© NOAA
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp signed an emergency order
allowing the seizure of private guns, ammunition, explosives and property the National Guard may need to respond to Hurricane Irma.Mapp signed the order Monday in preparation for Hurricane Irma. The order allows the Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands to seize private property they believe necessary to protect the islands, subject to approval by the territory's Justice Department.
Mapp issued an emergency declaration Tuesday and mobilized National Guard units to prepare for the massive storm.
"This is not an opportunity to go outside and try to have fun with a hurricane," Mapp
said. "It's not time to get on a surfboard."
Irma strengthened to a Category 5 storm Tuesday, with wind gusts hitting 175 miles an hour. Irma's eye is expected to pass just north of the heart of the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday and bring four to eight inches or rain and 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts.
The National Hurricane Center is calling the storm "extremely dangerous." Weather forecasters say Irma is headed towards the Florida coastline, and should bring devastating conditions to the region in the next four or five days.
GOP Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló both declared states of emergencies in anticipation of Irma.
Scott said President Donald Trump "offered the full resources of the federal government as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Irma."
Irma comes more than one week after Hurricane Harvey brought devastating floods to the greater Houston area.
Click below to read a copy of the order:
Virgin Islands Emergency Order
Comment: Apparently, some
clarification over the order was needed. Unfortunately, the effort to clarify made things more confusing:
Tucker Carlson asked Mapp about directing to The Adjutant General to "seize arms" and Mapp said, "I did not order or authorize The Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands National Guard to seize any weapons from any citizens, and I do not have the power by Virgins Islands law or by the Constitution of the United States to seize weapons from citizens via the military."
Mapp then said the order is "a standing order that most Adjutant Generals receive." He said that, when the order says The Adjutant General may "seize arms," it means: "if they did not have sufficient weaponry, they would go to any place, like a store, [where] they could buy that stuff. Meaning that she has the authorization to spend government resources and acquire it. It is no different than the same example as when the government seizes property, we do not seize property without due compensation to the property owner."
Carlson read from the order again and reiterated that it says The Adjutant General "is authorized and directed to seize arms." Mapp responded by reiterating that he has no authority to "seize arms." Therefore, he stressed that the order directing The Adjutant General to "seize arms" did not mean what the common reading would communicate.
Comment: Apparently, some clarification over the order was needed. Unfortunately, the effort to clarify made things more confusing: