Homeowners Owe A Big, BIG,

VERY BIG Debt to Joe Lopinto

How Joe Lopinto got you the legal right to defend
yourself against criminals who break into your home.
Picture this: You are home with your wife and kids. It is 2AM
and you are sleeping. Suddenly, the dog barks like crazy. You hear
movement outside the window. Someone is trying to break in.
Quickly, you start thinking. You’ve got to defend your family.
What should you do ? ? Homeowner Merritt Landry, who had a preg-
nant wife and a baby to protect, was confronted by this terrifying sit-
uation a few years ago.
Here is what Merritt did: He grabbed his legally owned pistol
and he confronted the criminal outside the house, before the criminal
could get in and harm his family. “FREEZE!” he shouted.
But instead of putting his hands in the air the criminal made a
sudden move toward his waistband, as if he
Hattiesburg, MS
This is a TRUE story. Under the law in 2013, if a
homeowner shot a criminal breaking into his house, and
the criminal died, the homeowner got the benefit of
the doubt and the law presumed that his shot was le-
gally correct and justified. BUT - if the shot only
wounded the criminal and he lived, the homeowner
lost that presumption of legal correctness.
This sounds crazy, but it was 100% true.
Due to a mistake in the wording of Louisiana
Statutes 14:19 and 14:20, homeowners were only given
the presumption of legal correctness during a home
invasion if the criminal died. If the criminal was tak-
en to the hospital fast enough and he lived, the home-

owner lost the presumption of legal correctness.

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had a gun, and Merritt shot and wounded

paid

him, and then Merritt called the police.

When the police arrived, however,
they did not arrest the wounded criminal,
who already had a warrant out for his arrest
for previously stealing another homeown-
er’s gun. Instead, under the law as it exist-
ed a few years ago, they arrested the home-
owner, Merritt Landry.
Thankfully, the taxpayers and homeowners in
the Home Defense Foundation, HdfNola.org, saw
this mistake and knew it had to be fixed. Homeown-
ers needed the legal right to defend themselves and
their family - whether or not the criminal breaking
into the house lived or died.
So what did the homeowners do? They turned
to Joe Lopinto, who was then (continued on page 3)

Crime Safety Reporter

Citizens want protection against crime !
March, 2018 Covering Greater New Orleans Locally owned The Citizens’ Voice
Who speaks at Home Defense Foundation meetings?

Sheriff Newell Normand DA Cannizzaro

United States Attorney Metro Crime Commission

Ken Polite President Rafael Goyeneche

just to name a few . . . HdfNola.org

 How Joe Lopinto got homeowners the
Right of Self Defense, continued from page 1
serving in the State Legislature, representing a good part of
Jefferson Parish. Joe met with the homeowners and taxpay-
ers from the Home Defense Foundation, and together they
wrote two big changes in the law.
One change gave you the presumption that you were
correct to defend your home and your family - whether the
criminal breaking into your house lived or died. If you shot
him you were presumed to be correct in your actions, period.
The other change was a bit more tricky.
yard to protect your family, you were still covered by the
“Presumtion Law” because you were in your house when the
event started.
These were two BIG changes in the Louisiana Law of
Self Defense, and with Joe’s help, they passed through the
House of Representatives 93 - 0. WOW ! And then they
passed through the State Senate 36 - 3, another gigantic win.
After that the governor signed the bill and it became the Law
of Louisiana, in statutes RS 14:19 and 14:20.

Under the old law you got the presumption that you
acted correctly if the criminal died, but only if you took your
defensive shot while you were actually standing in your
house. If you were forced to move around, such as to the
front lawn, the front porch, the side yard or the backyard,
you lost the presumption of correctness. Again, this sounds
crazy, but it was actually the law !

Merritt, on the
right, with his
family.

Joe, center, receiving the Hero of Home Defense Award

Since Merritt Landry went into his tiny front yard and
confronted the crininal there, a few feet from the door, Mer-
ritt was no longer covered by the “Presumption Law” that
presumed his self defense actions were valid and correct.
Working with Joe Lopinto the taxpayers and home-
owners of the Home Defense Foundation came up with a
new version of the law. In the new version you still get the
presumption of correctness if you were in your house when
the criminal event started. So if you were in your house at
2AM, as Merritt Landry was, and you went to the front
For his fine work fixing the law of self defense in Lou-
isiana Joe was given the “Hero of Home Defense Award” by
the Home Defense Foundation. You can see a picture of Joe
receiving the award on the group’s website, HdfNola.org.
So if you are a homeowner in Louisiana, and a crimi-
nal ever tries to break into your home, and you use a firearm
to protect yourself and your family, the law will presume
that your actions were legal, and you can thank Joe Lopin-
to for that. That is why we say homeowners owe Joe a big,
a very, VERY big, thank you.
Thank you, Joe Lopinto ! !
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Crime Safety Reporter
Contributors
Tanya Avery Jamal Melancon
Mike Buras Bill Stumpf
Jeff Crouere Ian Templeton
Adrianna Eschette William Wallis
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 State Government Has A Spending Problem, Not A Tax Problem
Reducing government spending, not raising taxes, is the key to solving our budget problems

by State Rep Cameron Henry

In a short while the State Legis-
lature will start its 2018 session
and once again we will hear
from Governor Edwards that
we need to raise taxes.
Wrong !
The solution to our budget
problem is not raising taxes but
cutting government spending.
The population of Louisiana has essentially remained the
same in recent years while government spending has contin-
uously increased. We need to confront this problem head on,
for example, by cutting the base budget of government agen-
cies. Government budgets cannot continue to rise every year
while our population remains static and our economy is un-
der pressure. People in the private sector understand this
and it is time that government understands it as well.
In the private sector it is understood that revenue is never
constant. It can go up and it can go down. A good example
is the oil industry, where revenue has gone down for many
companies due the the drop in the price of oil.
When revenue is down in the private sector companies re-
duce spending and work more efficiently. Government,
however, rarely operates this way. It needs to, starting now.
Taxpayers do not have bottomless wallets. We need serious
cuts in government spending to balance the budget, not tax
increases.

Thoughtful Discussion
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To be or not to be ACCOUNTABLE!
by Bill Stumpf
“Heard On The Street”
That is the queston. Some politcians think they are above
the law and not accountable for their actons. This produces cor- Compiled by
rupton, waste, fraud, and abuse in government. The politcal elite Jamal Melancon
who commit acts of criminal misconduct get a slap on the wrist, or
even worse their crimes are covered up and not prosecuted.
Local citizens
The problem goes far beyond mismanagement of the SWB, were asked:
the illegal use of government credit cards, or corrupton in the State
Police. Additional cases also involve the FBI, IRS, social media Is the right of self
executves, university administrators, violent actvist groups, and defense important to
others. These bad actors undermine our democracy, circumvent you?
the U.S. Constituton, and ignore law and order.

Where is the outrage ? We need righteous indignation on

Kevin Debos: Self-defense is very im-
the part of honest citizens. That is part of the cure. portant because your life is at stake.
I think it’s important to have self-de-
We must ask ourselves: What is at stake? One answer is fense laws because your life is in jeop-
American greatness. Our American lifestyle, its values and princi- ardy. What else are you going to do?
ples and our very liberty are all being eroded. And most important-
ly, this will effect the future of our children and grandchildren.

How do we solve this? First and foremost, we must elect the

Danielle Richard: It is. I should
best people to office. Qualites to consider are character and integ-
be able to protect myself and
rity - not just name recogniton, or race and gender. Politcal dynas-
my loved ones. Nothing should
tes? Please, no thank you. Measure a person’s abilies and fitness
be provoked, but at the same
by their track record and accomplishments, or lack thereof.
time I should be able to defend
my own life and the life of my
In additon, ensure that they are puting our country and our
loved ones.
fellow citzens first. Hold our politcians accountable. They must
understand that they work for the people and answer to us.
James Hockenbury: It’s pretty
Do not think that we cannot change things. Don’t be apa- damn important. I say it is really
thetic. Individually, we have little influence but together we can important. If somebody attacks
me, I want to defend myself.
make big changes. Get involved with organizations like the Home
Defense Foundation. Heck, we have changed the law in Louisiana,
as the website explains (HdfNola.org).

And encourage others, especially the next generation, to get

Chris Beebe: You should be able to
involved. We must not remove ourselves from the struggle between
defend yourself. I mean, look, I have
of right and wrong, or good versus evil. Be a great American. Do
two black eyes. I got snuck up on.
something that makes a dfference.
Some guy broke my nose and busted
up my lip. It’s a violent city man. You
Someone once said, “Evil will succeed only if good people should be able to defend yourself.
do nothing.” You know what ? He was right !

Bill Stumpf is a homeowner and taxpayer in Greater New Orleans.

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 Jailbirds Set Free to Commit More Crimes in LA
by Jeff Crouere
This past summer Gov. John Bel Ed-
wards was successful in passing leg-
islation that overhauled the criminal
justice system. Those bills directed
state officials to reduce Louisiana’s
incarceration rate by 10%. The re-
ductions were supposed to save tax-
payers as much as $262 million over
the next decade.
Historically, Louisiana has suffered from a large population of
criminals, so it is not surprising that we have the highest incar-
ceration rate in the world, and this fact was used by legislative
supporters as a rallying cry to pass the “reform” package.
After Governor Edwards signed the bills, the release of 1,900
state prisoners was set for November 1, 2017. Only those of-
fenders who served at least 35% of their sentence and were
considered “non-violent” were eligible for the program.
The Governor’s Press Secretary claimed these releases “were
implemented with significant success” and will eventually
lead to increased “public safety” - but this assessment was
New Orleans Hires
“Ethics Specialist”
Mr. Porky Rigged has been
hired by the City of New
Orleans as its new Ethics
Specialist.
Mr. Rigged will advise all
members of City Govern-
ment how to cover up end
fraud and corruption.
In addition, he will also be
counseling the Sewerage
and Water Board in their
efforts to place nine workers
on a two man job, versus the
six men currently employed.
not shared by many Sheriffs and DA’s who predicted violent
criminals would be unleashed on the public. It turns out that leg-
islators should have listened to their advice. Hours after the pris-
oners were released, an armed robbery was committed in Kenner
by Tyrone “Smokey” White, one of the criminals set free.
Fortunately, White was apprehended, but unfortunately, his case
is indicative of what could be in store for the people of Louisi-
ana in the near future. According to Kenner Police Chief Michael
Glaser, “You can’t imagine the amount of frustration we have
here in law enforcement. We knew it was coming.”
White had a 40-page criminal record with over 50 arrests for
burglary alone. His crimes ranged from illegal possession of a
stolen handgun to resisting a police officer. He is the type of
criminal who should have never been released.
I ask: How many other “non-violent offenders” sprung from
prison will be committing serious crimes in the days ahead?
Jeff Crouere, a New Orleans native, is the author of “Americas Last Chance,”
available on JeffCrouere.com. Contact him at jeff@ jeffcrouere.com
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