2nd Amendment Advocates Take Heart. Here’s Why Constitutional Carry is Still Alive in Louisiana
Gun Talk host Tom Gresham talks about that, despite the failure of the state legislature to overturn the governor's veto, constitutional carry (permitless or unrestricted gun ownership) isn't dead in Louisiana.
Earlier this week the Louisiana Senate failed to override Governor John Bel Edwards veto of SB 118 by a vote of 23 - 15. The bill, which had originated in the Senate, needed 26 Senate votes to move it to the state House.
Here's Gresham making his case Friday morning on KEEL:
But, despite the legislative failure, Gresham says that constitutional carry in Louisiana is far from dead. "Constitutional carry is going to pass in Louisiana. It's going to happen," says Gresham, "Once we get a Republican governor in, which I think is going to happen, it's not going to be an issue.
"The real issue is that several senators flipped their vote, having voted for constitutional carry before the veto session and then, under pressure, it would appear, from Governor John Bel Edwards, they flipped and changed their votes. (Edwards) was not shy about it. He totally played hardball."
But Gresham emphasizes that, in his mind, support for constitutional carry will grow. "As crime gets worse," he says, "People are going o say, 'I shouldn't have to pay two or three hundred dollars to get a permission slip to get firearm to protect my family.'"
And what about claims that complete gun deregulation leads to increased gun violence? "There's a lot of conjecture on the part of people who don't know the history. We have constitutional carry in 20 states, it's about to be 21. We have a 245 year history of constitutional carry in the United States. Nowhere where it has been implemented has there been a commensurate increase in crime."