Gov. Jeff Landry

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.