ELECTIONS

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Early Voting September 30, 2023 to October 7, 2023

The Louisiana Shooting Association is proud to endorse the following candidates for their steadfast support of the right to keep and bear arms:

Senate District 9 – Senator Cameron Henry for re-election

Senate District 10 – Senator Kirk Talbot for re-election

Senate District 12 – Senator Beth Mizell for re-election

Senate District 13 – Representative Valarie Hodges for election to the Senate

Senate District 17 – Senator Caleb Kleinpeter for re-election

Senate District 19 – Representative Gregory Miller for election to the Senate

Senate District 22 – Representative Blake Miguez for election to the Senate

Senate District 25 – Senator Mark Abraham for re-election

Senate District 31 – Representative Alan Seabaugh for election to the Senate

House District 01 – Representative Danny McCormick for re-election

House District 09 – Representative Dodie Horton for re-election

House District 20 – Representative Neil Riser for re-election

House District 21 – Representative C. Travis Johnson for re-election

House District 31 – Representative Jonathan Goudeau for re-election

House District 39 – Representative Julie Emerson for re-election

House District 88 – Representative Kathy Edmonston for re-election

The foregoing candidates have earned the Louisiana Shooting Association’s endorsement through their continued support of the 2^nd Amendment with their voting records and their willingness to sponsor legislation upholding the right to keep and bear arms.

In addition to the above incumbents, the Louisiana Shooting Association is pleased to endorse the following candidates:

State Representative for House District 76 – Stephanie Berault

State Representative for House District 92 – Mike Sigur

State Representative for House District 94 – Charles Marsala

We look forward to working with Stephanie and Charles on future legislation such as Constitutional Carry, which both have pledged to support.

Please get out and vote on October 14, 2023 for candidates who have demonstrated a willingness to protect your rights.

 

LSA Director-at-Large and professional firearms instructor Barret Kendrick delivers an outstanding description of why gun control laws have completely failed with Glock switches and why “common sense” gun laws are not needed and simply don’t work.

Watch the 5 min 42 sec video here.

A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday struck down a state restriction limiting handgun carry permits to those over age 21, in a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Firearms Policy Coalition and three young adults, Austin Dye, Axel Anderson and Kristin Worth, the latter for whom the case is named. The case is known as Worth v. Harrington. At the core of the case was the Second Amendment guidelines handed down in last year’s Supreme Court Bruen ruling.

In her decision, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez wrote, “The Supreme Court’s recent decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen…compels the conclusion that Minnesota’s permitting age restriction is unconstitutional, and Plaintiffs are entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”

Later in her 50-page ruling, Judge Menendez observes, “(T)he Court concludes that the text of the Second Amendment includes within the right to keep and bear arms 18-to-20-year-olds, and therefore, the Second Amendment ‘presumptively guarantees [Plaintiffs’] right to ‘bear’ arms in public for self-defense.’”

“Judge Menendez’s ruling is a huge victory for young adults and their right to keep and bear arms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Furthermore, her decision underscores the importance of last year’s Supreme Court ruling in the Bruen case, which rightfully did away with the so-called ‘balancing test’ that invariably weighed in favor of government interests over individual rights. Judge Menendez has firmly established that young adults are entitled to all the rights protected by the Constitution.”

“Today’s decision confirms what we already knew to be true, that 18-20 year-olds possess the same right to bear arms for self-defense as those over the age of 21,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We are pleased that the court has enjoined the state of Minnesota from infringing on the rights of young adults. SAF will continue to work in the courts to vindicate the rights of all Americans.”

The Louisiana Shooting Association, the SAF, and the Firearms Policy Coalition filed a federal lawsuit on November 6, 2020 challenging federal law that prevents young adults from purchasing and owning handguns.

The suit was filed on behalf of two private citizens, Caleb Reese and Joseph Granich, both in the affected age group. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The case is known as Reese v. BATF.

“One mission of the Louisiana Shooting Association is to protect Americans’ right to keep and bear arms which necessarily includes their ability to acquire firearms,” said Dan Zelenka, Louisiana Shooting Association’s president. “Handguns are the firearm of choice for self-defense as well as for many types of sport shooting disciplines. Nothing in the Constitution would subject adults under the age of 21 to different rights and protections under the Second Amendment as adults over the age of 21. On behalf of our members who are currently banned under federal law, as well as our younger members who will soon be in that banned age group, the Louisiana Shooting Association is proud to be a part of this effort to stop the federal government from enforcing its unconstitutional ban.”

Although Judge Menendez’s ruling does not bear on the Western District of Louisiana, it demonstrates the importantance of the Bruen decisions on protecting our Civil Rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment, and may portend a positive finding in Reese v. BATF.

Although the 2023 Legislative session is a “fiscal session,” legislators may file bills that could affect your Civil Rights protected by the Second Amendment. Here is a list of bills that we will be monitoring throughout this session.

Following each bill is the LSA’s position: SUPPORT, NEUTRAL, or OPPOSE.

• HB38 NEUTRAL (Joe Stagni, R, Kenner) Provides relative to the carrying of concealed firearms by qualified retired law enforcement officers
• Failed to pass: HB96 OPPOSE (Polly Thomas, R, Metairie) UPDATE: Firearm provisions were removed, but HB96 failed passage in the House on a vote of yeas 34, nays 54.  Provides relative to penalties and responsive verdicts for negligent homicide (LSA contends that to be acceptable the author would need to remove the enhanced penalties for negligence with a firearm.)
  
• HB131 SUPPORT (Danny McCormick, R, Oil City) Provides relative to the concealed carrying of firearms (Constitutional Carry bill)
  
• HB175 OPPOSE (Delisha Boyd, D, New Orleans) Prohibits carrying firearms into hospitals and mental health facilities (This bill would make unacceptable changes to existing law that LSA recently supported)
  
• HB234 SUPPORT (Bryan Fontenot, R, Thibodaux) Provides relative to to the concealed carrying of firearms (LSA initially opposed this bill; however, the author amended the bill at LSA’s request and is now acceptable to support)
  
• HB247 SUPPORT (Mandie Landry, D, New Orleans) Establishes a tax credit for purchases of firearm safety devices
• HB284 SUPPORT (Joseph Marino, I, Gretna) Provides relative to the crime of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of certain felonies
• HB299 NEUTRAL (Danny McCormick, R, Oil City) Provides relative to enforcement of federal firearm laws
• HB318 OPPOSE (Larry Selders, D, Baton Rouge) Provides relative to automatic weapons (Bill fails to provide safeguards for legally registered machine guns)
• HB331 SUPPORT (Dewith Carrier, R, Oakdale) UPDATE: Reported favorably  in Committee on Administration on Criminal Justice yeas 9, nay 0, abstain 1 and sent to the House for consideration. Provides relative to automatic weapons (Bill updates Louisiana law to comply with federal law and provides safeguards for legally registered machine guns)
• HB446 SUPPORT (Blake Miguez, R, New Iberia) Provides relative to online handgun education course curriculum
• HB464 NEUTRAL (Bryan Fontenot, R, Thibodaux) Provides relative to possession of a firearm by a felon
• HB536 OPPOSE (Jonathan Goudeau, R, Lafayette) Provides relative to the illegal possession of stolen firearms
• SB56 SUPPORT (Stewart Cathey, R, Monroe) UPDATE: Passed by the Senate on a vote of 22 yeas and 11 nays. Sent to the House for consideration. Reinstates the Second Amendment sales tax holiday
• SB130 NEUTRAL (Jay Morris, R, West Monroe) UPDATE: Passed by a vote of 28 yeas and 0 nays in the Senate; ordered re-engrossed and sent to the House. Authorizes retired law enforcement officers and retired elected law enforcement department heads to carry concealed firearms if POST certified at the time of retirement
• SB158 NEUTRAL (Eddie Lambert, R, Gonzales) Provides for the protection of schools (Bill has to many requirements for LSA support)
• SB165 OPPOSE (Jimmy Harris, D, New Orleans) Prohibits the possession of an unidentifiable firearm (This is already illegal)
• SB212 OPPOSE (Royce Duplessis, D, New Orleans) Provides for the seizure of firearms from persons who pose a risk of imminent injury to self or others (“Red Flag” bill; LSA wholesale opposes the removal of Civil Rights without due process) UPDATE: The bill was also opposed by the DA’s Association; the author voluntarily deferred the bill, but note the bill may by presented again at the Committee on Judiciary C
• SB216 OPPOSE (Gary Carter, D, New Orleans) Provides for liability for damages caused by a firearm stolen from a vehicle and used in the commission of a felony

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the Louisiana Shooting Association, Inc (LSA) along with our partners in a federal lawsuit challenging the prohibition of handgun sales to young adults have filed an appellant’s brief with the U.S.  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The case is known as Reese v. ATF.

Joining SAF and the LSA are the Firearms Policy Coalition and two private citizens, Emily Naquin and Caleb Reese, for whom the case is known. They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk; George J. Armbruster, III at Armbruster & Associates; Joseph Greenlee, FPC Action Foundation; John W. Dillon at the Dillon Law Group; Raymond M. DiGuiseppe, DiGuiseppe Law Firm and Adam Kraut at SAF.

Defendants are the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, its director, Steven Dettelbach and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

At issue is the ban on licensed handgun sales to law-abiding 18-to-20-year-old adults, because this prohibition is at odds with the Second Amendment, SAF, LSA, and our partners contend.

“At the time the Second Amendment was adopted,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb, “there were no restrictions on the rights of 18-to-20-year-olds to keep and bear arms because of their age. Indeed, people in that age group, because as Americans they were in the civilian militia, were actually required to acquire firearms.

“Young adults over age 18,” he added, “can exercise other constitutional rights. They can vote, get married, enter into contracts, start businesses, run for office, join the military where they may fight and die for their country, but they can’t legally buy a handgun because of existing laws.”

“There is no historical regulation from any relevant time period that supports this handgun ban for young adults,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut, a practicing attorney representing the group in this case. “Under last year’s Bruen ruling, the appeals court must review this case by determining whether the plain text of the Second Amendment covers the conduct prohibited by the handgun ban. We think the lower court erred in its initial ruling because there is no historical evidence of any such ban for people in the 18-to-20-year age group.”

Staunch pro-gun State Representative Blake Miguez (Republican, Erath) is running for the open seat left by on again, off again Second Amendment supporter, Fred Mills.  Mr. Miguez is a Life Member of the Louisiana Shooting Association, and has been a consistent supporter of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He has been the author of numerous pro-gun Rights bills in the State House of Representatives.

On Saturday, November 12, 2022, Marksmen for Miguez will be hosting the 2nd Annual Marksman for Miguez Competition & Family Fun Day in Support of Blake Miguez. For more information, click here.

The Marksmen for Miguez and also hosting a firearm raffle to support his election bid. To buy raffle tickets, click here.