ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — Earlier this month, St. Tammany Councilman David Cougle walked into a parish council meeting carrying a duffle bag.
“For my protection of my family, I you know, prepared accordingly,” Cougle said.
Of the dozens of people in the room, only a few knew that Cougle had a gun inside.
Before he brought the firearm into the building, he says he got permission, not only from Council Chairman Arthur Laughlin but also from four sheriff’s deputies.
“Other people were witness to this. They said, ‘Keep it in your bag.’ I did,” Cougle said.
We reached out to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s office but didn’t get a response.
So why bring a firearm into a Parish Council meeting? The councilman says he did it in self-defense. Cougle campaigned on requiring parental approval for children to access sexually explicit materials in libraries. That stance came with backlash.
“It brought a lot of, you know, hate on myself. People calling my house, sending me things in the mail, posting my family's picture online, you know, doing other things that. You know, made me fear for my safety,” Cougle said.
According to Cougle, Laughlin came back the next day and told him that he could not bring his gun to the Parish chambers again. Parish President Mike Cooper released a statement on the incident.
“The safety and well-being of our citizens is the top priority of St. Tammany Parish Government. We will continue to take every step to ensure that our citizens are kept safe as they attend public meetings and voice their concerns,” Cooper said.
Cougle says he brought his gun into the chambers for protection, but some people in the community say that’s no excuse to break the law.
“Not being cognizant of the fact that carrying a concealed weapon in any government building in Louisiana is illegal to begin with, and as an attorney, for one, as well, as an elected representative, I would expect him to know better than that,” Library Alliance Co-Founder Jeremy Thompson said.
Cougle says while he believes council members should be able to carry handguns if they have concealed carry permits, he will obey the law moving forward. He is working with state lawmakers and hopes to see new legislation that would allow council members to carry handguns into council chambers.
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