Louisiana Constitutional Carry Bill

Louisiana passed a strong Constitutional protection for the right to keep and bear arms in 2012. Representative Barry Ivey is working to modernize the state laws to reflect the change desired by the voters.  Louisiana law recognizes the right to carry weapons openly, but requires a permit to carry concealed. From wafb.com:

However, House Bill 68 by Baton Rouge lawmaker, Rep. Barry Ivey, would do away with the permitting process. That means anywhere a person can legally carry a gun openly, they could also carry a concealed gun without a permit. Convicted felons would still not be allowed to carry.

HB 68 would not “do away” with the permitting process. The permitting process would remain in place. It simply would not be mandatory any longer. A commenter at legiscan writes that it is the House Administration of Criminal Justice committee that has killed the bill in the past. She notes that the requirements for a permit chill the exercise of the right to bear arms for many. From the comments at legiscan.com:

This bill has been shot down multuple times in the past years by the House Administration of Criminal Justice. It is time to let the poeple you represent vote on whats right for them and let this bill pass on to a vote of the people. Instead we have politicians who think they know whats best for you or police who dont want to deal with any hassle. Guess what, criminals are going to conceal anyway so this only affects law abiding citizens and the state because they count on this money. The only help we need on this one is to let us vote. There are alot of good people in this state that cant afford to take time off work ( not open on weekends)not to mention the $500.00 fee to get a lifetime concealed permit.

Louisiana has a shall issue concealed carry that was passed in 1996. Several incremental improvements in the law have been passed since then.  Honorably discharged veterans have been exempted from fees for the five year license. People who have had felony convictions expunged can now obtain permits. A lifetime permit is offered.

But those improvements still require the permit, with is not consistent with the Louisiana Constitutional Amendment. From the Constitution on the State of Louisiana:

Section 11. The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.

It is hard to see that the requirement for a permit to conceal carry would pass the strict scrutiny standard. 13 other states do not require permits, and their crime rates are generally lower than that of Louisiana, so proving that the permit lowers crime would be difficult.

Passage of HB  68 seems unlikely this year. But New Hampshire and North Dakota have passed Constitutional Carry bills, and Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin bills are in play.

Montana passed a “permitless” carry bill for the third time this year. The bill would have extended “permitless” carry to the 1% of the state where a permit is required, but it was vetoed for a second time by Governor Bullock. South Dakota passed a Constitutional Carry bill for the second time, to have it vetoed the second time by Governor Daugaard.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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