Louisiana is Now Considering Constitutional Carry Legislation
Jose Nino
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Louisiana State House Representative Danny McCormick recently filed a Constitutional Carry bill, HB 16, in efforts to make Louisiana the 19th Constitutional Carry state.
Under Constitutional Carry, no permit is needed to carry a firearm, whether it be opened or concealed. Dean Weingarten of AmmoLand provided some context to Louisiana’s current political climate:
“The Louisiana legislature has strong Republican majorities in the House and the Senate. 27 – 12 in the Senate, and 68 – 35 in the House, with 2 independents.”
The governor of Louisiana, Bel Edwards is actually a Democrat but as Weingarten noted, he “signed three gun law reform bills in 2020. He might be willing to sign a Constitutional Carry bill. Governor Edwards says he takes a backseat to no one in protecting the right to keep and bear arms.” In states such as Lousiania, there are still relatively sane Democrats when it comes to traditional issues such as the Second Amendment.
Louisiana’s gun laws are not much to write home about, with it being ranked in 24th place for Guns & Ammo magazine’s rankings for best states for gun owners and in 36th place for its concealed carry rankings.
However, concealed carry permits remain quite expensive. Weingarten observed that the permit “costs $125 for the permit, about another hundred or so for the training course required. Total cost for a five-year permit is about $250, including fees for fingerprinting and notary.”
Constitutional Carry is clearly becoming a trend in states nationwide and Second Amendment organizations are quickly picking up on this. Some like the National Association for Gun Rights have been consistently pushing for Constitutional Carry over the last decade.
BLP reached out to Chris McNutt, the Director of Field Operations at NAGR, for comments on Louisiana’s Constitutional Carry bill:
“Louisiana House Bill 16 is NAGR-backed, no compromise Constitutional Carry legislation. It simply states if you are able to legally possess a handgun you should be able to carry it to protect yourself and your family without first begging for government permission. It’s the way our founders intended. We are excited to be working with Rep. McCormick to make Louisiana the 19th Constitutional Carry state,” McNutt stated.
Passing Constitutional Carry would make Louisiana part of one of the fastest growing right wing movements in the U.S. Regardless of what takes place in this session of the Louisiana State Legislature, Constitutional Carry is one legislative effort many political novices on the America First Right can cut their teeth in.
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