In Louisiana, you can now carry a gun concealed without a permit, but the controversial new law isn’t a catch all.
Transcript
In Louisiana, you can now carry a gun concealed without a permit. The law went into effect on the 4th of July after Gov. Jeff Landry signed it into law back in March.
Until then, residents in Louisiana could legally open carry, but had to be at least 21 years of age to own a handgun and pass a class to carry concealed. Those classes present gun owners with safety guidelines, information about self defense law, and a final shooting test at a range like this one.
Now, anyone over the age of 18 can carry any weapon concealed–even though 18 year olds can’t legally smoke or drink.
The bill has been years in the making, and fell short of passage prior to Landry’s administration. Former governor John Bel Edwards vetoed an identical bill in 2021. The law has also previously been criticized by law enforcement across the state.
Back in 2021, former Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman said that the bill was “not well thought out”, and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff said that permitless concealed carry would endanger the law enforcement community and the general public.
Twenty-seven other states have removed permitting requirements for carrying concealed weapons.
Still, the new law isn’t a catch-all, and there are several circumstances where you’d still need a permit to carry lawfully. And with the governor’s new tough-on-crime laws, a lack of research could land people in legal hot water. The bill’s author, Lafayette area Sen. Blake Miguez also noted that concealed carry permit holders will receive “a civil immunity under the law” if they have to use their weapons in a self-defense scenario.