NEWSMAKERS
January 27, 2016
Longtime Vandebilt coach passes away
January 27, 2016
Like other Louisiana state representatives, Tanner Magee is spending a lot of time right now poring over budget items, preparing for a special session during which Louisiana, its accounts depleted, will pay its bills for the rest of the year.
But the communications the freshman representative has received so far, overwhelmingly, have nothing to do with the budget, but a bill that has been pre-filed in advance of the March regular session.
House Bill 4, submitted by state Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Baton Rouge, would allow voters to decide whether Louisiana should do away with permits allowing the concealed carry of firearms, as an affirmation of the right to keep and bear arms contained in both the state and federal constitutions.
In other words, passage of the resolution could lead to wholesale carrying of a firearm, concealed, by anyone who is lawfully authorized to purchase and possess one.
“I have gotten more emails from constituents on that bill than I have any of the budget stuff,” said Magee, who hasn’t read the legislation yet but notes that he ran on a campaign that supported gun rights.
Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, has reviewed the legislation, and is already certain she will support the bill.
“I love it,” Amedee said. “I’ve been asked to become a co-author. I expect much support. This is Louisiana …“
An additional bill pre-filed by Ivey, HB-6, goes further by bypassing the constitutional amendment route and excludes carrying a concealed handgun from the crime of illegal carrying of weapons “for certain persons.”
Those persons are Louisiana residents 21-years or older, who are not prohibited from firearms possession due to mental illness, domestic violence convictions or having a felony record, or any other issue that makes them ineligible to own or possess a firearm under federal law.
While the lawmakers are getting plenty of fan mail favoring the bills, law enforcement officials are watching closely the development of the proposed legislation. Stripping the need for carry permits, some have said, can place the general public and law enforcement at great risk.
“I think it would be very bad policy to authorize concealed carry without training or prerequisites on behalf of individuals who are authorized to carry,” said Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre, noting that at one time sheriffs were authorized to grant permits to people within their parishes. That ability was stripped by former Gov. Mike Foster, placing authorization for concealed carry in the hands of the Louisiana State Police, who vet all permit applicants.
Obtaining the permit requires a documented, approved training process, a program that Lafourche has accommodated generously with widespread training available to anyone seeking a state permit. If Ivey’s HR 6 is passed as written, such requirements would be eliminated.
Under current Louisiana law people who are not legally barred from owning sidearms may carry them openly, although concealed carrying is not allowed without the permit.
“You can’t just have a bill that says everybody can carry,” said Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter. “I don’t think we want 20,000 people for Mardi Gras carrying guns.”
Despite the apparent groundswell of support for the measure, Larpenter said he believes getting such a law passed will be easier said than done.
“That bill is going to have to be really worked and defined as to where you can carry a gun,” the sheriff said. “I haven’t looked at it although I know some states are going to that. What is going to happen is it might be like a permit but not going through the permit section. You still can’t go to someone’s house with a gun without permission, you can’t go to a bank, it will end up with everyone putting up a sign saying they don’t want guns on the premises. That bill has no teeth, you will have to clarify where you can carry a gun.”
Current drafts of Ivey’s bills have no such qualifying language.
The only reference to state law in the text that would bar concealed carrying is RS 14:95.1, which bars convicted felons from carrying firearms. •
