National gun rights organizations are hoping a last-minute campaign to sway lawmakers into heading back to Baton Rouge to override the Governor’s veto of constitutional carry legislation will pay off.
The NRA and National Association for Gun Rights have peppered the state with ads and mailers. NAGR spokesperson Chris Stone says if the veto stands Louisiana will be a regional outlier.
“Right now Louisiana is boarded on every side by states with “constitutional carry”, Texas passed it this year,” Chris Stone said.
Stone said currently there are 21 states that allow the concealed carry of a firearm without needing a permit.
Opponents of the bill are concerned that overturning that veto will lead to more shootings, but Stone said there’s no data from states with similar laws that back up that claim.
“It’s a myth that if you pass “constitutional carry” things are going to turn into the wild west and people are going to start killing each other in the streets and everything is going to crumble,” Stone said.
Some Louisiana Sheriffs and the Louisiana Chiefs of Police Association oppose the bill, saying it will make life hard on law enforcement. Stone said that is not the case.
“The reality is most of these police chiefs, unfortunately, that we’ve seen in other states, we’ve seen this in Alabama, is they don’t like this law because they’re going to be losing out on money,” Stone said.
Lawmakers have until midnight tonight to submit their ballots requesting the upcoming veto override session be canceled.
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