Governor Jeff Landry was just elected in October, but he's already come barreling out of the courts, guns blazing. Or in this case, guns tucked under a coat or in a waistband or in a shoe, for all we know. This new legislation grants any gun owner over the age of 18 the legal right to conceal carry firearms without a permit or training. This mean that no live-fire training is required for the teenager who can now legally carry a hidden gun on him in public—while being unable to drink at a bar or rent a car.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry will sign the bill into law. It was one of Landry's priorities for the Special Session designed to crack down on criminals in an effort to reduce crime.
Republican House Pro-Tem Mike Johnson of Pineville presented Miguez's bill in the House, telling members expanding concealed carry will allow adults 18 and older "to safely exercise their right of self-defense."
Greg Hilburn, USA Today
Reduce crime? Louisiana already has staggeringly lax gun laws and exceedingly high gun violence. SB1 is meant to apply to "law abiding" citizens. What that means exactly is up to for grabs. There are a ton of nebulous phrases and loopholes in these bills, making the implementation and legal viability of the senate bills questionable at best.
Lawmakers also passed Miguez's Senate Bill 2, which grants immunity from civil liability to anyone with a concealed-carry permit who shoots and injures or kills a "perpetrator." Miguez says that will encourage people who carry concealed handguns to get training and permits.
[…] Marino adds that SB 1, the so-called "constitutional carry" law, will actually make law enforcement officers' jobs more dangerous.
"A police officer friend told me that going forward, cops can assume people may be legally packing guns," Marino said. "Even in routine traffic stops, everyone will be asked to step out of the car and place their hands on the hood. Everyone will be patted down for officer safety."
Clancy Dubos, Nola.com
We'll see if Louisiana surpasses Mississippi in gun crime soon enough.
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