The Louisiana House passed constitutional carry legislation on Wednesday, advancing the bill to Governor Jeff Landry’s desk to be signed into law.
This would make Louisiana the 28th state to allow constitutional carry, joining Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming in allowing public carry of handguns without a permit.
Governor Landry has already promised to sign the legislation, which would remove permitting requirements for concealed carry in Louisiana.
The Louisiana House has given final legislative approval to a bill allowing law abiding citizens to carry a firearm without a permit or training. The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. Gov. Jeff Landry says he will sign it into law. @WWLTV pic.twitter.com/1DPSHZwK6t
— Paul Murphy (@PMurphyWWL) February 28, 2024
State Rep. Danny McCormick said, “We’ve always had open carry in Louisiana.”
“And this allows people to conceal carry without that government permission. So that’s really important to people to be able to self-protect themselves from criminals,” explained the lawmaker.
State Rep. Tammy Phelps said, “We know that those that do not abide by the law are already carrying these weapons without permission. So there was a great concern with putting more guns on the street in that same manner.”
McCormick said, “In Louisiana, guns are a problem today. Guns aren’t a problem in the hands of law-abiding citizens.”
The passage through the House means Louisiana is poised to join the majority of states with constitutional carry.
