109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5013

AN ACT

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

emergencies. confiscation of firearms during certain national and Emergency Assistance Act to prohibit the 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5013

AN ACT

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to prohibit the confiscation of firearms during certain national emergencies.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster Recovery Per3 sonal Protection Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The Second Amendment to the Constitution 

7 states that a ‘‘well regulated militia, being necessary 

8 to the security of a free State, the right of the peo9 ple to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed’’, 

10 and Congress has repeatedly recognized this lan11 guage as protecting an individual right. 

12 (2) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, State 

13 and local law enforcement and public safety service 

14 organizations were overwhelmed and could not fulfill 

15 the safety needs of the citizens of the State of Lou16 isiana. 

17 (3) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the safe18 ty of these citizens, and of their homes and property, 

19 was threatened by instances of criminal activity. 

20 (4) Many of these citizens lawfully kept fire21 arms for the safety of themselves, their loved ones, 

22 their businesses, and their property, as guaranteed 

23 by the Second Amendment, and used their firearms, 

24 individually or in concert with their neighbors, for 

25 protection against crime. 
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1 (5) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, certain 

2 agencies confiscated the firearms of these citizens in 

3 contravention of the Second Amendment, depriving 

4 these citizens of the right to keep and bear arms and 

5 rendering them helpless against criminal activity. 

6 (6) These confiscations were carried out at gun7 point by nonconsensual entries into private homes, 

8 by traffic checkpoints, by stoppage of boats, and 

9 otherwise by force. 

10 (7) The citizens from whom firearms were con11 fiscated were either in their own homes or attempt12 ing to flee the flooding and devastation by means of 

13 motor vehicle or boat, and were accosted, stopped, 

14 and arbitrarily deprived of their private property and 

15 means of protection. 

16 (8) The means by which the confiscations were 

17 carried out, which included intrusion into the home, 

18 temporary detention of persons, and seizures of 

19 property, constituted unreasonable searches and sei20 zures and deprived these citizens of liberty and prop21 erty without due process of law in violation of funda22 mental rights under the Constitution. 

23 (9) Many citizens who took temporary refuge in 

24 emergency housing were prohibited from storing fire25 arms on the premises, and were thus treated as sec-
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1 ond-class citizens who had forfeited their constitu2 tional right to keep and bear arms. 

3 (10) At least one highly-qualified search and 

4 rescue team was prevented from joining in relief ef5 forts because the team included individuals with fire6 arms, although these individuals had been deputized 

7 as Federal law enforcement officers. 

8 (11) These confiscations and prohibitions, and 

9 the means by which they were carried out, deprived 

10 the citizens of Louisiana not only of their right to 

11 keep and bear arms, but also of their rights to per12 sonal security, personal liberty, and private property, 

13 all in violation of the Constitution and laws of the 

14 United States. 

15 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CONFISCATION OF FIREARMS 

16 DURING CERTAIN NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 

17 Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5201) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 706. FIREARMS POLICIES. 

21 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON CONFISCATION OF FIRE22 ARMS.—No officer or employee of the United States (in23 cluding any member of the uniformed services), or person 

24 operating pursuant to or under color of Federal law, or 

25 receiving Federal funds, or under control of any Federal 
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1 official, or providing services to such an officer, employee, 

2 or other person, while acting in support of relief from a 

3 major disaster or emergency, may—

4 ‘‘(1) temporarily or permanently seize, or au5 thorize seizure of, any firearm the possession of 

6 which is not prohibited under Federal, State, or 

7 local law, other than for forfeiture in compliance 

8 with Federal law or as evidence in a criminal inves9 tigation; 

10 ‘‘(2) require registration of any firearm for 

11 which registration is not required by Federal, State, 

12 or local law; 

13 ‘‘(3) prohibit possession of any firearm, or pro14 mulgate any rule, regulation, or order prohibiting 

15 possession of any firearm, in any place or by any 

16 person where such possession is not otherwise pro17 hibited by Federal, State, or local law; or 

18 ‘‘(4) prohibit the carrying of firearms by any 

19 person otherwise authorized to carry firearms under 

20 Federal, State, or local law, solely because such per21 son is operating under the direction, control, or su22 pervision of a Federal agency in support of relief 

23 from the major disaster or emergency. 

24 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

25 construed to prohibit any person from requiring the tem-
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1 porary surrender of a firearm as a condition for entry into 

2 any mode of transportation used for rescue or evacuation 

3 during a major disaster or emergency. 

4 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved 

6 by a violation of this section may seek relief in an 

7 action at law, suit in equity, or other proper pro8 ceeding for redress against any person who subjects 

9 such individual, or causes such individual to be sub10 jected, to the deprivation of any of the rights, privi11 leges, or immunities secured by this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) REMEDIES.—In addition to any existing 

13 remedy in law or equity, under any law, an indi14 vidual aggrieved by the seizure or confiscation of a 

15 firearm in violation of this section may bring an ac16 tion for return of such firearm in the United States 

17 district court in the district in which that individual 

18 resides or in which such firearm may be found. 

19 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any action or pro20 ceeding to enforce this section, the court shall award 
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1 the prevailing party, other than the United States, 

2 a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2006. 

Attest:

Clerk.