Ten shot in New Orleans – time for tighter gun laws in LA

New Orleans, 2 December 2019  – Police said ten people were shot early Sunday in the city’s French Quarter.

Two of the victims were in critical condition according to NBC, but no arrests have been made, and police said the motive remained unclear.

Louisiana has lax gun laws.  The movement known as the Brady Campaign (related to the Brady bill which required background checks for all firearm sales), keeps a scorecard for all 50 states based on their particular laws towards obtaining a gun license and gun permit.

The higher the score, the stricter the policy and vice-versa. Out of a possible 100 points, Louisiana managed to score a 2.

Open carry is legal in Louisiana without a permit for any adult that is not prohibited from carrying a firearm. Although Louisiana state law indicates 17 as the minimum age, federal law dictates the minimum age as 18 years old. Some areas are off-limits, including parades and bars.

ACTION:

Please contact New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

Dear Mayor

I am saddened to hear of the shooting in New Orleans this past weekend, and I hope the people who were shot are recovering.

You said: “This tragedy will not define us, and it will not deter us from moving our City forward and keeping our people safe.”  Sadly, your laws are NOT keeping people safe. 

I hope that you will press for better gun laws in Louisiana, taking all actions you can to get the state to reform.  Louisiana has an appalling murder rate, and  its very loose, lax gun sale and ownership laws are to blame in no small part.

Your state has a ‘Brady’ rating of 2 – about the worst ranking for gun law the Brady rating gives.  Time to change that – I hope to see you and your colleagues stepping up to change your gun laws to deter future shooting incidents.  Governor Edwards needs to be persuaded to take this matter in hand, and as Mayor of New Orleans, you are in a position to help bring change.

-OR-

A short message for Twitter:

Dear Mayor,  the latest shooting in New Orleans of 10 innocent people must be marked by pressure to change LA’s gun laws – I count on you to work with @LouisianaGov for gun law reform

Phone:  504-658-4000

Email:  mayor@nola.gov

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/mayorcantrell/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/mayorcantrell

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!

 

Fire officer who called for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to be shot

A Gretna, Louisiana police officer has brought the controversial force further disgrace by calling for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to be shot: the officer must be fired.

Newsweek reported “‘This vile idiot needs a round,” officer Charlie Rispoli wrote in a Facebook post referring to Ocasio-Cortez last week, according to a screenshot first reported by New Orleans news site NOLA.com on Saturday. ‘And I don’t mean the kind she used to serve,’ he continued, referring to the fact she once waitressed.”

Rispoli has been on the Gretna police force since 2005.  After his offensive, violent post about AOC, he has closed his social media accounts down.  It seems he did not understand a satirical article on AOC, which may have prompted his unacceptable call for gun violence.

It is one thing to think someone should not be in office.  It is disturbing to call for any human being to be executed.  But when someone who swore to uphold the law publically incites a shooting, they have broken their oath and demonstrated contempt for the law.  They should not be carrying a gun on our streets.

Generally speaking, state and local police officers take the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor at the beginning of their careers. The oath affirms their standards of integrity, bravery and honor to the community and law.

The department’s police Chief Arthur Lawson told the local news site that the post was “disturbing” and appeared to violate the department’s social media policy. Although he said he did not believe it was an actual threat against the congresswoman, he promised the situation would be dealt with.

Can we trust Lawson to take action?  It was under his command that hundreds fleeing Hurricane Katrina had shots fired over their heads while trying to cross a bridge to safety in Gretna.  They had been told to do so by a different police force.  The force has unsurprisingly been involved in shootings – and they are captured on film kicking a person on the ground who was complying and handcuffed.

Gretna is also America’s arrest capital city – according to a reporter in 2016 it had the country’s highest arrest rate with only a population of 18,000:  the majority of those arrested were non-white.  Gretna’s revenues depend largely on its arrests and resulting fines.

ACTION:

Please contact Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards through one of the channels below and give them the following message, personalized to your liking:


I was absolutely horrified to see a Gretna, Louisiana officer post on social media that elected representative Alexandria Ocasia-Cortez should be shot:  the officer must be fired at once.

“This vile idiot needs a round,” officer Charlie Rispoli wrote in a Facebook post referring to Ocasio-Cortez last week, and they are still on the force:  they broke their oath of office to serve the community and act with honour.  No one who can casually call for a shooting deserves to be an officer, let alone an officer on our streets with a gun.  

Gretna police Chief Arthur Lawson said the post was “disturbing” and appeared to violate the department’s social media policy. He said he did not believe it was an actual threat against the congresswoman, he promised the situation would be dealt with.  I however believe it is a very real threat, coming from someone in a position of power in the community who decided to broadcast this call to violence to millions:  I want this officer out of office and for the state prosecutors to take action against them.

When I look at the history of the Gretna police, I have zero confidence in Lawson taking any action at all.  Gretna’s arrest rate is among the highest in the country with minorities being by far the most targeted group.  Gretna has seen police shootings and police brutality.  Infamously, Gretna’s police fired shots over the heads of people seeking shelter there from Katrina – as advised to do so by a different force.  Clearly shooting is taken far too casually and officers feel they can threaten citizens – and disaster victims – with being shot.  The entire system needs investigation, and Lawson, like Rispoli, must go.  

As a member of  One Pulse for America, I demand you immediately intervene to rid the force of Rispoli, and set up an external investigation into the Gretna police.  Should anyone out there who saw Rispoli’s call to violence against Ocasio-Cortez takes violent action based on that post, I will hold you responsible as well as Rispoli and the culture of Gretna  Police if you do not act.  I will be watching to see what you do.

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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards
Phone: (225)342-7015
Email (form):  http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/form/home/4
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LouisianaGov/ 
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LouisianaGov

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