Gun Bills to be Heard in Senate and House Committees

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 17^th, several gun bills will be taken up by committees in both the House and Senate.

First, at 9:30 am, it will be “gun day” in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, where pro-gun bills HB 62, HB 721, SB 194, and SB 214, and anti-gun bills HB 408, HB 498, and HB 627 are scheduled to be heard.

Then at 1:00 pm, the anti-gun bill SB 419 by Senator Kirk Talbot (R) is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee.

Please TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION to contact the members of the House and Senate Committees regarding these gun bills!

House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee:

Pro-Gun Bills:

HB 62 by Rep. Danny McCormick is known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act which prohibits state and local governments and law enforcement agencies from assisting in the enforcement of federal laws and regulations that violate the rights of Louisianians to keep and bear arms.

HB 721 by Rep. Lauren Ventrella (R) allows K-12 and vo-tech teachers and school administrators to carry a concealed handgun in a school or on a school campus with a Louisiana concealed handgun permit.

SB 194 by Sen. Blake Miguez strengthens Louisiana’s firearm preemption law by further restricting the authority of local governments to regulate firearms to include their “manufacture, …carrying, …storage, …[and] taxation;” adding “firearm accessories, knives, edged weapons, or any combination thereof” to the preemption statute; declaring preempted ordinances enacted by local governments before July 15, 1985, “to be null and void, and of no effect;” and creating a cause of action allowing individuals and organizations to file a lawsuit against any local government that violates the preemption statute. 

SB 214 by Sen. Blake Miguez further restores the right of law-abiding individuals to carry a concealed handgun without government permission by relaxing the restriction on the carrying of a concealed handgun in a restaurant that serves alcohol without a concealed handgun permit. Currently, under Louisiana R.S. 14:95.5 only individuals with a concealed handgun permit are “allowed” to carry a concealed handgun in a restaurant that serves alcohol. SB 214 would amend 14:95.5 to include the concealed carry of a handgun by individuals carrying under Louisiana’s recently passed constitutional carry statute.

Anti-Gun Bills:

HB 408 by Rep. Mandie Landry (D) creates the “Louisiana Voluntary Do Not Sell” list, to establish a system where a person can surrender their inalienable right to purchase and possess firearms by placing themselves on the government’s prohibited person list.

HB 498 by Rep. Alonzo Knox (D) creates additional gun-free zones by prohibiting the possession of firearms in the French Quarter, Downtown New Orleans, and the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

HB 627 by Rep. Mandie Landry (D) expands “gun-free zones” by prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun within 1,000 feet of a parade or demonstration for which a permit is issued by a government entity. The bill also makes it clear that a lack of knowledge that a person was carrying within 1,000 feet of a parade is not a defense.

Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee:

Anti-Gun Bill:

SB 419 in effect designates the entire French Quarter in New Orleans and any venue across the state where a sporting event takes place as a “gun-free zone” for individuals who do not have a Louisiana concealed handgun permit issued under La. R.S. 40:1379.3. If passed, this bill would not only prohibit those who do not have a Louisiana permit from carrying a concealed firearm in certain areas across the state, but it would also deprive law-abiding individuals of the ability to carry a concealed firearm in those same areas under the recently passed Concealed Carry law.

Again, please TAKE ACTION as soon as possible and urge the committee members to SUPPORT your constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms!

In Liberty,

Joshua S. Barnhill
Louisiana Director
Gun Owners of America