To say that the 2021 Legislative Session has been good to Civil Rights loving Pro-Gun Louisianians may be a slight understatement. 2020 might have been a tough year for all of, but 2021 has been very bad to the Bloomberg backed Anti-Gun Mothers Demand Action and all of those other likeminded groups who hate your Civil Rights.

Constitutional Carry

Let’s start the hit parade with the holy grail for gun owners, constitutional carry. SB118 by Sen. John “Jay” Morris (Republican, West Monroe) has been approved by the State Senate on at vote of 27 Yeas to 11 Nays. This was the first constitutional carry bill to make it out of committee in Louisiana and, obviously, the first to pass a floor vote in Louisiana. The proposed law would allow for any person who does not possess a concealed handgun permit, but otherwise meets the same eligibility requirements as those who do possess a concealed handgun permit, to carry a handgun concealed. There are some caveats of course. The new law would extend the prohibition from carrying and concealing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance to non-permitted but otherwise legal carriers. (You cannot carry if you are drunk or high). Likewise, just like for a permit holder, a person carrying under constitutional carry would be required to notify any police officer who approaches him/her in an official manner or with an identified official purpose that he/she has a weapon on his/her person, submit to a pat down, and allow the officer to temporarily disarm him/her. These requirements apply to any person, not just Louisiana residents. If you would like to see if your Senator voted for or against this bill, go here. This bill has been sent to the House for consideration.

HB596 by Rep. Bryan Fontenot (Republican, Thibodaux) has been approved by the State House on a vote of 73 Yeas to 28 Nays. The proposed law would allow for a person who is 21 years of age or older and who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under any federal or state law to carry a concealed handgun. The proposed law removes the requirement under present law that a resident of Louisiana possess a permit issued by the state of Louisiana to carry a concealed handgun in the state of Louisiana. Further, it provides that an individual who meets the qualifications of current law to possess a concealed handgun permit shall not be required to possess a valid concealed handgun permit issued by the state of Louisiana to carry a concealed handgun. The proposed law also specifies that the new law shall not affect present law reciprocity requirements (meaning if you are not a resident of Louisiana but can legally carry a concealed handgun in our state through reciprocity with another state, that remains in effect). Like SB118, a person carrying a concealed handgun cannot do so under the influence of alcohol or drugs and must notify the police, submit to a pat down, and allow the officer to temporarily disarm them. In addition, HB596 directs the state police to include on their website information concerning applicable laws, available training, and even a free training video for those who are interested. There was bipartisan support for this bill. If you would like to see if your Representative voted for or against this bill, go here. This bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.

So, I know you’re asking yourself, “What happens if both bills pass both chambers?” The answer, both bills progress to the Governor’s desk. He will have three choices: Sign SB118 and veto HB596; sign HB596 and veto SB118; or veto both of them. I hope the reader will note that both of these bills have passed their respective chambers with more than 2/3 of the chamber vote. I’m sure the Honorable John Bel Edwards has noticed the same thing.

Second Amendment Sanctuary

According to an article written by Lee Williams for the Second Amendment Foundation, the number of states, counties, and cities declaring themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries is skyrocketing. As it stands now, more than 47% of all counties in the United States have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries, according to Noah Davis of sanctuarycounties.com and its companion site constitutionalsanctuaries.com. As of May 6, 2021, 10 States and 1491 of 3144 counties have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. And the left leaning news outlets have noticed (and not surprisingly, under reported the effectiveness of the movement). Vice news reported,

“In the month of April alone, six states—Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—became so-called gun sanctuaries. But the specifics of the bills range widely, from political grandstanding, to having the potential to trigger a nasty constitutional showdown. At least seven more states, including Texas, have meanwhile introduced legislation proposing Second Amendment sanctuary protections. Four states—Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, and Wyoming—passed gun protection laws during the Obama administration.”

HB118 by Rep. Lawrence “Larry” Frieman (Republican, Abita Springs) hopes to add Louisiana to the ever-growing number of States that have had enough of the Federal Government encroaching on the Civil Rights of their citizens. The bill passed the House by a vote of 70 Yeas to 30 Nays and now heads to the Senate for their consideration.

The proposed law provides that federal regulation infringes on a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms when the following occurs but is not limited to: (1) Any tax, levy, fee, or stamp imposed on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition not common to all other goods and services that may reasonably be expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens. Excise taxes collected pursuant to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act are excluded from this prohibition; (2) Any registering or tracking of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that may reasonably be expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens; (3) Any registering or tracking of the owners of the firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition that may reasonably be expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by law-abiding citizens; (4) Any act forbidding the possession, ownership, or use or transfer of a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition by law-abiding citizens; or (5) Any act ordering the confiscation of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition from law-abiding citizens. The bill provides that a federal action infringing upon a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms shall be held invalid and of no effect in Louisiana if enacted after January 1, 2021. Further, the bill specifies that proposed law is applicable to any employee or official of the state or a political subdivision. It prohibits any employee or official described in proposed law from the following when such regulation does not exist under Louisiana law: (1) Adopting a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the entity explicitly or through consistent overt action enforces a federal regulation that purports to regulate a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition; (2) Enforcing or assisting in the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or regulation as provided by proposed law; or (3) Using any assets, state funds, or funds allocated by the state to local entities to engage in any activity that aids in federal regulation regarding a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition. And this bill has teeth. The bill provides that an employee or official who violates this proposed law shall be liable to the injured party in an action at law or other proceeding for redress, and proposed law allows the court to award the prevailing party, other than the state or any political subdivision, reasonable attorney fees and costs. It will prohibit a political subdivision from receiving grant funds from the state if the political subdivision violates the proposed law. It further specifies that grant funds shall be denied for the fiscal year following the year in which the final judicial determination has been made in an action brought under proposed law determining that the entity has violated proposed law.

To see how your representative voted on this legislation, go here.

Concealed Carry Permits

In a potential world where one might be able to carry a concealed handgun in Louisiana without the need of a permit, it’s important not to forget that the Concealed Handgun Permit is not going anywhere and there are still important reasons to have said permit (several reasons are (1) reciprocity in other states; (2) the ability for a federally licensed dealer to forgo the NICS check when a form 4473 is completed; (3) the ability to carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol; and (4) the ability to carry within 1,000’ of a school).

HB48 by Rep. Blake Miguez (Republican, Erath) passed the house by unanimous approval (100 Yeas to 0 Nays). In a nutshell, this proposed legislation would expand the forms of training acceptable under the current training requirements for the permit. Present law provides that the instructors for courses and training shall be certified by the Council on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) as firearms instructors or by the National Rifle Association (NRA) as instructors for Basic Pistol Shooting, Personal Protection in the Home, or Personal Protection Outside the Home. The proposed law retains those certifications and provides for applicants to also complete any U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) handgun safety or training course conducted by a U.S. Concealed Carry Association certified instructor within the preceding 12 months. So under the new law, certification options for instructors will include :(1) The NRA as a Carrying a Concealed Weapon instructor; (2) The NRA Law Enforcement Division as an instructor for courses involving the teaching of handguns; (3) The USCCA as an instructor for Home Defense and Concealed Carry Fundamentals or Defensive Shooting Fundamentals; (4) The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Firearms Instructor Training Program or other federal agency firearms instructor course consisting of at least 40 hours of instruction; or (5) Other instructor certification programs approved by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

People who hold a concealed handgun permit under the current laws of Louisiana often wonder if their permit allows them to carry other defensive weapons, such as a knife. The short answer is, no. Present law provides that the illegal carrying of weapons is any of the following and provides criminal penalties for those who are convicted of the offense: (1) The intentional concealment of any firearm, or other instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon, on one’s person; (2) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any firearm, or other instrumentality customarily used as a dangerous weapon, at any time by an enemy alien; (3) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any tools, or dynamite, or nitroglycerine, or explosives, or other instrumentality customarily used by thieves or burglars at any time by any person with the intent to commit a crime; (4) The intentional concealment on one’s person of any switchblade knife, spring knife, or other knife or similar instrument having a blade which maybe automatically unfolded or extended from a handle by the manipulation of a button, switch, latch, or similar contrivance located on the handle. Present law provides certain exceptions to this prohibition; or (5) The intentional possession or use by any person of a dangerous weapon on a school campus during regular school hours or on a school bus. Present law provides certain exceptions to this prohibition.

Rep. Paul Hollis (Republican, Covington) authored HB124, which unanimously passed in the House on a vote of 95 Yeas to 0 Nays. This bill would modify existing law and provide that a person with a valid concealed handgun permit shall not be prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm or other instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon on his person unless otherwise prohibited by present law. In other words, if you have a concealed handgun permit, you may carry a knife, or taser, or other defensive weapon in addition to your handgun. The proposed law would also make clear that persons with valid concealed handgun permits are excluded from the prohibition of carrying handguns in current law.

The success that we have experienced this year is due in no small part to the activism of LSA members. On gun day in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, at least 85 gun rights advocates attended. Another 140+ sent emails to the committee expressing their support. This kind of activism gets results. Thank you for your past support. However, the fight is not over. We have a few more committee hearings and floor votes to go. We will let you know when these get scheduled. Your continued emails and attendance will put these bills on the Governor’s desk.

 

As of April 28, 2021, the most up-to-date information on the firearms related legislation proposed in 2021 is summarized below.

• SB118 Sen. John “Jay” Morris (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the concealed carrying of firearms by extending the prohibition from carrying and concealing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance to non-permitted but otherwise legal carriers and extends the notification requirement to police officers to non-permitted but otherwise legal carriers
  • Reported Favorably by the Senate Committee on Judiciary C
  • Passed by the Full Senate on a vote of 26 Yeas to 11 Nays; ordered re-engrossed and sent to the House.

• SB115 Sen. Barrow Peacock (R)- [LSA has No Postition] Prohibits possession of firearms, ammunition, or electric weapons or devices by certain felons
  • Reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Judiciary C

• HB48 Rep. Blake Miguez (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the requirements for concealed handgun permit safety and training course applicants and instructors
  • Reported Favorably by the House Administration of Criminal Justice with no opposition

• HB596 Rep. Bryan Fontenot (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the concealed carrying of firearms; not “true” Constitutional Carry as currently written, it is an advancement for the right to keep and bear arms (i.e., it’s not what we want, but its better than what we have). The LSA would like to see this bill amended.
  • Reported Favorably by the House Administration of Criminal Justice on a vote of 8 Yeas to 4 Nays

• HB118 Rep. Larry Frieman (R)- [Supported by LSA] Firearms Protection Act making Louisiana a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary State, to prevent federal regulation from infringing on a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.
  • Reported Favorably by the House Administration of Criminal Justice on a vote of 8 Yeas to 4 Nays

• HB16 Rep. Danny McCormick (R)- [Supported by LSA] Constitutional Carry,  legalizes Concealed Carry for the same law-abiding citizens who can legally Open Carry in Louisiana. The Concealed Handgun License will remain in tact as an option for those who wish to seek reciprocity in other states.
  • Involuntarily deferred by the House Administration of Criminal Justice on a vote of 4 Yeas to 8 Nays

• HB353 Rep. Mandie Landry (D) [Opposed by LSA] Prohibits the private transfer of firearms between lawful individuals without first obtaining a background check
  • Voluntarily deferred by the Author

• HB124 Rep. Paul Hollis (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides an exception to certain offenses of illegal carrying of weapons for persons with a concealed handgun permit
  • Reported Favorably by the House Administration of Criminal Justice with no opposition

The following bills have not been considered as of this date.

• HB52 Rep. Debbie Villio (R)- [LSA has No Position] (Constitutional Amendment) Adds aggravated battery committed with a firearm to the list of crimes for which special juvenile procedures are not required
  • Withdrawn prior to introduction

• HB326 Rep. Tammy Phelps (D) [Opposed by LSA] Removes the requirement that the handgun be possessed on the offender’s person in order for illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile to apply
  • Referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice

• HB597 Rep. Blake Miguez (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to prohibition on certain governmental entity contracts with companies that discriminate against firearm and ammunition industries
  • Referred to the Committee on Appropriations

Here is a list of firearms related legislation proposed in Louisiana for the 2021 Legislative Session.

• HB16 Rep. Danny McCormick (R)- [Supported by LSA] Constitutional Carry,  legalizes Concealed Carry for the same law-abiding citizens who can legally Open Carry in Louisiana. The Concealed Handgun License will remain in tact as an option for those who wish to seek reciprocity in other states.
• HB48 Rep. Blake Miguez (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the requirements for concealed handgun permit safety and training course applicants and instructors
• HB52 Rep. Debbie Villio (R)- [LSA has No Position] (Constitutional Amendment) Adds aggravated battery committed with a firearm to the list of crimes for which special juvenile procedures are not required
• HB118 Rep. Larry Frieman (R)- [Supported by LSA] Firearms Protection Act making Louisiana a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary State, to prevent federal regulation from infringing on a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.
• HB124 Rep. Paul Hollis (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides an exception to certain offenses of illegal carrying of weapons for persons with a concealed handgun permit
• HB326 Rep. Tammy Phelps (D) [Opposed by LSA] Removes the requirement that the handgun be possessed on the offender’s person in order for illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile to apply
• HB353 Rep. Mandie Landry (D) [Opposed by LSA] Prohibits the private transfer of firearms between lawful individuals without first obtaining a background check
• HB596 Rep. Bryan Fontenot (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the concealed carrying of firearms; not “true” Constitutional Carry as currently written, it is an advancement for the right to keep and bear arms (i.e., it’s not what we want, but its better than what we have). The LSA would like to see this bill amended.
• HB597 Rep. Blake Miguez (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to prohibition on certain governmental entity contracts with companies that discriminate against firearm and ammunition industries
• SB115 Sen. Barrow Peacock (R)- [LSA has No Postition] Prohibits possession of firearms, ammunition, or electric weapons or devices by certain felons
• SB118 Sen. John Morris (R)- [Supported by LSA] Provides relative to the concealed carrying of firearms by extending the prohibition from carrying and concealing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance to non-permitted but otherwise legal carriers and extends the notification requirement to police officers to non-permitted but otherwise legal carriers

For the first time in its 53 year history, the Louisiana Shooting Association was not able to hold a live Annual Meeting of Members and Elections. Using a sophisticated and secure on-line voting system, the LSA hosted a virtual election. Here are the results of that election.

Elected to a 3-year term as Director (in order of number of votes obtained):

Jay D. Hunt, III
Ronald “Buck” Kliebert
Ron Duplessis
Dwayne Vidrine
Paul Prokop

Elected to a 1-year term as Alternate Directors:

Ted A. Torres, III – First Alternate
Dave Ramey – Second Alternate

As to the Bylaw Amendment Approval of Article IV Section 1, the motion passed by a vote of 96.4% For and 3.6% Against.

The By-Laws of the Louisiana Shooting Association (amended February 18, 2018) Article IV Meetings of the Association Section 1. Annual Meetings formerly read:

No earlier than January 1 and no later than February 28, the Association shall conduct a meeting for the election of Directors and the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting. The exact date, time and place of this meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Not less than 10 day’s notice of this meeting, specifying the date, time and place of meeting, shall be provided to all members of the Association. If this meeting cannot be held due to an act of God, or otherwise, it shall be held at the earliest convenient time, at the discretion of the President.

The following amendment was proposed and approved:

No earlier than January 1 and no later than February 28, the Association shall conduct a meeting for the election of Directors and the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting. The exact date, time and place of this meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee. Not less than 10 day’s notice of this meeting, specifying the date, time and place of meeting, shall be provided to all members of the Association. If this meeting cannot be held due to an act of God, or otherwise, it shall be held at the earliest convenient time, at the discretion of the President. If an Annual Meeting cannot be held during a year due to extraordinary events, a vote of 2/3 of the Directors may also approve an Electronic Ballot be provided to the members of the association who are eligible to vote.

We are often asked to compile a list of companies that are anti-Civil Rights who call for the removal of your Constitutionally-Protected Rights under the Second Amendment. But, as a small Pro-Civil Rights Organization run entirely by volunteers, this task is a little too daunting. Never fear! The Second Amendment Foundation has done just that. If you would like to see there full list, click here.

The following companies and/or their decision makers have instituted anti-firearm corporate policy or have pressed lawmakers to enact further strict legislation.

20/20 Vision	Cheryl Plank	CEO
A&M Records	Herb Alpert	CEO
AlleyCorp	Kevin Ryan	Founder and CEO
Alphabet, Inc.	Sundar Pichai	CEO
Amalgamated Bank	Keith Mestrich	President and CEO
Ambition	TravisTruett	Co-Founder and CEO
AMC Theatres	Adam Aron	CEO
AOL / Time Warner	Jason Kilar	CEO
Ariel Investments LLC	John W. Rogers, Jr.	CEO
Artsy	Mike Steib	CEO
Ascend.io	Sean Knapp	Co-Founder and CEO
Aspiration	Andrei Cherny	Co-Founder and CEO
AT&T	Randal Stephenson	CEO
Aura	Abdur Chowdhury	CEO
AutoZone	William Rhodes	CEO
Backpack	Fahim Aziz	Founder and CEO
Bad Robot	Fahim Aziz	Founder and CEO
Bain Capital	John Connaughton	Co-Managing Partner / Co-Chairman
Bank of America	Brian Moynihan	CEO
Beeswax	AriPaparo	CEO
Begin	Ryan Block	Co-Founder
Betaworks	John Borthwick	Founder and CEO
Beyond Meat	Ethan Brown	Co-Founder and CEO
Bloomberg LP	Peter Grauer	Chairman
Bonusly	Raphael Crawford-Marks	Co-Founder and CEO
Brat	Darren Lachtman	Co-Founder
Brookfield Property	Ric Clark	Chairman
Brud	Trevor McFedries	CEO
Bumble	Whitney Herd	CEO
Burger King	Daniel Schwartz	CEO
Cambly	Sameer Shariff	Co-Founder
Catch & Release	Analisa Goodin	Founder and CEO
Cerebras Systems	Andrew Feldman	Founder and CEO
Chipotle	Brian Niccol	CEO
Circle Medical	George Favvas	CEO
ClassPass	Fritz Lanman	CEO
Clearbit	Alex MacCaw	CEO
Clever	Tyler Bosmeny	CEO
Clockwise	Matt Martin	Co-Founder and CEO
CNN	Jeff Zucker	CEO
Color Genomics	Othman Laraki	Co-Founder and CEO
Comcast	Brian Roberts	CEO
Conde Nast	Roger Lynch	CEO
Costco	Craig Jelinek	CEO
Credit Karma	Ken Lin	Founder and CEO
Crunchbase	Jager McConnell	CEO
Curalate	Apu Gupta	Co-Founder and CEO
Curtsy	David Oates	Co-Founder and CEO
Dannon	Juan Dalto	CEO
Delta Airlines	Ed Bastian	CEO
DICK’S Sporting Goods	Edward Stack	CEO
Disney Company	Bob Chapek	CEO
DoorDash	Tony Xu	Co-Founder and CEO
Doxel, Inc.	Saurabh Ladha	CEO
Ebay	Jamie Iannone	CEO
Ecolab	Doug Baker	Chairman and CEO
Edelman	Richard Edelman	President and CEO
Elektra Labs	Andy Coravos	Co-Founder and CEO
Emerson Collective	Laurene Powell Jobs	President
Enterprise	Chrissy Taylor	CEO
Eventbrite	Julia Hartz	Co-Founder and CEO
Farmstead	Pradeep Elankumaran	Co-Founder & CEO
Full Picture	Desiree Gruber	CEO
Fundera	Jared Hecht	Founder and CEO
Gap Inc.	Art Peck	CEO
Gateway Computers	James Coleman	CEO
GE	Lawrence Culp	CEO
GEICO	Todd Combs	CEO
Goat Group	Eddy Lu	CEO
Golden	Jude Gomila	Founder and CEO
Graphic Packaging	Michael Doss	CEO
Group Nine Media	Ben Lerer	Co-Founder & CEO
Gucci	Marco Bizzarri	CEO
Guru	Rick Nucci	Co-Founder & CEO
Hallmark Cards	Mike Perry	CEO
Hard Rock Cafe	James Allen	CEO
Havas Group	Yannick Bollore	CEO
HBO	Richard Plepler	CEO
Hint, Inc.	Kara Goldin	Founder and CEO
HipDot	Jeff Sellinger	Co-Founder and CEO
Hooked	Prerna Gupta	CEO
Horizon Media	Bill Koenigsberg	President CEO and Founder
Humbition	Cyrus Massoumi	Managing Partner
Impossible Foods	Patrick Brown	MD, PhD, Founder and CEO
Interpublic	Michael Roth	Chairman and CEO
Intuit	Sasan Goodzari	CEO
JOOR	Kristin Savilia	CEO
Jumbo Privacy	Pierre Valade	CEO
Kabbage Inc.	Rob Frohwein	Co-Founder and CEO
Kadena	William Martino	Founder and CEO
Kanga	Jake Perlman-Garr	CEO
Knowable	Warren Shaeffer	Co-Founder and CEO
Lattice	Jack Altman	CEO
Levi Strauss & Co.	Chip Bergh	President and CEO
Lucent Technologies	Patricia Russo	CEO
Lyft	Logan Green	Co-Founder and CEO
MetaProp.vc	Aaron Block	Co-Founder and Managing Director
MetLife	Michael Khalaf	CEO
Microsoft	Satya Nadella	CEO
Modern Fertility	Afton Vechery	Co-Founder and CEO
MongoDB Inc.	Dev Ittycheria	President and CEO
MSNBC	Phil Griffin	CEO
MTV	Chris McCarthey	CEO
Navient	John Remonid	CEO
NBC Universal	Jeff Shell	CEO
NCR Corp.	Michael Hayford	CEO
Neighborland	Dan Parham	Founder and CEO
NewsCred	Shafqat Islam	CEO
Nextdoor	Sarah Friar	CEO
NowThis	Athan Stephanopoulos	President
Nurx	Varsha Rao	CEO
Oaktree Capital	Howard Marks	Co-Chairman
Oberndorf Enterprises	William E. Oberndorf	Chairman
Oceans	Steven Rosenblatt	Co-Founder and General Partner
OfferUp	Nick Huzar	Co-Founder and CEO
Okta	Todd McKinnon	Co-Founder and CEO
Omnicom Group	John Wren	Chairman and CEO
Openpath	James Segil	Co-Founder and President
Panera Bread	Niren Chaudhary	CEO
Parabol	Jordan Husney	CEO
Paravision	Doug Aley	CEO
Paypal	David Schulman	CEO
Pinterest	Ben Silbermann	Co-Founder and CEO
Plato Design	John Milinovich	CEO
Postmates	Bastian Lehmann	Co-Founder & CEO
Presto	Rajat Suri	CEO
Prima	Christopher Gavigan	Founder and CEO
Progressive Insurance	Tricia Griffith	CEO
Prologis	Hamid Moghadam	Chairman and CEO
Publicis Groupe	Arthur Sadoun	Chairman and CEO
Quartzy	Adam Regelmann	Founder and COO
Reddit	Steve Huffman	CEO
Ribbon Health	Nate Maslak	Co-Founder and CEO
Ro	Zachariah Reitano	Co-Founder and CEO
Roofstock	Gary Beasley	Co-Founder and CEO
Royal Caribbean Cruises	Richard Fain	CEO
RXR Realty	Scott Rechler	Chairman and CEO
Sara Lee	John Bryan	CEO
SelfMade	Brian Schechter	CEO
Shoptiques Inc.	Olga Vidisheva	Founder and CEO
Showtime Cable Network	David Nevins	CEO
Shutterstock Inc.	Jon Oringer	Founder and CEO
Sidewalk Labs	Dan Doctoroff	CEO
Sift	Jason Tan	CEO
Skillshare	Matt Cooper	CEO
SkySafe	Grant Jordan	CEO
Small Door	Josh Guttman	Co-Founder and CEO
SmartAsset	Michael Carvin	Co-Founder and CEO
Snapdocs, Inc.	Aaron King	Founder and CEO
Solve.io	Neil Capel	CEO
Sonic	J. Clifford Hudson	CEO
Southwestern Bell	Mark Keiffer	CEO
Splash	Ben Hindman	Co-Founder and CEO
Square and Twitter	Jack Dorsey	CEO
Squarespace	Anthony Casalena	Founder and CEO
Standard Bots	Evan Beard	Founder and CEO
Subway	Trevor Haynes	CEO
Sundia Corporation	Bradford Oberwager	CEO
Sunlight Health	Ross Feinstein	CEO
Superplastic	Paul Budnitz	CEO
SurveyMonkey	Zander Lurie	CEO
SV Angel	Ron Conway	Founder
Symantec	Vincent Pilette	CEO
ThirdLove	Heidi Zak	Co-Founder and Co-CEO
Thisopenspace inc.	Ashar Nejati	CEO
Thrive Capital	Joshua Kushner	Founder and Managing Partner
Thrive Global	Arianna Huffington	Founder and CEO
ThunderCore Inc.	Chris Wang	CEO
Tillable	Corbett Kull	CEO
Tinder	Sean Rad	CEO
TOMS	Blake Mycoskie	Founder and CEO
Twilio	Jeff Lawson	Co-Founder and CEO
Uber	Dara Khosrowshahi	CEO
Uniform Teeth	Meghan Jewitt	CEO
Viosera Therapeutics	Nicholas Goldner	Co-Founder and CEO
Virtual Kitchen	Ken Chong	CEO
Voxer	Irv Remedios	CEO
Voyage	Oliver Cameron	Co-Founder and CEO
Watsi	Chase Adam	Co-Founder and CEO
WayUp	Liz Wessel	Co-Founder and CEO
Whalar	Neil Waller	CEO
Wizeline	Bismarck Lepe	CEO
WPP	Mark Read	CEO
X.ai, inc.	Dennis Mortensen	Founder and CEO
Y Combinator	Geoff Ralston	President
Yelp	Jeremy Stoppelman	Co-Founder and CEO
Yum Brands	Greg Creed	CEO
Zola	Shan-Lyn Ma	Co-Founder and CEO

For years we have heard from those who hate our Civil Rights protected under the Second Amendment, “We are not coming for your guns. We only want common sense gun laws.” However, President-Elect Joe Biden’s Twitter message to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords made it crystal clear: Biden pledged to work with Giffords on her extremist gun control agenda, and promised to “defeat the NRA.” In response, Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) founder and Executive Vice-President Alan M. Gottlieb said “Joe Biden has labored relentlessly for decades to reduce the Second Amendment to rubble. He may attack one group by name, but his goal is to crush the rights of every gun owner in our country.” [Click here for more on Gottlieb’s response]

We are all thankful for organizations like the NRA and the SAF that work at the National level to defeat the emotional and uninformed anti-Civil Rights politicians like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer. For many years, most Louisianians have felt safe under the protection of these National pro-Second Amendment organizations. But, with the influx of money and outside influence from the staunch anti-Civil Rights Michael Bloomberg, Louisiana State Politicians have become emboldened in their attempts to limit your rights. Two years ago, Democrats in the State House proposed bill after bill that came directly from the playbook of the Bloomberg-financed Everytown for Gun Safety. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forces. Everytown for Gun Safety is largely financed by Michael Bloomberg.

Your best defense against the loss of your Second Amendment Rights in Louisiana is a strong LSA. The LSA is laser focused on your Civil Rights protected under the Second Amendment. Although we closely monitor National laws, 100% of our efforts are in Louisiana. The LSA works with pro-Second Amendment legislators to craft laws that protect your rights. The LSA helps legislators on both sides of the aisle to craft anti-crime legislation that will not inadvertently (or purposefully) harm your rights. The LSA works tirelessly to defeat any and all legislation that would harm your protected right to keep and bear arms.

Your membership is crucial, because politicians are influenced by numbers. A large LSA demonstrates a strong commitment by the Citizens of Louisiana for the preservation of their Civil Rights protected by the Second Amendment. Membership is only $15 per year! If you are already a member, consider giving a friend a membership in the LSA.

Your continued support is critical for our mission.

Ron Duplessis: Incumbent Director; Life Member of LSA; Life Member of NRA; Owner , President of several rifle and barrel manufacturing companies, including Carbon Six Barrels, Carbon Six Rifles, Mcgowen Precision Barrels, and Precision Cut Barrels, with plans to bring three different rifles and seven models to market in 2021; owns patent for the three lug bolt action rifle (Pat. No. 7975417); manufacturer that works with the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) and displays at the SHOT Show; Range Owner; accomplished shotgun shooter; extensive legislative and bill writing experience

John Grout: Incumbent Alternate Director; no information provided by candidate

Jay D. Hunt, III: Incumbent Director and Treasurer; First elected to LSA Board in 2006; Treasurer since 2008; Life Member of LSA; Benefactor Member of NRA; Life Member of Second Amendment Foundation; Life Member of Safari Club International; Hunter Education Instructor; NRA Range Safety Officer; former High Power Rifle Master level competitive shooter and Junior shooting coach; Retired Range Safety Officer and former Board member for Honey Island Shooting Range; Staunch supporter of Second Amendment Rights

Ronald “Buck” Kliebert: Incumbent Director; First elected to LSA Board in 2009; Member of the NRA; former Louisiana State High Power Rifle Team member from 2006-2011; Jr. High Power Rifle Coach; active competitive shooter holding NRA classifications in High Power Rifle (Master), Long Range Prone (Master), Mid-Range Prone (High Master) and Small Bore Prone (Expert); Staunch supporter of our Second Amendment Rights and would like to continue serving you as a director on the LSA board

Paul Prokop: Incumbent Director and Secretary; First elected to LSA board in 2012; Secretary since 2012; Life member of LSA; Benefactor member of NRA; High Power Rifle Master level competitive shooter; Retired Coast Guard Captain (O-6)

David J. Ramey: Incumbent Alternate Director; Life Member of LSA; Benefactor and Golden Eagle Member of NRA; LA CHP and Hunter Ed Instructor; Retired Range Safety Officer and former Board member for Honey Island Shooting Range; currently working as compliance officer and in-house Trainer/Instructor at Jefferson Gun Outlet & Indoor Range; Supported the Second Amendment in several states in the past when employed there

Ted A. Torres, III:  Served on the board of directors for the Louisiana Shooting Association from 2012 to 2019.  Served as the match director for NRA F-class and Field Precision Rifle competitions at Palo Alto Rifle and Pistol Club 2011-2015.  Previous owner of Ritten Precision, LLC specializing in building and accurizing of competition and long-range hunting rifles.  Passionate hunter and dedicated supporter of 2A rights.

Dwayne Vidrine: Incumbent Director;  First elected to the LSA Board in 2018; Life member of the LSA; benefactor member of the NRA; Registered Professional Engineer #25201, State of Louisiana; Member of the Palo Alt Rifle & Pistol Club and the Southeast Louisiana High Power Rifle Club; Active High Power Rifle and service pistol competitive shooter; Distinguished Rifleman #2276.; Staunch supporter of our Second Amendment Rights.