The Louisiana Senate has passed constitutional carry legislation.
The Associated Press reports that the state's upper chamber did so on Thursday.
For those unfamiliar with constitutional carry, the legal definition varies slightly depending on the state.
The USCCA explains:
Constitutional carry means that the state’s law does not prohibit citizens who can legally possess a firearm from carrying handguns, (openly and/or in a concealed manner) thus no state permit is required. Sometimes, constitutional carry may be conditional such as in those states that have no laws prohibiting the open carry of a handgun but which require a permit to carry the handgun concealed.
Louisiana is one of those states with a Republican supermajority in their legislature, and the state Republicans are attempting to use this supermajority to pass constitutional carry legislation.
The Associated Press reports that state Republicans, in addition to the constitutional carry legislation, are also pushing through a bill "that would provide a level of immunity from civil liability for someone who uses a concealed firearm to shoot a person in self-defense."
Both this measure and the constitutional carry measure passed through the state's senate on Thursday. The vote was according to party lines with the final tally being 28 to 11.
Next, the measure will head on to the Lousiana House of Representatives, where it is expected to be passed.
If it does pass the state House, then Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has already indicated that he will sign it into law.
Breitbart reports that, currently, there are 28 states that allow some form of constitutional carry.
Per the outlet:
There are currently 28 constitutional carry states in the Union. Those 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.
It appears that Louisiana is now poised to become the 29th state on this list. Currently, in Louisiana, a permit is needed to obtain a firearm. In order to obtain the permit, the Associate Press reports that, among other things, the permit seeker must pay a fee and be fingerprinted.
Louisiana Senate Bill 1 would remove the permit requirement, which, in turn, would remove the fee and fingerprint requirements. According to the outlet, "the measure would allow adults 18 and older to carry concealed handguns without a permit."
Those who support Louisiana Senate Bill 1 maintain that the current permit requirements are unconstitutional.
