by Louisiana became the 28th state to sign permitless carry into law as of today. While it had been passed by the Louisiana legislature in past sessions, previous Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-LA) would veto it. What a difference a year and a new governor makes. Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) today signed SB 1 – Constitutional Carry – as one of the bills passed during the Special Session on Crime.
SB 1 allows for the permitless concealed carry by anyone age 18 or above who is not otherwise prohibited. The law does not restrict it to residents of the State of Louisiana. It goes into effect on July 4, 2024. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Blake Miguez (R-New Iberia).
Thanks to the efforts of Rob Vance, my long running series of Every Picture Tells A Story has the update which adds Louisiana. This series has been running since 2011 and the changes to the gun rights landscape have been monumental.
I am still holding out hope that a permitless carry bill of some stripe will pass the North Carolina General Assembly this spring. It will need a spending or fiscal component attached to it. We almost had it passed through the House of Representatives at the crossover deadline until opposition from the NRA caused Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) to pull the bill. Meanwhile, a bill allowing permitless carry in South Carolina is bouncing back and forth between the House and the Senate. I would not foresee any more of the “shall-issue” states passing permitless or constitutional carry in the near future.
Strange how changing governors makes such a difference. That was how Texas got Shall issue in the 1990s. If the Carolinas adopt Constitutional Carry, they may be the last states to do so for awhile. I’m not sure the remaining Shall Issue states would go that route.
Why did the NRA oppose the North Carolina attempt?
Two reasons. First, there was a provision in the bill at the insistence of the Speaker of the House that people take a class on the deadly use of force. It could either be online or in person. It was thought that it could be written out of the bill after the Senate go it. The NRA made a pious announcement an hour before the bill could get its 3rd reading saying they couldn’t compromise on rights. The second and most probable reason is that it wasn’t their bill. They did not testify for it nor write it. The “not invented here” aspect made it anathema in their eyes.
Having constitutional carry or shall issue does little good if everyplace is a “gun-free zone”. That is the current trend in those portions of the map formerly red or yellow. It is blatantly illegal and the Supreme Court might get around to opining on it in a decade or so and then the anti-self defense states will just pass a slightly different version or just outright nullify.
I would agree with you on this and no-carry zones.
As to the anti-self defense states, their actions are so like that of the Southern states after Brown v. Board of Education. They are dragging their feet with “all deliberate speed”. They may object to this but it is true.