BATON ROUGE — The bill that would have allowed permitless concealed carry for residents over 21 failed two days before the legislative session is scheduled to come to an end.
State Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, voluntarily deferred HB 131 after several amendments were added that he did not support.
The original bill aimed at allowing people 18 and older to conceal carry a gun without training or a permit.
The bill passed the House floor on May 23 with 71 representatives in favor and 29 against. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 4-1 vote on May 30.
It was recommitted to the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs to discuss the bill’s potential fiscal impact.
Supporters of the bill argue that it aligns with the Second Amendment and brings Louisiana in line with 27 other states with similar constitutional carry laws.
“Forcing law-abiding citizens to pay a tax while asking the government’s permission can be nothing less than infringing on that right,” McCormick said.
“The Second Amendment declares that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Unfortunately, Louisiana has been infringing on that God-given right for too long, forcing law-abiding citizens to pay a tax and seek government permission,” McCormick said. “These rights are enshrined in the founding documents. We must restore these rights for the law-abiding citizens of Louisiana.”
One proposed amendment would have required everyone to complete an online handgun education course to receive a concealed handgun permit. Another amendment would have extended the online course duration from two hours and 15 minutes to 4.5 hours.
“I was at the gun shop picking up a gun I had ordered, and while I was there, there was a young man there also purchasing a handgun,” said Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria. “He stuck it down in his waistband, walked around with it a little bit, and took it back out. And he said, ‘Okay, that’s the one I want.’ And the lady that owned the gun shop said, ‘Is there anything you need to know about this gun?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, how do you load it?’ If that doesn’t demonstrate that this can be problematic without just a little bit of training, I don’t know what else does.”
“We’re going to allow 21-year-olds or whoever to purchase a semiautomatic handgun,” he added. “That’s incredibly dangerous if you don’t know how to use it correctly and not require any training. That just makes absolutely no sense to me.”
Another amendment proposed would have required individuals to present their valid current driver’s license or identification card issued by the State of Louisiana when a law enforcement officer is made aware that they are concealed carrying.
“Constitutional carry by definition, my supporters wouldn’t want any required training or a government list that their name would go on,” McCormick said.
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Keep muttering to yourself: “Land of the Free, Land of the Free, Land of the Free: NOT
No one under 21 should be able to get handguns. That has been a law for as long as I can remember and I’m almost 52 now. Kids don’t need them and a regulation does not stomp on your rights to have a gun. I grew up around guns and the kids of this generation has no business at all owning a hand gun before 21. You nra gun nuts need to get off your high horse and start worrying about the kids of this country instead of trying to prove your manhood and yall know what the hell I’m talking about
Carrying a concealed weapon at any age is not a God given right, for those that read the Bible remembering the 10 Commandments “Thou Shalt Not Kill” is just one of God’s commands. And the founding fathers did not have to deal with the type and sheer lunacy of the people in the United States, i.e. just another mass shooting in the state of Virginia at a high school graduation ceremony. So far this year as of late May 2023 there have been 279 mass shootings across the US, and that doesn’t even count the ones like a young woman pulls into the wrong driveway or another woman was shot just because her friend parked her car in the neighbors driveway, all that the founding fathers could not even perceive possible along with mindset of today’s citizens.
TWO of the comments here clearly explain why this ONCE-great Republic no longer is
So long as Americans are eligible to enlist in the military, they must also be eligible to purchase (and carry) a firearm.
way too much common sense for the intentionally ignorant, but thanks for trying
Little in the military. There they are under watch all the time and they don’t carry their weapons off the base. These Gen z kids has no common sense. Not like it was when us 50 year Olds grew up. Times are different now and people are getting dumber with every generation to come
Amen i agree 100%
Why would he pass a bill like this how many killings are happening in this world today especially in Florida!! Do he know how much deaths are going to happen this is so wrong and sad! God please help us in America and Dade County!! Please people speak up about this matter before July 1st.😢😢😢
You people just don’t and never will get it.
Only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun