As Louisiana’s “permitless” concealed-carry law took effect on July 4, New Orleans officials and state Attorney General Liz Murrill squared off over the city’s attempt to limit the new law’s application. The issue could spawn a judicial showdown that would have statewide impact.
The new law, which Gov. Jeff Landry signed in March, allows persons 18 and older to carry a concealed firearm — without a permit and any training — unless convicted of a felony or otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. It passed overwhelmingly, but critics continue to warn that it will make people less safe, not safer.
The debate over permitless carry in Louisiana is not new, and it has included a large cast of high-profile politicians.
Former Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who supports Second Amendment rights, had vetoed a prior version of the law. Landry, a former cop eager to burnish his right-wing bona fides on the national stage, enthusiastically supports so-called “constitutional carry” laws even though most law enforcement officials oppose the idea.
Murrill, a former Landry acolyte who served as Louisiana’s first solicitor general, said during her campaign for AG last fall that she carries a gun whenever she visits New Orleans. She had a concealed-carry permit at the time — and the required training.
New Orleans area lawmakers, including River Ridge Republican Sen. Kirk Talbot, whose family owns Lucky Dogs Inc., tried repeatedly to incorporate some exceptions in the new law for the French Quarter and other tourist-heavy areas, to no avail.
As a last resort, New Orleans officials recently unveiled a plan to designate the city’s Eighth District police station, located in the heart of the French Quarter on Royal Street, as a vocational-technical school for cops.
The new law prohibits concealed firearms within a 1,000-foot radius of schools. As applied to NOPD’s cop station/vo-tech school, it would allow police to continue proactive confiscation of concealed firearms on large stretches of tourist-heavy Bourbon, Royal and Chartres streets.
City officials acknowledged the move is an attempted end-around Louisiana’s permitless carry law, which they say will hamstring police and diminish public safety in the Quarter.
"We weren't going to sit on our hands,” at-large council member Helena Moreno, a former state representative, said of the city’s gambit.
Moreno claimed in a statement that the effort is legit. Murrill disagrees.
“We are eager to demonstrate to the AG the beneficial impact of this additional training site for our law enforcement officers,” Moreno said in a statement. “We have taken many diligent steps to meet criteria and believe this school will be a positive approach for additional training and educational opportunities for our NOPD."
Murrill issued a statement of her own, accusing the city of making up its own rules. She cautioned police against trying to enforce the new gun-free zone, which she called “clearly not legal or effective.”
"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,'” Murrill's statement added. “You cannot just ‘designate’ yourself a vo-tech school."
The AG’s statement noted that vo-tech schools fall under the jurisdiction of a state higher education board. She also warned that the city could expose itself to civil rights lawsuits by arresting people based on the designation.
It’s hard to imagine either side backing down, which makes litigation inevitable. The outcome of any challenge to the city’s “end-around” could have profound impact statewide, as other cities likewise fear the new law will not have its advertised effect of increasing public safety.