As Hurricane Irma approaches the Virgin Islands, Governor Kenneth Mapp has issued an order allowing the National Guard to confiscate lawfully owned firearms from citizens if deemed necessary.
Many people are drawing parallels between this and the situation in New Orleans in 2005, when Mayor Ray Nagin signed a similar order. The NRA brought litigation then, and Congress responded by outlawing any such future confiscations.
So, it seems Mapp’s order would be illegal, right? Not exactly.
As an unincorporated territory, Virgin Islands are governed under the provisions of the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands. The US Constitution, which limits the authority of the federal government, doesn’t really apply there. It’s something of a gray area. The USVI proposed their own constitution in 2007, but nothing came of it.
This, along with the Insular Cases as precedent, will cause real problems for 2nd (or 5th) Amendment claims. It stinks, but this is the situation.