Cowboys and legislation

The law says I can carry a firearm without fear of arrest in Louisiana, so long as I do it openly, meaning not concealed, just hanging out there in a holster like Wyatt Earp did, and I can tell you that when I first became a resident of this state, the idea was certainly appealing.

Tell me anyone else who enjoyed playing cowboy, or cops and robbers, even if it was on sun-baked urban sidewalks, would not get a thrill from the idea.

It is a privilege I have never taken advantage of, however. For one thing, I figure it would make neighbors and other people kind of nervous. For another, I figure that such open carrying, taking away as it does the element of surprise, might more likely in my being forced to use a weapon, or be hurt or killed because some wise guy would want to get a drop on me first.

Tim Barker, a licensed firearms instructor at Tri-parish Police Supply in Houma, says there are no studies that show one is at greater risk from carrying a shooting iron exposed for everyone to see, although common sense would dictate it’s not necessarily a good idea.

I have no doubt that I could qualify for a concealed carry permit, which is available with some ease from the Louisiana State Police so long as you meet some minimum requirements and take the required course, the kind Tim Barker teaches. But so far I haven’t felt the urge to do so. From where I sit, as a news reporter, there has been reason for me to write a lot more about good people who possess firearms getting killed or accidentally killing people and coming to regret it, than cases where it all worked out in a good way. The open carry option is there, of course, which I don’t think is such a bad idea for those who don’t mind the world knowing they are strapped. It just doesn’t personally appeal to me.

But now we have this proposed law that would allow anyone, so long as they are not a convicted felon, adjudged mentally ill, or otherwise barred from buying or possessing a gun to carry a sidearm concealed in Louisiana. And the concept is to me a little bit scary.

As mentioned, any thought I might have had of carrying a weapon concealed, while an option for me, is something I have not acted on. The spirit hasn’t moved me to do so, and in reviewing that I have to figure the spirit is pretty smart. My guardian angel likely whispers to me when I don’t even realize it, and it is likely this is among those items where he has subliminally shared something that makes sense to my inner self. I am an instant gratification kind of guy, so the waiting and the classes and all are just not for me.

I wonder how many other people are like me, maybe they own a firearm and keep it in their house – hopefully not under the pillow, loaded, with kids around, like a certain grandmother in New Orleans – but wouldn’t carry it outside. Or maybe they might keep it in their automobile. But they would not take that extra step. And then I hear some of the stories that gun dealers have told me, about people of small stature with hands that are not very strong, buying their first gun maybe, without realizing that the Clint East-wood-style .44 they have eyed will likely knock them on their posterior once they fire it. It makes me wonder, if no permit is required for carrying a gun in this state without anyone knowing you have it, what it may mean in terms of loss of life.

From what I have heard so far this law stands a really good chance of passing, although law enforcement types, who have seen more than I ever have in terms of bad things happening to good people because of guns, will likely oppose it. And it makes me wonder whether I would be likely, if that happens, to buy one of those shoulder holsters I have coveted since I was a kid watching Kojak and take a side-arm along during my next stroll in the French Quarter, or down Main Street in Houma. It makes me wonder, as well, if you think it should be that easy for me to do it.

Cowboys and legislation

This replica is the gun John DeSantis played with as a boy, and the only one he has ever carried concealed, also as a child.

JAMES LOISELLE | THE TIMES