Louisiana to Enact Constitutional Carry in 2024?

Louisiana is likely to pass a Constituional Carry bill and enact it into law in 2024. The particulars of the bill are unknown. The 56th Governor of Louisiana is John Bel Edwards. Edwards vetoed a constitutional carry bill in June of 2021.

The next governor of Louisiana was elected on October 14, 2023. Louisiana has an unusual primary election, where all candidates are on the ballot. If one candidate obtains more than 50% of the vote in the primary, they are elected governor. On October 14, Jeff Landry (R) won the primary with 51.6% of the vote. Landry is expected to take office on January 8, 2024.

A constitutional or permitless carry bill was passed overwhelmingly in 2021. The vote was 72 to 28 in the House. A similar bill in the Senate passed 27 to 11. There were enough votes to override a veto, but the Louisiana Governor is very powerful. Governor John Bel Edwards had enough clout to veto the bill and make it stick.

Governor-elect Jeff Landry said, before the October election, he would see constitutional carry passed while he is in office.

Representative Danny McCormick has made Constitutional Carry his signature issue. In his 2023 race, he raffled off a Sig P365 9mm pistol as part of his campaign. From shreveporttimes.com:

His said his bill would “restore Second Amendment rights in Louisiana.”

“There’s nothing more unjust than to make citizens pay for a right they already have,” McCormick repeated this week.

McCormick said he has raffled off guns in the past, each time raising thousands of dollars.

The tickets are $10 for a $699.99 Sig P365 Macro pistol that is advertised as “what a concealed carry pistol should be.”

Supporters of McCormick’s legislation refer to it as “constitutional carry” because they believe the Second Amendment already grants that right.

“With your help we will make Constitutional Carry the Law in 2024,” McCormick said in his email to supporters.

The time frame for the passage of Constitutional Carry in Louisiana is uncertain. It is likely Representative McCormick will file his bill early. Most of the Louisiana legislature is already on record as having voted for Constitutional Carry.  A Constitutional or permitless carry bill may pass quickly. Permitless carry is now the law in 27 states, including the three states bordering Louisiana. With over half of the United States having permitless carry, the number of candidate states to pass permitless or Constitutional Carry is starting to dwindle. In addition to Louisiana, foreseeable candidates include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

Washington State, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Virginia are possible but will require significant but plausible political changes.

Hawaii, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island will be much harder. Reforms in those states are more likely because of Supreme Court decisions.

This correspondent expects the Louisiana legislature to pass a Constitutional Carry (permitless) bill in early 2024. Over 3/4 of the representatives and senators in Louisiana are already on record as voting for a form of Constitutional Carry. Governor-elect Landry has said he will sign a Constitutional Carry (permitless) bill. Early passage of a bill would show the new governor as keeping his promise and remove the subject from contention early in his term.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.