On July 4, the permitless gun law is enacted
15th April 2024 · 0 Comments
There was reason to be cautiously optimistic about the falling violent crime rate in New Orleans during the first quarter of 2024 until there wasn’t.
New Orleans ended 2023 with 190 murders – a dramatic 25 percent decrease from last year’s historic high, which earned the city the moniker Murder Capitol of the U.S., according to NOLA.com.
Although violent crime continues its downward trend, in early April, the city experienced a slight uptick, with three homicides, 11 shootings, two carjackings, and eight armed robberies, the Metropolitan Crime Commission (MCC) reported last week.
According to the MCC, much of the violence was concentrated in the St. Roch area of the 5th District and across the 6th District.
Indeed, Marlin Davis, 23, was shot after getting into a fight with another person. Davis was gunned down in the St. Roch neighborhood where icon civil rights leader Oretha Castle Haley lived. His mother, entrepreneur Danielle Brown, rushed to the scene in her sno-ball truck, Danielle’s New Orleans Style Snoballs, to identify her child.
While violent crime is decreasing, the juvenile crime wave hasn’t diminished. Youth are, in many cases, the victims and often the perpetrators. Overall, 27 juveniles were killed last year in the city, compared to 22 in 2022, according to one news report.
Darriel King arrived at his security detail at the Wit’s Inn, a mid-city bar, and never returned home last week. King, 53, was a well-known and good-natured person. He was shot in the chest after denying entry to an intoxicated, armed person younger than the 30-plus age requirement for admission. King was killed for simply doing his job.
The loss of each life is precious, and the loss of one changes the world forever. It is the job of law enforcement and elected officials to see to it that Americans have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
So, someone, please explain why Governor Jeff Landry and Republicans in the state Legislature, who profess to be pro-life, think it’s OK to make it easier for 18-year-olds to concealed carry handguns without permits?
To say GOP state legislators and Governor Landry have thrown Louisianans into harm’s way is putting it mildly. At the very least, Landry and Republican state lawmakers have sold us out to the NRA, but the permitless gun law Landry signed into law, effective July 4, is bound to explode the senseless deaths by gunfire in the city.
Interestingly, ACT 1, signed into law by Landry, does not allow concealed handguns in places where elected officials work, such as the State Capitol, courthouses, airports, churches, parades, schools, or school buses.
Everyone knows however that that prohibition on where a gun can be carried doesn’t stop mass murders and homicides.
And let us not forget that Louisiana does not require a gun license, registration, or mandatory gun ownership training.
Article I, § 11 of the Louisiana State Constitution states: “The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.” This resulted from a constitutional amendment enacted via ballot measure in 2012, the Giffords Law Center explained.
However, the Louisiana Supreme Court also held in 2014 that “[t]he right to keep and bear arms, like other rights guaranteed by [the] state constitution, is not absolute.”
The Louisiana Legislature has the power to write sensible gun control bills. They refuse.
Landry signed S.B. 1 into law on March 5, 2024.
When this article reaches readers, Senate Bill 419, “the gun-free zone” bill introduced by Senator Kirk Talbot, may be defeated.
Talbot is the Republican who represents District 10, which encompasses Kenner, Harahan, River Ridge and portions of Metairie.
SB 419 designates the entire French Quarter a “gun-free zone” and prohibits the carrying of concealed weapons at any venue where an elementary, secondary, collegiate, interscholastic, or professional sporting event takes place.
ACT 1 goes into effect on July 4, and the NRA Institute for Legislative Action is lobbying legislators and NRA members to fight against the passage of SB 419 right now. The group clearly wants Landry to veto the bill if it passes the state Senate.
The bold stripping away of gun safety laws should alarm all Louisianans and visitors to the state.
This article originally published in the April 15, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
