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 to buy guns here. 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.

By Jay D. Hunt, Ph.D.

On beautiful, sunny Saturday, March 14, LSA President Dan Zelenka, LSA Life Member Tom Gresham, and I were practicing social distancing by exercising our Second Amendment rights at a private shooting range in Mississippi. Our bliss was suddenly interrupted when we received a text message: the Mayor of New Orleans was planning to invoke emergency powers and issue a coronavirus emergency order allowing her to ban the sale and transportation of firearms. Tom immediately turned to Dan and said, “I’m calling Alan Gottlieb.”

On March 16, 2020, the Second Amendment Foundation responded to Cantrell’s claims of emergency powers over firearms by reminding her that they sued over Second Amendment infringement following Hurricane Katrina and will do so during the era of coronavirus if needed. SAF executive vice president Alan Gottlieb said, “Following Hurricane Katrina, we sued the city when then-Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration began confiscating firearms from law-abiding citizens for no good reason. The federal court order the city to cease confiscations. We sued New Orleans then, and we’ll do it again. The presence of a nasty disease does not suspend any part of the Bill of Rights, no matter what some municipal, state or even federal politician may think. While we certainly recognize the seriousness of this virus and its ability to spread rapidly, treating COVID-19 and taking steps to prevent it from infecting more people has nothing at all to do with the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.”

Gottlieb added, “People legally licensed to carry should not have their right to do so suddenly curtailed because some politician panicked. We didn’t allow it before, and we’re not going to allow it now.”

The LSA is keeping a close eye on Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D), who is no friend to law-abiding gun owners. We very much appreciate the crucial help of the SAF. If you do not support the SAF, you probably should consider it. The LSA gets no financial support from the SAF, but the SAF has filed EVERY major law suit in support of the Second Amendment and your right to keep and bear arms. You can visit the SAF here.

There has been a wave of permit-less concealed carry laws enacted across the US. They are popularly referred to as “Constitutional Carry Laws.”  In the past, there have been constitutional carry bills filed and presented to the Louisiana House Administration of Criminal Justice committee. No representative of the LSA, or even the NRA, attended those hearings, much less supported the bills. With respect to the LSA, this was in part because we are conservative and wanted to see how these laws worked in other states. There are 16 states with constitutional carry laws in effect and bills are pending in several others. After watching how they worked and looking for any problems they might cause, LSA has decided to support HB 686 because constitutional carry in Louisiana is an idea whose time has come. There is a constitutionally-protected right to carry a firearm openly in Louisiana; constitutional carry would allow someone carrying a firearm to put on a coat or wear his shirt untucked.

The Michael Bloomberg supported Moms Demand Action anti-rights group will claim that the sky will fall and blood will run in the streets if constitutional carry passes. We all heard the same thing from similar anti-rights groups when shall issue concealed carry laws were proposed and passed. None of their dire predictions came true. The 16 states that have constitutional carry have experienced no more issues than carry permit states, which is to say very, very few issues.

You may have concerns about training. We at the LSA agree that it is important, and we encourage people to get training. However, we do not believe training should be mandated. If it can be mandated for concealed carry, why not mandate it for open carry or even mandate it for gun ownership? You can see the slippery slope created by taking a position as a gun professional that people need training to have or carry a gun (keep and bear).

Fortunately, we have a track record to look at with respect to whether mandatory training should be required. In addition to the 16 constitutional carry states there are 6 states that require no training to get a permit. Those states do not experience any more issues than we do in Louisiana with our mandatory training. Further, economist John Lott noted that the increase in the number of people carrying guns in constitutional carry states has actually led to an increase in gun owners getting training, not a decrease.

Some have noted that constitutional carry will lead to law enforcement officers being shot. This, in fact, is a Red Herring. Constitutional carry does not allow “everyone” to carry concealed. It only allows law abiding citizens to carry. Law abiding citizens by definition are not a danger to law enforcement officers. Besides, the right to keep and bear arms is a Civil Right that is a limitation on the power of the government (the police). No civil right exists to make the job of the police easier.

The LSA believes that allowing constitutional carry will actually have the effect of more people getting their permit, not less. Carrying under the constitutional carry bill will have its limitations such as a lack of reciprocity, inability to carry within a 1000-foot school zone, and the inability to carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol (there are special laws that allow each of these things for permit holders). People that become used to carrying a firearm will grow unhappy with these limitations and many will likely obtain permits. In addition, there are other advantages to a permit such as the NICS background check waiver and, if HB 484 passes, the ability to carry a knife without being subject to RS 14:95.

People may think that it is a good idea to require a person to get a permit to carry a concealed firearm, but that is not the standard by which we must judge this bill. Louisiana Constitution Article 1, Section 11 says that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and any infringement will be subject to strict scrutiny review. Strict scrutiny requires a compelling governmental interest and a narrowly tailored regulation. That we have a constitutionally-protected right to open carry in Louisiana and have been doing so without problems for many years coupled with the evidence provided by 16 other states’ experiences with constitutional carry clearly show that there is no compelling governmental interest in preventing a law-abiding citizen from carrying his legally owned firearm in a concealed manner without obtaining a permit to do so.