BATON ROUGE, La. — New Orleans leaders traveled to Baton Rouge to testify in favor of a bill by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, and left disappointed.
The original measure would have exempted the French Quarter from the state’s new law that allows adults to carry a concealed weapon, no permit needed.
But before presenting the legislation to a Senate committee, Talbot tacked on a substitute bill, stripping the proposed constitutional carry carve out that was meant to limit the number of guns floating around the tourist-heavy neighborhood.
I want to make clear on this bill that we are not restricting constitutional carry at all.
What the bill now does is apply the current restrictions on people who have a permit to carry to people who carry without a permit.
That includes notifying police officers that you’re carrying a gun if they approach you in an official capacity.
It also prohibits a person from carrying a gun without a permit who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
And, increases the penalty for negligent carrying of a weapon in the French Quarter from $500 to $1000.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno testified the original bill was better for the city.
“I do believe it is problematic not to have a carve-out to require a conceal carry permit, like the original bill intended in the French Quarter area,” Moreno said.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, who pushed for the whole city to be exempt from permitless carry, says the bill missed its mark.
“It’s still a big problem for New Orleans,” Kirkpatrick said. “For law-and-order people, who want to support the police, they’ve missed it and that’s unfortunate.”
In closing on the bill, Talbot said if lawmakers don’t at least try to do something, there will likely be more guns on Bourbon Street come July Fourth when the new law takes effect.
“I realize that there are limitations to what can pass and what we can do, and I’ve worked with both sides, and I appreciate people on every side working with me on this.”
The bill advanced to the full Senate by a 4-to-2 vote.
Talbot admits he has more work to do on the bill.
He promised to do so between now and when the legislation hits the Senate floor for more debate.
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