New Orleans Requiring Concealed Carry Permits Even After Statewide Constitutional Carry Takes Effect

Constitutional carry takes effect July 4, 2024, in Louisiana but the city of New Orleans will continue to require concealed carry permits until August 1.

WWLTV reported that on Monday, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick indicated that  New Orleans Municipal Code 54-341, “which was on the city’s law books since the 1950s, will trump state law and require gun owners to have a permit until [54-341] expires August 1.”

Kirkpatrick noted that officers have had special training to handle the weeks between constitutional carry taking effect and 54-341 sunsetting: “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.”

The NOPD posted a PSA to provide “responsible gun owners” they need to know about the state’s switch to constitutional carry:

On April 18, 2024, just over a month after constitutional carry was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry (R), Breitbart News reported NOPD’s Kirkpatrick wanted to create gun-free zones within the city where even licensed concealed carriers would be barred from carrying for self-defense.

On July 2, 2024, AXIOS noted that NOPD is launching “a zone of protection” that will consist of “about five blocks spanning from Canal Street to Toulouse, including some of the busiest blocks of Bourbon Street.”

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, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. 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.