photo courtesy the Louisiana Illuminator (https://lailluminator.com/)
At the Capitol, the House Criminal Justice Committee is scheduled to take up a bill to allow citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, if they choose. Bill sponsor and Oil City Representative Danny McCormick says his bill won approval from the full House last year, before it stalled out in the Senate in the wake of the Uvalde, TX school shooting.
“I’m very excited about it. I AM concerned that it’s been scheduled so late in the session that, by the end of the session, we won’t have time to get it completely through the Senate…but I’m happy it has been scheduled and is headed in that direction.”
McCormick’s bill is often referred to as “Constitutional Carry”, because many believe the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms should not hinge on a getting a concealed carry permit. Twenty-five other states already have similar laws in effect. McCormick says Louisiana already has open carry with no training or permit necessary, but wants to collect fee income for the training to be able to conceal the gun. He says that’s a double standard.
“Proper training; that don’t mean your grandfather or your father can train you. They don’t believe that’s proper training. ‘Proper training’ is a government bureaucrat saying you went through a class. Now you’re ‘properly trained’,” says McCormick.
McCormick’s HB 131 is scheduled before the committee today. McCormick says the bill will enable more people to protect themselves from violence and crime, and he hopes there is enough time to get the bill through the House and Senate before the legislative session ends.
“I am concerned about it because it’s a real important bill to the people of Louisiana, and I think it’s something that we should put at the top our list of things to get to here in this session.”
Comments