The LSA will return to live annual meetings in 2022 by hosting its Annual Meeting of Members and Elections of the Board of Directors at the Cabela’s in Gonzales, LA on Sunday, February 13, 2022 between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the upstairs meeting room. The Board reserves the right to cancel or postpone the event if the current COVID-19 pandemic forces a change in plans. If plans change, you will be notified by email and on this website.

Unlike previous years, NO REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED.Cabela’s catering service is temporarily closed.

Each year the Members present at the Annual Meeting of Members elects five Directors and two Alternate Directors. The current Board is composed of:

Directors (Office, term expires):

Paul Angrisano (2022)
Barret Kendrick (Vice-President, 2022)
John K. Laws, III (Director-at-Large, 2022)
LTC Joseph “Jay” Meynier, USMC Retired (2022)
Daniel E. Zelenka, II (President, 2022)

Clifford Grout (2023)
Gordon Hutchinson (2023)
Brannon LeBouef (2023)
Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Liuzza (2023)
CAPT George Petras, USCG Retired (2023)

Ron Duplessis (2024)
Dr. Jay D. Hunt, III (Treasurer, 2024)
Ronald “Buck” Kliebert (2024)
CAPT Paul Prokop, USCG Retired (Secretary, 2024)
Dwayne Vidrine (2024)

Alternate Directors

1st Alternate: Ted A. Torres, III (2022)
2nd Alternate: Dave Ramey (2022)

Those Directors whose term expires in 2022 and both Alternate Directors will be up for re-election. Also, any Member-in-Good-Standing who wishes to run for an open Board position are encouraged to do so. Please feel free to reach out to any current Director for more information.

A ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declaring the ban on handgun sales to young adults in the 18-20-year age group to be unconstitutional is a monumental victory for Second Amendment rights. (Read the Opinion from Judge Julius N. Richardson here).

Judge Richardson, writing for the majority, observed, “Looking through this historical lens to the text and structure of the Constitution reveals that 18- to 20-year-olds have Second Amendment rights. Virtually every other constitutional right applies whatever the age. Our nation’s most cherished constitutional rights vest no later than 18. And the Second Amendment is no different.”

We first find that 18-year-olds possess Second Amendment rights. They enjoy almost every other constitutional right, and they were required at the time of the Founding to serve in the militia and furnish their own weapons. We then ask, as our precedent requires, whether the government has met its burden to justify its infringement of those rights under the appropriate level of scrutiny. To justify this restriction, Congress used disproportionate crime rates to craft over- inclusive laws that restrict the rights of overwhelmingly law-abiding citizens. And in doing so, Congress focused on purchases from licensed dealers without establishing those dealers as the source of the guns 18- to 20-year-olds use to commit crimes. So we hold that the challenged federal laws and regulations are unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. [Editor: emphasis added] Despite the weighty interest in reducing crime and violence, we refuse to relegate either the Second Amendment or 18- to 20-year-olds to a second-class status.

The Louisiana Shooting Association has a strong tradition of training young competitive shooters. In the last couple of decades, we have helped many fine young men and women compete at national and international shooting events, including David Higgins who trained in Louisiana, attended the US Air Force Academy and shot on their collegiate team, and then qualified for and shot in the 2016 Summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro.

All of this support comes directly from you through donations and the purchase of raffle tickets. Each year, the Civilian Marksmanship Program provides a low-cost M1 Garand rifle to each State’s Association to use for fundraising efforts to support Junior Shooting Programs in that state. The LSA conducts a raffle each year on the third Saturday in October. This year’s winner was Mr. Bruce Lemmert of Marrero. Congratulations Bruce!

The LSA purchases equipment and supplies for the Junior shooters and provides travel grants and match fee support for young shooters. Over the years we have spent thousands of dollars on this program. All of these funds came from you!

However, we have noticed a significant decline in support of our raffle efforts the past couple of years. Each year the LSA prints 5000 raffle tickets, In the past, we sold all or most of those tickets, But you can see from the chart below that support has waned.

To this end, please consider purchasing raffle tickets to support Junior Shooting in the State. All of the money raised is set aside to support this program. The fund currently has $14,714.16. Please help us build the fund back up!

The drawing will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2022.

By now you have certainly heard that the attempt to override the veto of SB118 (Constitutional Carry) failed on a vote in the Senate during the special session 23 Yeas to 15 Nays. When SB118 initially passed in the Senate, there were more than enough Yeas to override a veto. However, some of our key allies flip-flopped, dooming the override to failure.

The following senators changed their votes on the bill:

Gary L. Smith, Jr. (Democrat, Norco),

Franklin J. Foil (Republican, Baton Rouge),

Louie Bernard (Republican, Natchitoches), and

Patrick Connick (Republican, Marrero).

Make sure you remember that these politicians cannot be counted upon to support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  They cannot be trusted.

Foil, Bernard and Connick are freshman Senators. Let’s make sure their first term is their last.

Smith allegedly wants to be Governor. Another Democrat who claims to support the 2nd Amendment but votes against it when his vote is truly needed? I think not. We have seen that show before. Keep that in mind when you head to the polls!

Next Steps

The Louisiana Shooting Association, Inc., along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Buckeye Firearms Foundation, Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Florida Carry, Grass Roots North Carolina, Illinois State Rifle Association, Maryland Shall Issue, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, New Jersey Second Amendment Society, Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education, Tennessee Firearms Association, and Virginia Citizens Defense League, have filed a “Friend of the Court” brief in a case that is now in front of the US Supreme Court.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al., Petitioners

v.

Kevin P. Bruen, in His Official Capacity as Superintendent of New York State Police, et al., Respondents

Although the LSA focuses nearly 100% of its efforts on issues right here in Louisiana, sometimes National Issues affect our members to the point that the LSA must become involved. If the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) manages to implement its new rule on Stabilizing Braces, thousands of Louisianians could become felons overnight.

On June 7, 2021, ATF published a new notice of proposed rule making on its website entitled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces.” The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on June 10, 2021, giving interested parties until September 8, 2021 to file comments. It is  important that you submit comments, which you can do by clicking here.

Since 2012, ATF has recognized that stabilizing braces and silencing barrel attachments like the omega 9k suppressor serve a legitimate function and the inclusion of a stabilizing brace on pistol or other firearm does not automatically subject that firearm to the provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA). The proposed rule seems aimed at making nearly all configurations of firearms equipped with stabilizing braces subject to the taxation and registration requirements of the NFA, which is in direct contradiction to the opinions ATF has issued previously.

Due to the discretionary scheme created by the rule, the ATF Director would be given an incredible amount of power over the firearm industry. This comes at a time when President Biden has nominated anti-gun lobbyist and gun ban proponent David Chipman to head the ATF. This draft rule is just one more reason why it’s extremely important for all gun owners to contact their Senators and ask that they vote against Chipman’s confirmation.

These are ATF’s instructions for submitting comments:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number ATF 2021R-08, by any of the following methods—

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Denise Brown, Mail Stop 6N-518, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20226; ATTN: ATF 2021R-08.Fax: (202) 648-9741.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number (ATF 2021R-08) for this notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM” or “proposed rule”). All properly completed comments received will be posted without change to the Federal eRulemaking portal, www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.

ATF also provided the following contact information for any questions regarding the proposed rule:

Denise Brown, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice, 99 New York Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20226; telephone: (202) 648-7070 (this is not a toll-free number).

In addition to these technical requirements, it’s important to keep the following in mind when submitting comments.

• Comments must be professional and respectful. While it is extremely frustrating that the Biden Administration is attempting to confiscate lawfully acquired firearms, making comments that include profanity will make it easy for ATF to summarily reject those comments.
• Comments should focus on the arbitrary nature of the proposed rule. That it is essentially impossible to determine when a firearm is legally a pistol or a short-barrel rifle  makes the proposed rule incompatible with American principles of due process of law.
• Comments should be individualized and focus on how the proposed rule would impact the commenter. ATF will treat all identical comments as a single comment, so it is important to avoid using a form comment.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez declared California’s statutes regarding so called “Assault Weapons” to be unconstitutional. In a significant ruling in the case Miller v. Bonta, which was filed by a coalition of pro-Civil Rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the Firearms Policy Coalition, California Gun Rights Foundation, San Diego County Gun Owners PAC, Poway Weapons and Gear, Gunfighter Tactical, LLC, and several private citizens including James Miller, for whom the case is named, Judge Benitez  shredded California gun control laws regarding modern semi-automatic rifles in a 94-page ruling.

Executive Vice President of the SAF, Alan M. Gottlieb said, “It is clear the judge did his homework on this ruling, and we are delighted with the outcome.” In his opening paragraph, Judge Benitez observes, “Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle, the AR-15 is the kind of versatile gun that lies at the intersection of the kinds of firearms protected under District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) and United States v Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939). Yet, the State of California makes it a crime to have an AR- 15 type rifle. Therefore, this Court declares the California statutes to be unconstitutional.”

Later in the ruling, Judge Benitez observes, “The Second Amendment protects modern weapons.” A few pages later, he adds, “Modern rifles are popular. Modern rifles are legal to build, buy, and own under federal law and the laws of 45 states.” Perhaps most importantly, the judge notes that California’s ban on such firearms “has had no effect” on shootings in the state. “California’s experiment is a failure,” Judge Benitez says.

“Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive,” Judge Benitez said. He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal. Not surprisingly, California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the decision, calling it “a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period.” On the judge’s comparison of the AR-15 to the Swiss Army Knife, the Governor said it “completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families who’ve lost loved ones to this weapon. We’re not backing down from this fight, and we’ll continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives.”

Of course, the Governor completely ignores the statistics that demonstrate that very few people are killed by any long gun, much less AR-15s, because of this, people should be allowed to buy at the Best gun store Canada. Californians are 7-times more likely to die from a knife than from any rifle and are three times as likely to die from hands or feet. In 2019, California saw 252 people murdered with a knife, while 34 people were killed with some type of rifle – not necessarily an AR15.

Of course, “common sense” has never had anything to do with California’s gun laws.