NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is slamming a plan from the New Orleans Police Department that could keep guns out of most of the French Quarter when the new concealed carry law takes effect in New Orleans.
Murrill says the NOPD could face legal action if the department goes through with it.
We've previously reported the NOPD opened up a vocational training school in the eighth district.
The attorney general released a statement saying the city cannot avoid state law by unilaterally designating police stations 'vo-tech locations.'
"I’m working hard to help keep New Orleans safe, but the City cannot avoid state law by unilaterally designating police stations ‘vo-tech locations.' You cannot just “designate” yourself a vo-tech school. Among other implications, if it was one (it’s not) the police department would be under the jurisdiction of a board of supervisors for higher education, and it would be subject to other oversight requirements. I have no specific plans yet, but would caution the NOPD that it will likely be subject to civil rights lawsuits under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act if it arrests people pursuant to its made-up designation, which is clearly not legal or effective. I certainly hope the NOPD isn’t violating people’s rights by making up their own rules, which is why the Department is under a federal consent decree," Murrill said.
NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick announced the measure at a Monday news conference at the 8th District police station on the Quarter's Royal Street.
State law forbids carrying concealed weapons within 1,000 feet of such a facility, Kirkpatrick said. That radius from the station will cover a large section of the Quarter, including several blocks of Bourbon Street.
Kirkpatrick said the station includes a classroom and is used for training. She described the station as a “satellite” of the city’s police academy.
“NOPD officers have been in mandatory training, learning what they can and cannot do so that they don't violate any person's constitutional rights against an illegal search and seizure,” said Chief Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick said designating the 8th District station a school is just one way of giving police officers more leeway to stop and search people suspected of illegally carrying a weapon in the Quarter.
She also listed other facets of state law that could allow the arrest of someone carrying a weapon in the tourist district. They include bans on carrying a gun in a bar or by anyone with a blood-alcohol level of .05%. That’s less than the .08% considered proof of intoxication in drunk-driving cases.
State lawmakers earlier this year passed legislation to make Louisiana one of the latest states to do away with a permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun. Past efforts to do so were vetoed by former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards. But the new Republican governor, Jeff Landry, supported and signed the new law
Twenty-eight other states have similar laws, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.
Lawmakers rejected repeated pleas from police and city officials to exempt New Orleans entirely or to carve out the French Quarter and other areas well-known for alcohol-fueled revelry. Their refusal set city officials to work finding ways to deal with a possible proliferation of guns in high-traffic areas, said City Council President Helena Moreno.
Kirkpatrick said that although the law takes effect statewide on Thursday, it won't be enforced in New Orleans until Aug. 1, when an existing city firearms ordinance expires.
To watch the NOPD’s public service announcement on new gun laws, click here.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.