As the Louisiana Legislature begins its 2018 Session, several overreaching gun control bills have been filed that infringe on your Second Amendment rights and your right to self-defense. The anti-gun legislation includes:
House Bill 277/Senate Bill 274, sponsored by Rep. Denise Marcelle (D-61) and Sen. Troy Carter (D-7), respectively, prohibits the sale of commonly owned semi-automatic rifles to any person under 21 years of age. This legislation punishes law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals, does nothing to increase public safety and will prohibit law-abiding 18-20 year old adults from purchasing the most popular and effective self-defense rifle on the market.
House Bill 400, sponsored by Rep. John Bagneris (D-100), establishes a 10-day waiting period for the purchase of a firearm and makes violation of the waiting period punishable by as much as five years in prison.
House Bill 473, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Smith (D-67), bans the importation, manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, or transfer of bump stocks and other “rapid-fire” devices. The broad and overreaching language could potentially criminalize firearm modifications such as competition triggers, and ergonomic changes that are commonly done by law-abiding gun owners to make their firearms more suitable for self-defense, competition, hunting, or even overcoming disability.
House Bill 603, sponsored by Rep. Helena Moreno (D-93), bans commonly owned semi-automatic rifles and forces law-abiding citizens to either surrender their firearms, or register and apply for a license annually in order to possess their firearm. This broad legislation does little to improve public safety, adds to the burden of state police, and further attacks the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Senate Bill 185, sponsored by Sen. Wesley Bishop (D-4), eliminates the authority of state laws over local ordinances and regulations. Firearm preemption laws ensure that fundamental rights are not diluted or distorted through local ordinances and prevents a confusing patchwork of regulations which make it difficult for otherwise law-abiding citizens to follow the law. Further, citizens in one city deserve the same rights and powers as citizens in the neighboring town.
Senate Bill 155, sponsored by Sen. Troy Carter (D-7), prohibits the sale of any weapon to any person under the age of 21 years old. Again, this type of legislation does little to increase public safety and only impacts the rights of law-abiding adults.
Senate Bill 231, sponsored by Sen. J.P Morrell (D-3), allows for the surrender of firearms and arrest of individuals, not based on a criminal conviction or mental adjudication, but based on false positive background checks or third party allegations and evidentiary standards below those normally required for removing constitutional rights.
Senate Bill 383, sponsored by Sen. Troy Carter (D-7), establishes a system to track all ammunition in the state for use in a firearm. This invasive legislation will allow for the state police to track who is legally purchasing ammunition, along with how much and what kind of ammunition is purchased. This database will only divert valuable state police resources by having to maintain this database and taking away from actually improving public safety.
Your LSA will keep you updated on further developments affecting your Second Amendment rights in Louisiana.
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