Saturday, April 22, 2017

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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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I continue to complain about the play on words or play with words. If you are a citizen in say the state of California and you cross the river border line into Arizona, has your citizenship changed? are you still a united states Citizen if you are in California or Arizona or any other state line you happen to cross? the second amendment is a national right. No state can deny a federally guaranteed right. One state requires open carry and another state forbids open carry, when In Fact open or concealed carry is an un enumerated right protected by the ninth amendment. the freedom of choice. In Germany, when I was there, it was illegal for any one to have a car painted green. that was the color reserved for the police cars. It used to be illegal for an American car to be painted red for the same reason red was for fire trucks and emergency vehicles. the it was determined that was a violation of the freedom of choice. If I want a red car I can have a red car and I have had a red car and I have had a green car and a yellow car and a grey car and a blue car because it was my choice. I can carry open or concealed and that is my choice. riding the range I may want to carry in a waste belt holster in open carry fashion, going out to dinner in a suit and tie I may want to use my double shoulder holster rig. MY choice, My ninth amendment right.

Anonymous said...

People need to understand what the bill of rights is. it is a list of the rights well established to be those rights given to humans by their creator, God, Before government ever existed. Because God gave us those rights and those rights were not taxed by God, the government we created has no authority to tax those rights either. Government can not tax any thing it did not create. Since Government did not create our rights it has no power over those rights. Now when government creates a privilege it can license or tax or regulate that privilege. the problem government has is to define what a privilege is, that it created. Remembering the wording of the ninth amendment. we have many rights not specifically listed in the bill of rights and those rights can not be licensed, taxed or regulated either. It is no bodies business what I carry, How I carry , where I carry , when I carry or what I carry. I do not pick their under ware and they do not pick mine. there are those people that may enjoy a bloody nose better than telling me what they think I should do. I am a US citizen first then I am a resident of a state. the federal law /constitution/ bill of rights is supreme to state constitutions/ laws /regulations. The supreme court has ruled your rights go with you where ever you travel in this country. because the supreme court has made that ruling. it is federal law. States have no legal authority to pass infringing gun laws because the second amendment is in the federal constitution which is superior to any state constitution. the tenth amendment makes it very clear the states must recognize the federal constitutions authority over their own. remember only ratified amendments change the constitution. the 1934 NFA, 1968, 1986 federal gun control acts are ACTS are federal laws NOT Ratified Constitutional Amendments. thy are all constitutionally void and unenforceable. ACTS and LAWS do not Amendments make!!!