BTW hedo, you mentioned in another thread that FEMA is never armed, HOWEVER, I have now heard that Blackwater is/was under direct contract with FEMA.
Maybe you could get the low-down.
Fema doesn’t carry guns. They are not trained to do so nor do they have the equipment. They can contract out security however as far as I know. It would be very very unusual for a private security contractor to direct anyone however, especially with all of the sworn officers and national guard around.
Blackwater is a contractor. Contractors can be armed. Contractors need to follow their company policy. We brought weapons with us and kept them discretely secured but available. Most others did too. Blackwater is a security contractor so I am sure they are openly armed.
I haven’t seen them on this response and the military has been providing security to Fema from day one. National Guard then regular army.
Interesting development if Fema hired those guys. They are a pretty hard core security group. Very hard core. I will ask around but we are no longer in the greater NO area but we do like to gossip with the others down here 
[quote]hedo wrote:
Interesting development if Fema hired those guys. They are a pretty hard core security group. Very hard core. I will ask around but we are no longer in the greater NO area but we do like to gossip with the others down here :)[/quote]
Sounds good, let us know.
Also here is part of an interview I just found posted on Democracy Now that says these guys have actually been deputized. That would be something for you to confirm.
[i]One of them was wearing a golden badge, that identified itself as being Louisiana law enforcement, and in fact, one of the Blackwater mercenaries told us that he had been deputized by the governor of Louisiana, and what’s interesting is that the federal government and the Department of Homeland Security have denied that they have hired any private security firms, saying that they have enough with government forces.
Well, these Blackwater men that we spoke to said that they are actually on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and indeed with the governor of Louisiana. And they said that they’re sleeping in camps organized by the Department of Homeland Security.
…we also overheard one of the Blackwater guys talking to, we presume, a colleague, complaining that he was only being paid $350 a day plus his per diem, and that other firms were paying much more. And we’re seeing many of these Blackwater mercenaries and other private security agents roaming the streets of New Orleans.[/i]
[quote]hedo wrote:
Lift
Sorry man that’s total bullshit. Firearms don’t turn people into wimps and you know it.
The police cannot be sued for not protecting you. It’s well documented. Ask some of the lawyers on this site.
An armed citizen cannot hold someone until the police come. It also would put me at a tactical disadvantage. I have no restriants or backup. I am also not known to the arriving officers or cleary identifiable via a uniform or badge…that’s why. Besides the intended consequence of carrying a weapon is to deter crime or protect myself. The gentlemen running away is acceptable to me.
Wimpish, hardly son. Firearms are a great equalizer. Read up on it. I suggest John Lott as a starting point.[/quote]
God didn’t make men equal. Samuel Colt did.
RB