GONZALES — It’s now legal to take your firearm while hunting frogs at night in Louisiana.
Act 109, by Sen. Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales, repealed a prohibition on carrying a rifle, shotgun or firearm while frogging after the sun goes down. The law change went into effect Aug. 1.
Lambert said the firearm ban was likely unconstitutional after state lawmakers expanded gun rights a few years ago and allowed firearms to be carried in more locations. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries asked him to carry the legislation to undo the restriction over concern it conflicted with other state laws.
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Lambert, an attorney, also owns vacation cottages in Pierre Part and takes guests on frog hunts.
“Catching frogs is one of my favorite activities,” Lambert said.
Guns aren’t used to hunt frogs. The prohibition was likely put in place to deter people from illegally hunting deer at night. Lambert said people who had rifles with them to shoot deer could, in theory, claim they were hunting frogs when caught by state Wildlife and Fisheries agents.
Lambert said the ban on guns while frogging could pose a safety concern, especially when it’s dark.
“You’re coming back to a landing at night. No one is around. You never know if you will be accosted,” he said earlier in the year during a legislative hearing.
Frogging season runs from June 1 through March 31 each year. State law allows people to use frog catchers, including devices such as a gig or spear that punctures the frog’s skin, but no equipment is necessary.
“Real people catch frogs with their hands,” Lambert joked during a hearing earlier this year.
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Editor’s Note: The following article from author Julie O’Donoghue was originally published by the Louisiana Illuminator, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians.
Read more from The Louisiana Illuminator @ www.lailluminator.com
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