Yuma. Ariz., City Councilman Al Krieger proved that he’s a crime fighter in and out of Ac office. As he sat in his truck late one morning, he heard a loud noise behind him. He turned to see that a vehicle had crashed and was beginning to speed off. Unbeknownst to Krieger, the driver was fleeing from a police officer that had just clocked him driving 71 mph on a city street. "I've got to get this guy." Krieger said to himself. The alleged hit-and-run driver turned onto a dead-end street, so Krieger blocked him in. The man then bumped Krieger's truck in an unsuccessful attempt to escape, then got out of his car. He opened Kneger's door, grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him from the vehicle. It was then that Krieger reached for his .38-cal. revolver. "As soon as he saw I had a gun in my hand, he turned and ran," Krieger said. The officer who had initially witnessed the speeding vehicle arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and, after a short foot pursuit, apprehended the suspect. (The Sun. Yuma, AZ, 09/08/05)

Joe Philips just wanted to help a friend fix her car, but police say mat when he entered an auto parts store, an armed robber forced him to change his plans. According to a police report, a 21-year-old man brought a gas can into the store and began to fuel a small motorcycle that was on display. When a clerk told him to stop. the suspect pulled a gun, pointed it at the worker and announced he was robbing the place. It was then that Phillips drew his own gun and told the young man to drop his firearm. The two exchanged gunfire and the would- be robber was shot. He was recovering at a hospital and was expected to be arrested after his release. "That's exactly like Joe," said Kari Phillips, Joe's brother Joes a good Samaritan, always has been. Joe wouldn't have gotten involved if he didn't think it was a matter of life and death." A clerk was also injured, but is expected to recover. (The News Tribune, Tacoma WA. 09/30/05)

When Daniel Dunn stepped into his garage to investigate a noise, filings quickly turned violent. Police say that a 21-year-old man began swinging a knife at him. cutting Dunn across the neck and hand. Dunn managed to run into his house where he retrieved a .22-cal. rifle. which he fixed at me intruder until the man fled. Police found his attacker after officials at a local hospital notified them of a gunshot victim with wounds to his legs. arms and pelvis. The suspect, who police learned had other outstanding warrants for his arrest, was placed under guard at the hospital. (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Corpus Christi, TX. 09/30/05)

The dangers braved by our nation's firemen shouldn't extend to their personal lives, but for one Philadelphia firefighter, that was the case. According to a neighbor, the fireman had been burglarized three times before, but hoped the fourth attempt would be the last. Police say he was about to go to bed on the second floor of his home when he heard a noise downstairs. Taking his pistol with him, he headed down the steps and found three men in his living room. When he ordered them to freeze, a fourth man fired a gun through a window. The firefighter returned fire and the man fled. The three suspects inside the home, however, were not as lucky; he shot all three of them, killing one. The two who survived were charged with robbery, burglary and other offenses, while the fourth suspect remained at large. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, 10/08/05)

According to police, 82-year-old L.G.Von Zehner was washing his car when a gun-wielding thug approached him and demanded cash. Zehner complied by handing over an empty wallet and informing the robber that his money was at home. The man got inside Zehner's car and demanded that they drive to Zehner's home. But rather than grant the suspect his wish, Zehner grabbed his own firearm and shot him. The robber returned nre, but died inside the car. Zehner was shot in the chest and was recovering at a hospital where he was listed in serious condition. Police later captured an accomplice whom they said removed the robber's gun from his body and threw it onto a nearby roof. He was charged with robbery, kidnapping and attempted murder. (Las Vegas Review-Journal, Las Vegas. NV, 10/05/05)

"Armed militia protects its New Orleans neighborhood."

That Cox News Service headline early in the coverage of Hurricane Katrina tells a remarkable story of armed residents of a gritty New Orleans community who banded together to protect their property and their lives against roving gangs of criminal predators that were unchecked by any police presence.

In the midst of a total breakdown of law and government authority- where criminal predators ruled many neighborhoods, murdering, looting, robbing and raping at will; where large numbers of police shirked their duty and went AWOL; where a few police even shared in the looting-thousands of law-abiding and good citizens of New Orleans armed themselves and lived the most basic tenet of the Second Amendment. As the headline said, these brave men and women were indeed the armed militia, and their actions saved lives and property.

But juxtapose that story with the headline in The New York Times, "NEW ORLEANS BEGINS CONFISCATING FIREARMS AS WATER RECEDES"-blithely reporting the corrupt response of government officials sworn to "protect and serve."

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, television news brought images of chaos and anarchy into millions of American homes. The storm surge of violence was profoundly frightening to all of us.

It could happen anywhere when catastrophe strikes.

Yet amid all that chaos, the media also brought the ultimate voice of misplaced authority in New Orleans-P. Edwin Compass, the superintendent of police-issuing the edict: "Nobody will be able to be armed. We are going to take all weapons."

With that, Americans saw television images of ordinary, law-abiding people just like themselves, being held at the point of automatic rifles. We saw video images of doors of homes being pushed in by police and guardsmen with orders to disarm residents. And we saw images of burly California Highway Patrol troopers body slamming an elderly woman who showed them an antique pistol she proudly said she would use to defend herself and her home.

But where the media largely ignored the underlying message-that individuals, the people, really are the armed militia-such a simple truth was not lost on the general public.

Tensof millions of ordinary Americans-non-gun owners, passive gun owners and NRA members alike-morally stood in the shoes of those brave New Orleans residents who used the mere presence of firearms to thwart criminal anarchy. New Orleans was proof that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is as necessary on a colossal scale as self defense is on a personal scale.

In my travels to every corner of the nation since New Orleans, I have been deeply moved by the expressions of support for our cause by Americans who'd never given firearm rights a thought. They asked, "How can this happen in America?" Remarkably, they asked me, "What is NRA doing about this?"

In defending the rights of Louisiana citizens, NRA marched into federal court and successfully sought immediate relief for gun owners who had been disarmed. Our filings asked the court "to vindicate the constitutional rights of the law abiding-citizens of Louisiana to keep and bear arms to protect themselves from criminal violence.... "With our motions before him, United States District Court Judge Jay Zainey prohibited further gun confiscations by the government and ordered the return of seized firearms to their lawful owners.

To ensure protections against such oppression in the future, we are seeking permanent prohibitions against unlawful firearm seizures during a state of emergency anywhere in America.

In state legislatures and at the federal level, we are aggressively working to rewrite laws so that in any emergency no government agency can disarm peaceable citizens.

As we take this battle to Congress and to the states, we need your voice, your vote and your financial support. We can't win without you. We need you to reach your legislators, and to tell friends and neighbors what the nightmare of New Orleans could mean for them personally, if anarchy strikes. Remind them that NRA membership is the firewall that stands between Second Amendment rights and the enemies of freedom. Urge them to join the cause.

Gun-ban bureaucrats must never be empowered to seize firearms from peaceable citizens in the lawless days after any disaster strikes.

There are some among us-perhaps your friends-who believe because we elected a pro-gun Congress and have a sympathetic White House, there is no threat to our liberty. For any who were lulled into such complacency, New Orleans is the ultimate wakeup call. Our worst fears became reality.

To stop such civil disarmament-the greatest threat of all-will require massive NRA member pressure at every level of government. In these upcoming legal and legislative battles, our battle cry must be REMEMBER NEW ORLEANS! Never, ever forget.