidence observed by officers while they are walking or driving on it cannot be suppressed. A warrantless observation made by law enforcement from an open field enjoys the same constitutional protection as one made from a public place.
This is true even if the area is surrounded by a fences and NO TRESPASSING signs. United States v. Dunn.

Even if an officer’s entry onto private property is a “search,” it’s not an unlawful search unless the intrusiveness of the trespass outweighed the law enforcement interest in being on the property. Consequently, to determine whether a trespass-search is lawful, the courts balance the justification for the trespass against its intrusiveness. If the justification outweighs the intrusiveness, the search is lawful. Otherwise. it’s unlawful.

Because the intrusiveness of most technical trespasses falls somewhere between nonexistent and trivial, not much justification is ordinarily required. Even so, officers must be able to articulate some legitimate law enforcement interest for entering the property—as opposed to “simply snooping.” The following are commonly cited:
TO INVESTIGATE: Officers reasonably believed the entry was necessary to investigate a crime or suspicious circumstance.
TO DETAIN OR ARREST: Officers had legal grounds to detain or arrest a person on the property.
TO INSPECT STOLEN PROPERTY OR CONTRABAND: Officers entered the property to inspect property that they reasonably believed was stolen.
TO SPEAK WITH OCCUPANTS: Officers had a duty to attempt to speak with the occupants.

The fact that officers remained on the property after being ordered to leave by a resident might make the entry more intrusive, but an order to leave does not make their presence unlawful if there was sufficient justification.

If cops want to take your AR? According to CT law, your recourse depends on where...at your dwelling, feel free to resist; outside of your dwelling, you have no legal right to resist.

Resist by not opening your door or making contact with the police and call a lawyer, that is your right. If the police have a search warrant or one of the seven exceptions to the search warrant requirement, then you have no right to resist the entry.

Connecticut General Statutes 53a-23. Use of physical force to resist arrest not justified. A person is not justified in using physical force to resist an arrest by a reasonably identifiable peace officer, whether such arrest is legal or illegal.

Connecticut General Statutes 54-33d - Interference with search
Any person who forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates or interferes with any person authorized to serve or execute search warrants or to make searches and seizures while engaged in the performance of his duties with regard thereto or on account of the performance of such duties, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both; and any person who in committing any violation of this section uses any deadly or dangerous weapon shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than ten years or both.
 

davidmcbeth

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52a-23 that's the one !

Look up case law though and you'll see the home is one place where 52a-23 is not the law.

A quick google scholar search should pop this up.

I resisted an unlawful entry onto my land from the guberment ... seems as if they figured out that they would have been the criminals in that instance.

4th amendment A-C-T-I-V-A-T-E lol.

Yeah, an unlawful search ... you can resist...in CT...chk
 
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