La. lawmakers defer action on bill to establish firearm-free zones in New Orleans entertainment districts BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) – Lawmakers on Wednesday (April 17) deferred taking action on a bill establishing specific areas where Louisianans cannot carry concealed handguns. The discussion precedes the eventual implementation of a new state law allowing individuals over 18 to carry handguns without a concealed carry permit. After amendments to SB1 failed during a special session, Rep. Alonzo Knox’s House Bill 498 aims to broaden firearm-free zones. New Orleans Police Department Deputy Chief Nicholas Gernon and New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno provided testimony. If passed, major entertainment districts such as New Orleans’ French Quarter, Downtown Development District, and Convention Center would be among the locations where firearms would be prohibited. In March, Knox told Fox 8 that he supports the Second Amendment, but does not believe allowing permitless concealed carry served in the interest of public safety. He argued that New Orleans, as a unique entertainment and cultural destination, requires legislation to safeguard residents and visitors. NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick recently voiced concerns about how SB1 would impact her department’s training and policing efforts. “You will see more people that are armed that we cannot check to see if they are law-abiding or not,” she said in a press conference the day after a mass shooting left one woman dead and 11 others injured outside of a popular nightclub in the city’s Warehouse District, blocks away from the Convention Center. Knox cited the shooting as an example of why the bill needs to pass. RELATED STORIES ‘I just screamed:’ Mother recalls moment she learned only daughter died in New Orleans mass shooting 1 dead, 11 injured in mass shooting outside New Orleans nightclub New Orleans officials push to exclude French Quarter, Downtown from permitless concealed carry Carrying a handgun without a permit to become law in Louisiana SB1 was signed by Governor Jeff Landry earlier this year and will become law on July 4. Supporters of the bill argue that carrying a gun is a constitutional right and should not be impeded. Gov. Landry asserted that criminals already carry concealed guns without regard for the law. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline. Subscribe to the Fox 8 YouTube channel . Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.
This content was originally published here.
