Legislation has been filed for the upcoming session that would eliminate the need to have a concealed carry license in order to carry a concealed handgun in Louisiana.
Oil City Representative Danny McCormick says open carry is already legal in Louisiana, and requiring people to get a permit to cover up that gun is just a tax.
“If I have a pistol at my side open carrying and i put a coat on covering it up I all of sudden become a criminal, so it’s the coat tax is what we call it,” says McCormick.
McCormick says putting additional barriers between legal gun owners and their right to carry in public is infringing on basic American rights.
“This is a constitutional right that is granted to us in the constitution and there is no reason for the state to take it away if we have not done something to lose that right, just like our freedom of speech, just like our freedom on religion,” says McCormick.
The legislation still requires a concealed carrier be legal to own firearms. Opponents argue concealed carry creates additional public risk, and so the licensing classes exist to ensure gun owners are responsible and informed enough to concealed carry. McCormick disagrees.
“People already know the law, and the class doesn’t teach you the law per se,” says McCormick.
