Car carry (courtesy ConcealedCarryAcademy.com)

UPDATE: Louisiana today did indeed become the 28th state to pass permitless carry of handguns into law for its residents, when Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed it along with 10 other bills into law earlier today.

 

ORIGINAL STORY: Louisiana is set to become the 28th state in the nation to allow permitless concealed carry of handguns for its residents, following the final approval of Senate Bill 1 by the Louisiana House of Representatives late last week.

The bill, which passed with a 75-28 vote, grants legal gun owners aged 18 and older the ability to carry concealed firearms in public without the need for a permit. The landmark decision is poised to be signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry (R), who has vocally supported the measure, emphasizing that it aligns with the constitutional right to bear arms without government permission.

The bill’s advancement represents a significant victory for 2A proponents and freedom loving Louisianans, who have long championed the cause of unfettered carry in their state. Efforts in previous years, including a close attempt in 2021, were thwarted by veto from then-Governor John Bel Edwards (D) and internal legislative disagreements. However, with Governor Landry’s election in 2023 and a Republican trifecta established for the first time in eight years, the momentum shifted, allowing for another push toward enacting permitless carry.

Senator Blake Miguez (R), the primary sponsor of the bill, hailed the House’s approval as a step toward enabling Louisianans to exercise what he considers a “God-given natural right,” suggesting that the measure will contribute to a reduction in crime.

Despite the overwhelming support for the bill in the state House, the bill had faced considerable opposition from various quarters, including some law enforcement and gun-control advocates. Critics, such as the Louisiana chapter of Moms Demand Action and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, argue that permitless carry will complicate police efforts to ensure public safety and could lead to an increase in gun violence, concerns that haven’t been borne out in the other states where permitless carry has been in practice for years. Some law enforcement organizations, including the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police, have also expressed apprehension the new law could undermine both officer and public safety by making it difficult to swiftly ascertain the legality of someone’s firearm possession. Again, there is no evidence of this occurring at any scale in state’s that have already approved permitless carry and where that is the law.

The bill’s detractors also highlight concerns over the lack of mandatory training and background checks for concealed carry, pointing out that current laws requiring permits ensure that gun owners have undergone essential education on the safe and lawful use of firearms. However, the Second Amendment, does not stipulate a requirement for mandatory training or background checks.

The new law, once signed, is set to take effect on July 4th as a symbolic gesture toward American independence, maintains provisions for individuals to obtain permits voluntarily, primarily for the purpose of interstate reciprocity. It explicitly excludes those with felony convictions or who would otherwise fail a background check from legally carrying concealed firearms.

As Louisiana prepares to join the ranks of states allowing permitless carry, the debate over the practice will no doubt continue. With the majority of states now endorsing some form of permitless carry, the future of such legislation in the remaining states remains uncertain, influenced by political, social, and economic factors unique to each region.

The Reload touched on this issue in their coverage of the passage of the Louisiana bill. Just how many more states might we see permitless carry approved in now or in the coming years?

The bill’s passage in Louisiana is emblematic of gun-rights advocates’ remarkable success in pushing for permitless carry across the nation at a rapid clip. Until 2010, just Alaska and Vermont allowed permitless concealed carry. Now a majority of states allow it.

At the same time, the policy is at or near its soft cap for further growth. There are few remaining states with the political conditions necessary for the policy to pass, namely sizeable Republican majorities and strong pro-gun constituencies. Just one other state, South Carolina, is seriously considering a permitless carry measure this year, and that effort appears to be stalled over infighting between the state’s House and Senate Republicans.

Like the vast majority of permitless carry regimes in the U.S., Louisiana’s bill does not entirely eliminate permits. It would continue to honor existing permits and offer new ones for purposes of interstate reciprocity. Additionally, as in other states, those with felony records or who would otherwise fail a background check to own a firearm cannot legally carry one under the bill.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

40 COMMENTS

    • I was about to comment that Chris. I carry without permit in nearby Indiana “a hotbed of the KKK”. Unlike ILLannoy🙄

    • Smart, lucky LA.
      We will get constitutional carry in New Mexico about the time the next ice age ends.
      Now we will also be facing a 7 day wait for gun purchases – in NM we are neither smart nor lucky.

      New Mexico has one of the most serious crime problems but that is on the dumb politicians and even dumber voters. Catch and release is alive and well here…
      and then we have Alec Baldwin, still free and running his anti 2A mouth off.

    • Ugh, makes sense to carry a gunm with a high capacity standard mugazine nowadays.
      I’m certain things will improve once theBiden gets re-elected, most definitely.

  4. grants legal gun owners aged 18 and older the ability to carry concealed firearms in public without the need for a permit.

    1. Rights are not granted.
    2. Laws do not say what you can do, they say what you can’t
    3. All that is happening in these states is that they now recognize the simple meaning of:
    “Shall not be infringed”.

    • It’s not 1791 anymore. This is a great leap forward. Accept the win. When they come.

  5. Ahhh ohhh, now honest citizens can carry just like the criminals do, well except for the full auto factor.

  6. “The bill, which passed with a 75-28 vote”, is close but the actual number was 76-28 and 1 absent.
    Oddly 3 democrats voted yeah and 3 RHINOs voted nay. The one absent is a democrat who has always voted nay. The Governor is expected to sign the bill soon.
    See the actual vote here:
    https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1349336

    I was in the House when SB1 was presented and witnessed all the old lame excuses and whining. The display of ignorance and stupidity was sickening to say the least. They were not ignorant or stupid i.e., they just would not accept facts.

    All of the arguments were based around “feelings” and as has been said before, “our rights don’t end where their feelings begin”. One representative argued that because of all the black men who have been killed the last few years and he mentioned names such as Trayvon Martin, but he did not mention any of the details surrounding their deaths. Not one(1) in opposition in the House or the Senate ever mentioned all of the other helpless good citizens who lost their lives or were hurt due to the acts of bad guys or those robbed or had their car stolen and so on. Not one word about white folk harmed or killed because they followed the law and were helpless. It was not easy sitting still while listening to all the “what ifs” and nonsense. These types don’t do things relative to right and wrong, but rather act accordingly to a party agenda and feelings and even though it was pointed out that they took an oath to “protect and defend” the constitution, well they ignored those comments.

    So much more could be said but POTG already know. I thank God that we now have a Governor who is willing to stand up to these oath breakers.

  7. I did my small part to help Danny McCormick get relected and Jeff Landry elected. Everything adds up and don’t think it doesn’t especially when the candidates are honorable and deserve more than a vote. Hopefully SC will be next to join the Free States.

    TRUMP 2024.

  8. LaToya da Destroya doesn’t want any of her voting block as well as supporting NOLA gang bankers and criminals injured. Especially ironic when she HAS her boyfriend/security agent Vappie at her beck and call.

    Have you ever seen her? She looks like a bad Dr. Zaius.

    And that poor guy has to service her??? ZUCK!

    Some people will did anything for First Class travel, I guess.

    So it appears that New Orleans will be getting more dangerous for criminals. Too bad!

  9. How can you conceal carry a handgun at 18 if you have to be 21 to purchase said handgun. I mean I suppose you could conceal carry a rifle or shotgun but that wouldn’t be to practical, would it?

  10. While I did not support this bill, it is what it is. My one issue I had was one of the speakers in favor of the bill made the statement that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun”. That is an incorrect statement or at least misleading one. It should be “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a TRAINED good guy with a gun”.

    • Thankfully those opinions are no longer relevant in much of the country. If you feel the need to argue look up NY training requirements for concealed and get back to me as any requirement can be twisted against the law abiding while ignoring those that prey upon them.

      • In Louisiana open carry is permitted without any mandatory training now.
        Training is no guarantee that mistakes will not happen.
        Mandatory training is not supported by the 2nd Amendment.
        Nothing wrong with getting training. Some folk cannot afford formal training; but, there is plenty of Free training available online and once more here is a link to free online training and an account does not have to be created and no personal information is required and it is available 24/7:
        https://www.lsp.org/services/concealed-handgun-information/handgun-education-courses/

        Mandatory training is noting more than a permit system and SAFEupstateFML’s example of N Y is an excellent example of what the powers that be can make training so rigorous and expensive that many physically and financially cannot afford. I am 81 and there is no way I could begin to meet the physical requirements. Persons in wheel chairs etc would be denied because they could not complete the training exercises many states would impose. The left can’t be satisfied for today training is the issue and tomorrow more training is the issue. SB1 in Louisiana is for the good citizens and has nothing to do with bad guys. Bad guys do as They Please NOW.
        Years ago the left would have been better off to keep quiet and support the punishment of criminals.

  11. It is time for this to happen in Louisiana. I have my CC permit and since retired and traveling will keep mine current. Living in the Shreveport area I hear daily reports of shootings. My wife asks me am I carrying when we head downtown or shopping. Such is our world now.

    • An old friend lives in what he calls Shootersport. I am a vet and have a permit. I plan to keep the permit for reasons of credibility and in the rare occasion of traveling out of state. Gov Landry should be signing SB1 soon.

  12. Just reported to me by Rep McCormick that Governor Landry has signed Senate Bill 1 into law earlier today. The effective date is July 4…………Independence Day…………….Freedom

  13. What about restricted carry areas? Court house, police station, schools I understand but along parade routes and some other areas you can’t carry and now you’re vulnerable walking down the street

  15. ‘gun control’ today is part of the far-left violent/criminal extremism Marxist socialism. I think these permit-less carry states have realized the dangers this far-left extremism Marxist socialism poses.

    The gun control today, its self, is Marxist socialism in its inception and implementation. The idea that in our constitutional republic where individual constitutional rights are written in our constitution, with a specific unqualified order issued of ‘shall not be infringed’, can be considered not an individual right but rather a right to be controlled as if a ‘permission granted by the state’ or to be removed or able to be ‘infringed’ at any time, or as a ‘collective right to be controlled by the state’, the concept is part of the very foundation of the Marxist socialism communism ideal.

    They even come out and say it, in many court cases the gun controllers have said the second amendment is a ‘collective right’ they should control and even Biden states its concepts in his speeches and the gun-control orgs are not shy about stating its their goal too. Even dacian and Miner49 express this Marxist socialism communism ideal here in their lies and trolling.

    Its not like its a secret, they come right out and admit it, sometimes with other language but also more directly at times.

    Make no mistake, gun control today is part of the prelude to trying to establish a Marxist socialism communism.

  17. It sure would be nice if we could get to 38 states approving “Constitutional Carry”. That surpasses the 75% threshold needed to enact a United States Constitutional amendment where we could explicitly spell out that governments cannot require licenses or permits to carry firearms–whether openly or concealed–for righteous purposes such as self-defense.

    • Already have that in the 2A.
      However somehow
      “We ain’t saying you can’t have gunms, you just can’t have gunms in town.” became a thing and when a bunch of Cowboys said fck that noise gunm controllers became heroes. Books and Movies. Long live Wyatt Earp.

  18. And……….Illinois is next!!!!!

    Just kidding. Illinoizistan continues to suck.

    • “And……….Illinois is next!!!!!”

      Why not? The left wants the whole world. Big results start with big goals.

  19. Maybe… the Fraternal Order of Police should volunteer to teach free safe gun handling classes. Or teach kids to safely shoot guns. Or teach basic gun and self-defense classes.

    How about support the people’s rights?

  21. Alabama went permit less with some restrictions. Surprise, there weren’t high noon shootouts in every wide place in the road town or major battles in the cities as predicted by the pearl clutching anti gun, anti liberty crowd. Funny how the usual suspect scream about how allowing people to exercise their God given rights to self defense will somehow turn into the Hollywood version of the wild west.
    All permit less means is Joe Citizen, if of age and with no other disqualifications, can have a weapon if they choose in most public spaces without a mother may I card. And you can bet the mayors of cities like Shreveport, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge will be desperately looking for ways to restrict those rights. Can’t endanger the voter base by allowing potential victims to fight back and defend themselves.
    Congrats to the citizens of Louisiana and good on the legislators and governor. About damn time.

  22. Permit less carry is pure insanity promoted by Far Right Barbarians who want to shoot people first and ask questions later.

    One must know the laws of one’s state as to when it is legal to use deadly force.

    One must be trained in safe gun handling and how to carry a gun safely.

  23. The story is only partially true. Louisiana has been an open-carry state since it joined the Union in 1803. It has never been illegal to openly carry a gun in Louisiana.

Comments are closed.