Governor John Bel Edwards vetoes legislation granting the right to conceal carry a firearm without a permit for ages 21 and up. The bill had popular support in both chambers during the session. Edwards said that while he supports Second Amendment rights, he believes conceal carry is a large responsibility and one should undergo proper training.
“I think it strikes the right balance to make sure that individuals go through that background check. That they have training on safety and marksmanship,” said Edwards.
West Monroe Senator Jay Morris said he expected the governor to veto his legislation, but admits he is disappointed. Morris said he and the governor even had a conversation about the veto.
“He expressed his opinion of the bill and I expressed mine and we just had to agree to disagree on this one,” said Morris.
Edwards said it isn’t too much to ask a person who wants to carry a concealed weapon to have proper training and understand regulations and he strongly believes in proper background checks.
“I feel very strongly about that, I also feel very strongly that a considerable majority of the people of Louisiana support the system we currently have,” said Edwards.
The veto of the concealed carry bill on the heels of a veto to ban transgender females from competing in women’s sports has increased the likelihood of the first-ever veto session to be called.
Morris said he’s optimistic a session will be called and conceal carry will become law in Louisiana.
“We may make a little bit of history here, but we’ll have to see, I don’t know yet but I’m hopeful because I think a lot of the legislation that did get vetoed are things that the citizens of Louisiana really want,” said Morris.
The measure received wide support during the regular session it passed in the Senate on a 27-9 vote and in the House 73-28. If a veto session is called for the week of July 20th to the 24th, it will require a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate to override the veto.
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