Four Bills to be Heard in Judiciary C Committee

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Contact the Senate Judiciary C Committee

Four Bills will be heard that could affect your Second Amendment Rights on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 1:00 PM

Today, before you forget, please send an email to the committee.

Dear Judiciary C Committee,

The following bills will be heard by the committee on March 19, 2024. I ask that you please consider the following.

Please SUPPORT Senate Bill 152.This bill corrects a typographical error in the Constitutional Carry law and changes the word “weapon” to “handgun” in several places in the concealed handgun permit statute to make it more uniform.

Please SUPPORT Senate Bill 214. This bill amends R.S. 14:95.5(C)(2) to allow persons who are carrying a firearm pursuant to the Constitutional Carry law to possess the firearm in a restaurant that serves alcohol. This brings carrying a firearm under the Constitutional Carry law more in line with the concealed handgun permit statute.

Please OPPOSE Senate Bill 203. This bill creates the “Office of Gun Violence” within the Governor’s office. It is designed to perform gun violence research and make policy recommendations to reduce gun violence. It is supported by the anti-gun extremist groups Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. This would become a government funded platform for unconstitutional gun rights restrictions.

Please OPPOSE Senate Bill 256. This bill is this year’s version of a “Red Flag Law” that would allow the government to take away my right to keep and bear arms without charging me with a crime. We have beaten back these efforts several times in the past, and we must do so again.

Sincerely,

[Insert your full name and contact information]

SB212 is a BAD BILL! Take Action Now!

SB212 Is a BAD BILL

ACTION REQUIRED!

The Senate Committee on Judiciary C will hear SB212 by Sen. Royce Duplessis (D, New Orleans) tomorrow. This bill is a so called “Red Flag” bill. If this bill becomes law, your Civil Rights will be violated without due process and your property can and will be seized. This is a BAD BILL!

Please attend the hearing tomorrow, May 2, 2023, at 10:00 AM in Room F if possible.

Also, TODAY, send a copy of the following email to Chairman Franklin Foli lodging your opposition to SB212.

To: sjudc@legis.la.gov

Subject: Opposition to SB212

Dear Chairman Foli,

I strongly OPPOSE Sen. Royce Dupliessis’ bill, SB212 on the grounds that if it were to become law, it would violate the Civil Rights of Citizens without due process. In addition, it would result of the seizure of personal property from law abiding Citizens.

Sincerely,
[Insert your name]
[Insert your mailing address]

2023 LSA Board of Director Election Results

Each year at our Annual Meeting of Members in February, one third of the Directors are elected to our Board. From those elected Directors, the Board selects the Officers of the Corporation in an open forum.

This year, the Annual Meeting of Members was held at Cabela’s in Gonzales on Sunday, March 5. The results of the election are shown below.

List of Officers and Directors

President: Daniel E. Zelenka, II (2025)
Vice-President: Everett Baudean (2025)
Secretary: CPT Paul Prokop, USCG Ret. (2024)
Treasurer: Jay D. Hunt, III (2024)
Director-at-Large: Barret Kendrick (2025)

Directors:
Paul Angrisano (2025)
Ron Duplessis (2024)
Clifford Grout (2026)
Ronald “Buck” Kliebert (2024)
John K. Laws, III (2025)
Joseph “Jay” Meynier (2026)
John Overton (2026)
CPT George Petras, USCG, Ret. (2026)
Dave Ramey (2026)
Dwayne Vidrine (2024)

Alternate Directors
1st Alternate: Bruce A. Lemmert (2024)
2nd Alternate: Chris Thayer (2024)

2022 LSA Board of Director Election Results

Each year at our Annual Meeting of Members in February, one third of the Directors are elected to our Board. From those elected Directors, the Board selects the Officers of the Corporation in an open forum.

This year, the Annual Meeting of Members was held at Cabela’s in Gonzales on Sunday, February 13. The results of the election are shown below.

List of Officers and Directors (Term Expiration)

President: Daniel E. Zelenka, II, Esq (2025)
Vice-President: Barret Kendrick (2025)
Secretary: CAPT Paul Prokop, USCG Ret (2024)
Treasurer: Jay D. Hunt, III, PhD (2024)
Director-at-Large: John K. Laws, III (2025)

Directors:
Paul Angrisano (2022)
Everett Baudean, Esq (2025)
Ron Duplessis (2024)
Clifford Grout (2023)
Gordon Hutchinson (2023)
Ronald “Buck” Kliebert (2024)
MAJ Joseph “Jay” Meynier, USMC, Ret (2023)
CAPT George Petras, USCG, Ret (2023)
Ted A. Torres, III (2023)
Dwayne Vidrine (2024)

Alternate Directors
1st Alternate: Dave Ramey (2023)
2nd Alternate: Gerald “Jerry” Liuzza, MD (2023)

Pending Veto Override Session

In the waning hours of the last night on the final day to sign Louisiana’s Constitutional Carry Legislation into law, Governor John Bel Edwards decided to listen to the anti-gun minority in our Great State of Louisiana and veto SB118.  Despite the thousands of emails, calls, and texts coming from LSA Members and Second Amendment supporters, Governor Edwards sided with gun control groups in vetoing our right to effectively defend ourselves and our loved ones. I guess the Bloomberg money coming from out of state was too much of a Siren Call for him.

You may think the LSA has been quiet, but rest assured that the level of work behind the scenes from your LSA leadership has been exhaustive and unprecedented. LSA President Dan Zelenka has been working non-stop to ensure a veto session. He has spoken with many of your State Senators and Representatives and has done  many local, regional, and national interviews with the media. Other Directors have been busy speaking with and coordinating activities with other pro-Rights groups around the state. It has been a full court press!

July 15, 2021 is the final date for legislators to decide if they will hold a veto session. If you have not already done so, please call or email your State Senator and State Representative and ask that they support the veto override session and vote to override Governor Edwards’ veto of Senate Bill 118.

As a reminder, Senate Bill 118 removes the requirement for law-abiding individuals to obtain a concealed handgun permit before being allowed to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense.  This important legislation ensures that citizens are able to exercise their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.  This measure does not affect previously issued carry permits, and still allows citizens who wish to obtain a permit to do so.

To contact your State Legislators, click here.

Urge Gov. Edwards to Sign Constitutional Carry Bill

Please contact Governor John Bel Edwards and ask him to sign the Constitutional Carry bill, SB 118! Responsible citizens of Louisiana should not first have to ask for approval from the government to defend their life, liberty and property. Please click here to contact the Governor to ask him to sign Constitutional Carry into law!

Senate Bill 118 removes the requirement for law-abiding people to obtain a permit before being able to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense.  This vital legislation ensures that citizens are able to exercise their right to self-defense without government red tape or delays.  This measure does not affect previously issued carry permits, and allows citizens who still wish to obtain a permit to carry in other states recognizing Louisiana permits, to do so.

Again, please contact Governor John Bel Edwards, by clicking above, and ask him to sign Senate Bill 118 into law.

Passing of LSA Life Member, Mary Elizabeth Norckauer

LSA Life Member H.R. “Butch” Norckauer recently informed the LSA of the passing of his aunt, Mary Elizabeth Norckauer on April 2nd at 96.  She was a LIfe Member of the LSA and a Member of the NRA.  Among her many athletic skills, several decades ago she was an active competitive shooter. Largely a pistol shooter she made the United States team and earned international medals, thus earning the title of Internationally Distinguished Shooter. As an assistant professor at LSU, she taught marksmanship including rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting. Her obituary can be read below and a news video can be seen here.

Mary Elizabeth Briggs Norckauer, a native and resident of Baton Rouge, passed away on April 2, 2021 at the age of 96. To her friends and family she was “Pud.” Mary Elizabeth had an interesting life, which touched many people and activities. She primarily considered herself an athlete and never married. She attended Dufrocq Elementary School, and graduated from both Baton Rouge High School and Louisiana State University with a Masters Degree. After college and the war she played for the Grand Rapids Chicks in the Women’s Professional Baseball League. During her first teaching assignment in Port Arthur, TX, she learned to ice skate. While Holiday on Ice was touring in Houston, TX, she auditioned and was hired by them. For 10 years she went on to skate and choreograph all around the world before coming home to Baton Rouge. On her return she took a teaching position at Louisiana State University where she taught a wide variety of sports. For over three decades she taught everything from dance to skating to shooting (archery, rifle, pistol & shotgun) to fencing and survival, to name a few. She was the founder of the LSU Golden Girls and choreographed them for most of their first decade. During these years her personal shooting accomplishments placed her on the United States of America Shooting Team where she traveled internationally and earned the rank of Internationally Distinguished Shooter. In her senior years she focused on track and field and not only did she win, but she set many age group National and World Records in running, jumping and throwing events. She also participated in not so athletic activities like the Baton Rouge Little Theater. And, she supported many philanthropic activities. Whatever she focused on she practiced and trained to be the best. She was a great instructor, athlete, aunt and friend. She was preceded in death by her parents William Henry and Vida Gertrude McAtee Norckauer, and her brother Heber Regal Norckauer (Joyce). She is survived by her niece Christine Ann Norckauer Carroza (John) and nephews William Henry “Bill” Norckauer and Heber Regal “Butch” Norckauer, Jr. (Sheila) and their numerous children and grandchildren.  Mary Elizabeth donated to a wide range of charities and the family asks that in lieu of flowers a donation be made in her name to your charity of choice.

State of Louisiana Joins Federal Lawsuit Against Jefferson Parish School Board Over Violations of Ka’Mauri Harrison’s Constitutional Rights

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has filed a legal motion for the State of Louisiana to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by Nyron Harrison, the father of Ka’Mauri Harrison. Ka’Mauri is a Jefferson Parish elementary student who was recommended for expulsion after he safely and responsibly moved a BB gun his younger brother had accidentally knocked over while Ka’Mauri was participating in a virtual class session. Ka’Mauri was taking a test from his bedroom.

Attorney General Landry has long maintained that an individual’s private home is not an extension of the classroom, and he has taken a number of actions to defend Ka’Mauri and other students who were sent into a bureaucratic abyss for no reason and told there is no way out. In the motion filed on Friday at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Attorney General Landry stated that the Jefferson Parish School Board (JPSB) has interpreted and applied state law improperly by imposing mandatory expulsion statutes to conduct that is neither prohibited nor even covered by existing school discipline statutes. In doing so, the Board is violating the rights of students and their parents to privacy in their homes and expanding the law in a manner never contemplated by the Legislature.

“The Jefferson Parish School Board has violated state law over and over. It is unfortunate that we have had to go to such lengths to correct the Board’s egregious behavior and misinterpretation of the law,” said Attorney General Landry. “The Legislature even unanimously passed a law expressly reaffirming that the home is not school property and discipline policies cannot treat it the same. The Board’s dogged insistence upon continuing to do so is not only senseless and wrong, but it is also a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

Attorney General Landry’s motion further argues that the JPSB failed to comply with La. R.S. 17:416 and the Ka’Mauri Harrison Act and that the JPSB violated the Due Process rights of its students (and their parents).

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry Joins Legal Efforts Supporting NRA

Attorney General Jeff Landry has added Louisiana to a coalition of 16 states that have filed an amicus brief supporting the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against the New York Attorney General, Letitia James.

The NRA’s lawsuit seeks to block James’s politically motivated attempt in a separate lawsuit to dissolve the NRA, which is the country’s oldest civil rights organization and leading Second Amendment advocacy organization.

“The New York Attorney General’s actions threaten the civil rights of five million NRA members – including citizens of Louisiana,” said Attorney General Landry. “I am proud to fight back against this partisan attack on the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens who respect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

In August, James filed a lawsuit in New York state court seeking to dissolve the NRA. Separately, the District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine filed an action against the non-profit organization NRA Foundation; but the DC lawsuit tellingly did not seek dissolution.

Subsequently, the NRA responded by suing James in New York federal court – claiming that her dissolution lawsuit violated the First Amendment by seeking to punish the NRA for its constitutionally protected Second Amendment advocacy.

The amicus brief filed by Landry and his colleagues supports the NRA’s federal-court lawsuit. Landry and the other 15 state attorneys general argue that James sought dissolution because she does not like the NRA’s political advocacy, its members’ political views, and the organization’s defense of a fundamental constitutional right. When it comes to being arrested, it is crucial to know the kind of attorney to hire after getting arrested.

The brief argues that New York’s lawsuit violates the First Amendment because it was designed to retaliate against the NRA and its members for these constitutionally-protected activities. To hire a legal expert one can see here for more information.

The brief makes clear that state regulations of non-profits and charitable organizations are essential to protecting the public. But it also criticizes New York’s politically motivated enforcement of its regulations. Such regulations should never be used to attack a government official’s political opponents. When it comes to accidents, the suspended license after a DUI charge out of state is an issue that can only be fixed with the help of a powerful person or a good lawyer.

Louisiana is joined in the amicus brief by Arkansas, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

LSA Files Federal Lawsuit on Behalf of two Louisiana Residents

The Louisiana Shooting Association, the Second Amendment Foundation 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. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Raymond M. DiGuiseppe of Southport, NC, Adam Kraut and Joseph Greenlee from Sacramento, CA, and John W. Dillon from Carlsbad, CA, and George J. Armbruster III from Lafayette, LA. Kraut is FPC’s Director of Legal Strategy and Greenlee is the group’s Director of Research. The case is known as Reese v. BATF.

Named as defendants are the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Acting Director Regina Lombardo, and Attorney General William Barr, in their official capacities.

Neither Reese or Granich have criminal records. Both are over age 18, and thus have reached what is generically called the age of majority, which means adulthood. Yet they are denied full rights under the Second Amendment to purchase and own handguns, according to the lawsuit, which states, “The Handgun Ban prevents (them) from purchasing handguns of the makes and models of (their) choice, with full manufacturer warranty and support…in violation of (their) constitutionally enumerated rights.”

“While both of these young men were able to vote in the recent national elections, and they can pursue other activities as legal adults, they are prevented by law from purchasing and using handguns,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “They can join the military and defend the nation, possibly at the risk of losing their lives. They can enter into contracts, start businesses, get married and even run for office. Preventing them from legally purchasing and owning handguns seems rather silly, and we believe their rights as adult citizens are being violated.”

“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.”

“The right to keep and bear arms is not a second-class right, and the law-abiding legal adults the federal government currently bans from purchasing handguns are not second-class people,” said FPC President and FPF Chairman Brandon Combs. “These adults have the fundamental, individual right to purchase handguns and handgun ammunition for all lawful purposes from the lawful retailer of their choice. If they can be asked to fight and die for our country then they can and must be guaranteed the full protection of the Constitution. FPC is committed to fighting for and protecting the rights of all responsible citizens regardless of their age. FPC will continue to fight forward and restore the Second Amendment throughout the United States in this and other cases.”

“People who must bear all the burdens of being an adult should not be denied the benefits of it, especially when those benefits stem from fundamental liberty interests guaranteed by the Bills of Rights,” said attorney DiGuiseppe. “Law-abiding adults who are under 21 years of age shoulder the same essential responsibilities as all other adults, and, in the eyes of the Constitution, they have the same fundamental rights. Yet, the federal government has denied these full-fledged citizens the right to purchase handguns and handgun ammunition, cutting off their ability to acquire the quintessential weapon of self-defense in America. That is unconstitutional. This lawsuit aims to restore the right and ability of these adults to purchase constitutionally protected handguns and ammunition for them in their lawful exercise of their Second Amendment rights.”

“Adults over the age of eighteen have the full protection of all rights under the Constitution,” added Kraut. “But the federal government’s ban singles out their Second Amendment rights for especially unfavorable treatment. And our nation’s history and tradition show that adults under the age of 21 not only have the same Second Amendment rights as those over the age of 21, they were often required to keep and bear arms. We look forward to striking down this unconstitutional ban and providing millions of individuals with access to their constitutional rights.”

“Throughout the colonial and founding eras, hundreds of laws required 18-to-20-year-olds to own firearms—law applying to both males and females, and laws related and unrelated to militia service,” Greenlee explained. “By comparison, there were no restrictions whatsoever as to adults in this age group. If we look to the original understanding of the Second Amendment, as the Supreme Court requires, it is clear that 18-to-20-year-olds were fully protected by the right to keep and bear arms. We seek to vindicate that right in this case.”

“This is the third federal suit SAF has filed so far this month,” Gottlieb noted. “Other suits include our challenge of New York City’s extremist carry law as well as the state of New Jersey’s Draconian carry permit scheme. This is part of SAF’s effort to win firearms freedom one lawsuit at a time. Our ultimate goal is to get these cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.”