Louisiana has become the 28th state to have a constitutional carry law with Governor Jeff Landry's (R) signature on the legislation on Tuesday.
Landry campaigned on constitutional carry and said it was just the beginning of his efforts to protect citizens' rights in the state.
Criminals already carry concealed firearms without regard for the law. Constitutional Carry simply puts law-abiding citizens on equal footing. #lagov #lalege pic.twitter.com/UJNNOK5OiZ
— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) February 28, 2024
After both state houses passed the law, Landry posted on X: "Criminals already carry concealed firearms without regard for the law. Constitutional carry simply puts law-abiding citizens on equal footing."
Before the law was passed and signed, Louisiana had permitless carry for military members and veterans, but not for other citizens.
A graphic within the post showed in yellow the states with constitutional carry laws. Most notably, the east and west coasts are mostly where such laws are absent. Most of the country's middle was yellow other than Colorado and New Mexico in the South and Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota in the Northern Midwest.
Constitutional carry means that there are no restrictions on carrying handguns for any person who is legally allowed to do so (for instance, has a clean criminal record and no evidence of wanting to harm themselves).
Permitless carry means that permits to carry a handgun are not needed as long as state citizens meet certain requirements. For instance, Tennesseeans who have one DUI in the last five years or two in the last 10 years need a permit to carry there, but others don't.
Vermont is the only constitutional carry state that has had such a law in effect since 1791, when the government was formed after the Revolutionary War ended (to be fair, most states weren't even states then).
Most of the other state laws were passed after the turn of the 21st century, and 16 states passed their constitutional carry laws within the last five years.
The laws apply to adults, with ages ranging from 18 to 21 in different states.
There may be times and places, such as churches, schools, and government buildings where people in a particular state are not permitted to carry a firearm or other weapon.
While gun-free zones are meant to protect citizens, particularly children, from gun violence, 2nd Amendment advocates argue that gun-free zones are less safe because criminals don't follow gun restrictions and may still be carrying a weapon there, with no law-abiding gun carriers to stop them from carrying out a shooting.
In any case, it's a step in the right direction for Louisiana.
