http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51935

it's happening in Florida!

'The City of Cooper whatever' in Florida is hardly 'THE GOVERNMENT' which incidently is represented at the state and federal level there by two conservative brothers. I notice also this website is pushing gold investment in the sidebar. Gold is down $2 today with the drop in oil. The same, often misplaced social paranoia that gave us militias also gives vision to pagan biker gangs siezing your freeze dried lima beans 30 seconds after Men in Black take off in the black helicopter with your red chinese freedom fighter SKS to prevent disorder during an electrical outage. Nobody is going to sieze what they don't know you have. Just like carrying knives in areas with draconian carry laws simple discretion and demeaner virtually eliminate any difficulties. As for trucks? Install a hidden shut off switch to the fuel supply. Then drive it to your polling booth next election time.

Chris

I would think this would concern you -- this stuff gets started and then spreads. I would have expected your home state California to come up with this one rather than Florida. And I would only agree with your statement of one 'maybe' conservative brother, and it ain't the one in Washington. I don't think this is paranoia on the level of the 'black helicopter / tin foil hat crowd. Politicians are dreaming this stuff up in the name of protecting us. I agree they can't seize what they don't know about. But they know more about us than we realize. And I don't like the direction we are headed with this kind of political mumbojumbo.

Sounds like #$%^ing commies from Mother Russia, if you ask me!
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i know that I may take a beating on this post, but if you better understand the history of eminent domain, you will be better able to influence your legislators concerning its application. In the British Common Law, adopted by our U.S. Constitution as of 1789, ther are three great and inherent powers of government: the power to police: the power to tax; and the power to take your property. Constitutions incorporate limitations on these powers of government. Hence, the
Fifth Amendment to our Constitution limits the power of government, in part, to take your property by requiring that the taking be for a public use and that you be paid just compensation for the taking. But, that is the sole limitation on governmental taking. Thus, no additional legislation is necessary for government to exercise this right for the common good. As with any power, the power of eminent domain can be used for good or for ill purposes. It is the authority for government to build roads and ports and to sieze land to dynamite firebreaks to prevent a wider conflagrationand for government to prevent hoarding in times of national emergency. Think about the 1906 San Francisco Fire when homes were dynamited to stop the fire. Think also of the L.A. P.D. taking assault rifles from a gun shop when they found themselves outgunned by a pair of murderous bank robbers. The power is a necessity of government. What you want to think long and hard about is what limits you want your legilators to put on this power and under what circumstances. Those conclusions I leave to your own contemplation.

P.S. I apologize for the lousy typing and spelling. Its been a long day and I have limited tech skills.

If memory serves me well, the rifles were paid for.

He's not concerned becuase he knows the history of these laws. Hording laws apply only to those who are stupid. They either show off, or they do something really dumb like close thier grocery store with the shelves still stocked. If you get hit by this, odds are your neighbors know about your stash, and have already bypassed the law, killed or disabled you, and taken your stuff. I don't care how good you are, when you fire on an angry crowd, they either run away at the first few shots, or literally tear you apart while you are reloading, depending on how desperate they are. Thats why you have trade goods out front, and the good stuff hidden.

I say this as someone who lives in a state with anti-hoarding laws. The few times they've been applied have been for privately owned sand piles during floods (and the owner was given a receipt, and was repayed, before it ever got into a court room) and one "gentleman" who whined becuase the fire department drained his swimming pool while his neighbor's house was burning. Other cases are where heavy equipment have been dragooned to provide heavy lift during rescue and damage control operations. Read the letter of that law, not the media drivel, there are going to be very clearly written rules of implimentation. No one is going to break those, becuase if some buzzard of a beauricrate pushes that button when the situation is not a common sense one based on immediate and unusual need, he's going to be cut loose and allowed to play in court without a government lawyer.

Can we say roadkill?

Besides, by the time it gets to that point, you have a state of emergency, aka martial law. The difference between martial law and anarchy is the number of military uniforms you see. At that point, citizen, you have the right to shut up and play along, and the easiest way to NOT have to worry is don't be a dumbass about what you've got. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wow, it's a loop.

We've had this conversation before, to, about a half dozen times over the past two or three years. One of our lawyers dissected the law in one of them, search for it.

Yep, the 5th states "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The problem usually comes with two parts of that statement open to interpretation; "public use" and "just compensation".

There are some sweetheart construction deals that go hand in hand with "public use" and "just compensation" has some laughably low numbers in the annals of eminent domain.

I'm no constitutional scholar, but Cooper City likely didn't even have to spell this out. Even though the Bill of Rights are Federal, most states had similar and some more extensive rights, but today I believe that there has been enough case law that extends those rights to the States.

This is why people shouldn't go to shelters... for the priveledge of suckling at the teat of the government largess, you have to give up anything you bring with you if they see fit. It's also why you should keep your own survival gear quiet and unannounced to any who aren't like minded (or family). I can see many situations where some guy sees the lights on at his neighbor and uses his influence to force the guy to share with others in the name of public use. Now, extend that to food, water, shelter, and other supplies and you get the drift.

I think that largely this law would apply to otherwise secured equipment where the owners are unreachable (due to evacuation) until such time as they can return it and pay for it's use. If the owner is there, they would probably ask nicely, but in an emergency, maybe not.

Again, all the more reason to keep your own gear to yourself and out of sight. And make sure you don't go overboard with using lights - or your generator will make a nice target, if not for government, for looters. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, fat chance. I'll gladly bring the little old ladies and retired folks that need help into the fold. Any Govt. agency that tries to take control of our resources won't like the outcome. I'm a proud American but there are too many groups that believe that social responsibilty should be at the larger groups discresion.