The Louisiana House passed constitutional carry legislation by a vote of 70-29 Tuesday, and the measure now goes to the Louisiana Senate.
The Louisiana Illuminator reported that the permitless carry legislation, HB 131, is sponsored by State Rep. Danny McCormick (R).
The Shreveport Times quoted McCormick saying, “For too long Louisiana has been infringing on that God-given right.”
He added, “Nothing is more unjust that to insist citizens pay for a right they already have.”
Louisiana is one of 46 open carry states, and no permit is required to openly carry a handgun in the state.
Constitutional carry supporters argue that simply putting on a jacket or a sweatshirt, which may cover an otherwise openly carried pistol should not result in a requirement that one first gets a permit from the government.
WATCH: FL State Rep. Sabatini on Constitutional Carry — “You Should Not Have to Ask” to Carry a Firearm
There are currently 27 constitutional carry states in the Union.
Those states are: 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. (Florida’s constitutional carry law takes effect July 1, 2023 and Nebraska’s constitutional carry law takes effect September 10, 2023.)
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.