Constitutional Carry of a Handgun in Louisiana

3/2/2024

The topic for this Current Events video is not necessarily a new topic or event, as this proposed legislation is a re-do of previously proposed legislation, but that does not make is any less important to talk about, especially since it is expected to be signed into law by the Louisiana Governor, Jeff Landry very soon.

On July 4th, 2024, Louisiana will become the 28th state to allow permitless concealed carry of a handgun. This is great news for people who want to exercise their Second Amendment right without having to first petition and pay the government for approval to use a right they already have.

As mentioned before, this is not a new proposal of legislation. In previous attempts, the concept of legislation either failed to pass the Louisiana Senate or was vetoed by the previous Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards.

This time though, a modified version of previously proposed permitless carry/constitutional carry legislation passed the Louisiana Senate on February 28, 2024, by a vote of 76 – 28. The State Senator who spearheaded this legislation, Senate Bill 1, is Senator Blake Miguez.

Not only is Senator Blake Miguez pro Second Amendment, but he is also an avid and expert shooter. He was a contestant on Top Shot for Season 1 and Season 5 and an expert consultant for Season 2. He has been a competitive shooter for most of his life. He is also a licensed attorney in the State of Louisiana. His practical knowledge and real-world experience with firearms, along with law makes him a subject matter expert on this legislation, which is very important.

The next step is for the new Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry to sign it, which he is expected to do very soon or depending on when you are watching this video, he may have already done. Not only is Governor Landry pro Second Amendment, but he is also a subject matter expert on this new legislation. Prior to being elected as the 57th Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry served in the military and was also a law enforcement officer here in Louisiana. In 2010 he was elected to the U.S. Congress and in 2016 he was elected as the 45th Attorney General of Louisiana.

Once Senate Bill 1 is signed by Governor Landry it will have an effective date of July 4th, 2024.

Senate Bill 1 is very simple in nature, and I would encourage you to read it for yourself by clicking on the link in the description of this video. That being said, I’ll quickly discuss the important aspects of this bill.

Any person who is 18 years of age or older and is not prohibited from possessing a firearm by state or federal law is allowed to conceal carry a handgun without a permit. The Bill specifically states person. In previous versions of this Bill, it stated a resident of Louisiana. Amending the text from resident of Louisiana to person is an important change because it allows for any person from any state who meets the legal requirements to carry a concealed handgun to do so here in Louisiana.

Another change was to the minimum age requirement. Again, in previous versions of this Bill the minimum age was 21. That has now been amended to 18 years of age, which I think is a positive change since the age of majority in Louisiana, the age at which an individual is legally considered an adult is 18. If a person is allowed to enter military service at 18, they should be allowed to carry a weapon (open or concealed).

I think adjusting the minimum age requirement was important for many reasons, one of them being this. In 2022 the Louisiana Senate passed Bill 143, Act 680 which allowed any resident of Louisiana who is currently serving or has served in the military to carry a concealed handgun without a permit as long as they were not prohibited from possessing a firearm and 21 years of age or older. This legislation was a step in the right direction, but what bothered me about it is the minimum age requirement. What it effectively said was, a person 18 - 20 years of age is old enough to die for their country on foreign soil, but not old enough to carry a concealed handgun in their own state.

I am very grateful that Senate Bill 1 has corrected that.

There are some restrictions of concealed carry as it pertains to Senate Bill 1. A person cannot carry a concealed handgun in any facility, building, zone, or area in which firearms are banned by state or federal law. A person who is carrying a concealed handgun into a private residence must first receive the consent of that person.

Of course, this new legislation is not welcomed by everyone. There are a lot of anti-Second Amendment people or groups who think this will turn all of Louisiana into the O.K. Corral. To them I simply say, allowing law abiding people to carry a concealed handgun for their protection without a permit does not add to the actions of violent, lawless criminals.

A criminal by definition is a person who defies a law in order to commit a crime. For instance, if the only way a person in Louisiana could legally carry a concealed handgun was by permit, then law abiding people who did not have a concealed carry permit would not carry a concealed handgun because they would be breaking the law.

You know who would carry a concealed handgun without a permit though?...Criminals. You know why?...because they don’t care what the law states because they’re criminals.

Criminals also murder people even though murder is against the law. My point is, criminals are going to criminal no matter what the law says. So, a law that mandates people have a conceal carry permit to conceal carry a handgun only prevent law abiding people who do not have a permit from carrying a concealed handgun, not criminals.

Something else to consider is, the permit process has a monetary cost associated with it that not every person can afford to pay, therefore ensuring that a law-abiding person who does not have the extra financial means to afford a concealed carry permit cannot use a right that is already theirs to use. You know where the majority of crime happens? In low-income areas.

When a state implements a permit process to conceal carry a handgun, they (the state) turn a right into a privilege based on wealth. If a person can afford the extra cost of a permit, they then have the privilege of using their “right”. If a person cannot afford the extra const of a permit, they are denied the privilege of using their ‘right”.

So, a law-abiding, low-income person who might live in a high-crime area and who would potentially benefit the most from carry a concealed handgun for their protection cannot do so because the state has removed their right based on their wealth. That is not how it should be, but unfortunately, that’s government.

Thankfully, Louisiana is correcting this by allowing any law-abiding person (regardless of their wealth) who decides to exercise their Second Amendment right to do so without first petitioning and paying the government for approval to conceal carry a handgun.

Let me go back to the permit process for a second. Part of the permit application process is mandatory training. This includes legal information on when, how, and why you can do certain things pertaining to using a handgun in a self-defense situation (use of force training), along with when, how, and why you can or cannot carry a concealed handgun into certain places. The applicant is also required to do a live fire shoot to ensure they can safely and accurately handle a handgun.

Some people have a legitimate concern regarding the new permitless carry law because there is no mandate of training required for those who decide to conceal carry. I would agree that training is a good thing and would greatly benefit those who decide to carry concealed, but I do not believe that government can or should mandate training as a requirement to use a right.

It’s a slippery slope. If they make it a requirement for one right, they can make it a requirement for all rights. Imagine if the government mandated training in order for you to use your First Amendment right or your Fourth Amendment right. Again, when government attaches requirements to a right in order for you to use it, it is no longer a right, but a privilege.

That being said, I absolutely believe a person who chooses to exercise their Second Amendment right should seek out training, especially if they are going to conceal carry. Training is only going to benefit that individual. Here in Louisiana, there are many companies that provide firearms training, Intuitive Defense being one of them.

If you are not familiar with our training, we offer several options including basic pistol and rifle courses along with advanced pistol and rifle courses. We also have a concealed carry training course. This is not a permit course but rather a carry course designed to help people become more confident and proficient when carrying a concealed handgun.

The whole point of being armed is to better protect yourself or others if you are placed in a self-defense situation. The last thing you want to do is use that firearm, but if that is your only option, you need to be prepared.

Our concealed carry training course focuses on many important aspects of carrying a concealed handgun. Some of the information covered in that course is, but not limited to:

Firearm considerations
Firearm accessory considerations (optics, weapon mounted lights, night sights, etc.)
Holster considerations
Carry location considerations (hip, appendix, inside the waistband, outside the waistband, etc.)
Reloading
Correcting malfunctions
Strong hand only shooting
Support hand only shooting
Shooting while moving
Cover and concealment considerations
Legal considerations
Emergency medical considerations and self-aid

To learn more information about this course, please click here: Concealed Carry Tactics Course

Granted, training has a monetary cost associated with it that not everyone can afford, and I understand that, which is why I would like to see the State of Louisiana encourage people to get training by allowing for a tax credit. There are details that would need to be worked out, but overall, it is a very reasonable and simple concept in my opinion.

Even if the state did not offer a tax credit, but a person sought out training on their end, I believe they would still come out ahead in terms of cost. With the previous concealed carry permit process, on average a person would spend approximately $300 just to get a permit.

That cost would include the concealed carry training, application fees, photo, and fingerprints. That cost could be more depending on training course fees and permit type. A 5-year concealed carry permit is $125 for a person 21 – 64 and a lifetime permit is $500 for a person 21 -64.

In my opinion most concealed carry permit courses are mediocre training at best. That being said, mediocre training is better than no training at all. I believe though with the new permitless carry law, if a person takes that previous average cost of $300 to get a permit and puts that towards basic firearms training or a purpose-built concealed carry training course, they will receive better training now than with a specific permit training course.

My Conclusion

Those are my observations and opinions. Although this new Bill is specific to Louisiana and the people living here, it still benefits people visiting the state. In the bigger picture is also positively helps enforce the rights and freedoms protected by the Second Amendment by adding another permitless carry/constitutional carry state to the growing list of states standing up for our right to better protect ourselves if and when a person in thrust into a self-defense situation.

Violent, lawless criminals are going to carry a gun regardless of what the law states, therefore recognizing our right and allowing law abiding people the opportunity to carry a concealed handgun without a permit now puts criminals at a disadvantage.

Again, I am gratefully for those in leadership positions who are diligently working to protect our rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, there are still some states where their leadership is diligently working to deprive their people of their rights and freedoms as it pertains to the Second Amendment.

I’m not going to mention any names, but Governor Gavin Newsom of California is one such person. Although he is continually surrounded by an armed security detail for his protection, he is actively working to limit and reduce the rights and ability of citizens there to own and carry guns for their protection.

Be fearful of the person who is surrounded by guns demanding you give up yours. Again, I don’t want to say any names, but the Governor of New Mexico, Michelle Grisham is another anti-Second Amendment leader who is boastfully working to infringe on people’s rights and freedoms.

Remember, government cannot 100% guarantee your safety 100% of the time, therefore self-defense is a personal responsibility. If and when you are put into a life-or-death situation due to the actions of a lawless, violent criminal, you will be there at that moment, not government which is why it is import you rely on your own abilities and means (gun ownership) to protect yourself, not government.

The governments job is to protect our rights so we can protect ourselves, not limit our rights. Unfortunately, there are many elected “leaders” who act as though the Second Amendment is meant to limit what the people can and cannot do or what they can and cannot own, but in fact, the only limitation stated within the Second Amendment applies to government – “shall not be infringed”.

I hope that more states continue taking pro Second Amendment actions and that more people wake up to the idea that self-defense is a personal responsibility.