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.

By Charlie Chambers

On Monday, January 20, 2020, tens of thousands of great people joined in unity for the peaceful Lobby for your Rights Day in Richmond, Virginia. Despite reports by legacy media outlets of violence and cold weather, vehicles from several states parked along the cobblestone streets of Richmond to attend the nonviolent petition to our Government. Vehicles lined from Bank Street by the Capitol Building of Virginia to the James River Shockoe Bottom historic district. The people of Virginia clearly fell asleep prior to the election and now they’re trying to stop a flood of anti-right gun control policies. Good luck with that in the short-term.

Being surrounded by so many well-armed citizens was an incredible experience: a great one. As one article headline read, it was “The Civil Rights March of Our Time.”  It was upbeat, cheerful, diverse and worrisome. Worrisome in that so many pro-right Virginians did not show up to vote and get engaged with groups like VCDL (Virginia Citizens Defense League) in an ongoing fight to protect their Rights.

Virginia is not the only State guilty of the sin of not protecting our preexisting enumerated Rights.  I’m guilty as well and I’m trying to make up for my sins of “not showing up for so long”and not cutting through the media propaganda of gun control. I had no clue until I came across a Louisiana great, Tom Gresham and his Gun Talk Radio™ (GTR) in 2013 after I moved back to North Carolina from Boston.  After living in the great City of Boston, I craved more knowledge about firearms and the Second Amendment. Tom quickly become my “Spiritual Advisor of All Things Second Amendment Related.” The scales quickly fell from my eyes. As you read from Dan Zelenka’s article about the “Gun Rights Policy Conference 2019” (GRPC) by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF.org) it is not only an awakening, it is a great source of “Intellectual Ammo,” fun and will turn you into an effective Diplomat and Warrior to protect our Rights.

Back in Virginia, during the Lobby, I thought about all of the great people introduced to me in my Second Amendment Journey by GTR, GRPC, my own States’ GRNC.org and all the diverse groups tied in with Alan Gottleib’s Second Amendment Foundation.  I also thought about the years I lived and worked in Charlottesville, Culpeper and Orange, Virginia with several visits to Richmond.  In all of those years, Virginia didn’t feel like it was under attack; it was, but I wasn’t “Red Pilled.”  The January 20th, Lobby was certainly a defense put up by Pro-Right Americans under a well-funded Anti-Right Bloomberg attack.

If you do not attend or engage in Pro-Right Second Amendment Events and Lobbies, you should if you want future generations to experience our Freedoms.  If you already engage, please do more. As Tom recommends, spend twenty minutes a day in learning more about Second Amendment News, calling and writing your Representatives, donating a few dollars to your local Gun Right Groups and taking the uninitiated to a Gun Range.  It is the best inoculation to the gun control media’s lies.

If you get a chance to see Richmond and walk the streets of the Lobby, please do.  James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, VA is not far from Richmond.  Walk the steps of Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is an education in why we have the Second Amendment.  Hanging out with people smarter and better than you in that walk will only help you lean in that direction. You will be more effective and helpful just the like the folks who Lobbied in Richmond… Just do it ex ante versus ex post facto.

By Jay D. Hunt, III, Ph.D.

The Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Louisiana are quite clear: Individuals have the God-given Right to protect themselves and those they love. In 2008 in Heller v. the District of Columbia, the US Supreme Court held that, because the framers understood the right of self-defense to be “the central component” of the right to keep and bear arms, the Second Amendment implicitly protects the right “to use arms in defense of hearth and home.” Also, in 2008 in McDonald v. City of Chicago, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment, which guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,” applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government.

It’s natural in any free society that rational people will disagree, and governments have allowed individuals to declare their property “Gun-Free Zones.” I think we can all agree that any person has the right to decide that they don’t want firearms in their home, and by extension, has the right to ask guests to not bring a firearm into their home. Most of those reading this essay might question the wisdom of that request, but we all agree that it is the homeowner’s right to declare their home a “Gun-Free Zone.”

The question becomes somewhat more complex, however, when the “Gun-Free Zone” is a public location. As we know, public schools and government buildings in Louisiana have been declared “Gun-Free Zones.” The wisdom of that is certainly questionable, but as a lady once told me, “Dems da rules!” Likewise, the courts have all agreed that the owner of a business may declare their business a “Gun-Free Zone” and ask their customers to disarm before entering a premise. All over Chicago one sees the ubiquitous red circle with a slash through it over a Berretta Model 92 reminding concealed carry holders in Illinois that they are not welcomed in those locations.

When declaring an area a “Gun-Free Zone,” the business owner is, by definition, depriving an individual of the right of self-defense. However, as a customer, I have the ability to avoid that business (and I personally always do so to avoid being disarmed in a public place). Economist John Lott, Ph.D. has noted, “With just one single exception — the attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in 2011 — every public shooting since at least 1950 in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry guns.” This claim seems improbable, and I have not personally verified the veracity of his claim. However, we do know that the “Gun-Free” School Zones implemented by President Clinton have been unmitigated disasters. We know that military bases were also made “Gun-Free Zones” by President Clinton and that mass shootings on bases have risen since then. We know that the Aurora, CO movie theater was a “Gun-Free Zone.”

The obvious question is, should those who actively enforce “Gun-Free Zones,” including governments be responsible for any gun violence that occurs in those zones?

A number of like-minded legislators have attempted to do just that. In Michigan, a Republican state representative introduced legislation that would hold government offices and private businesses liable if anyone is injured during a shooting in a “Gun-Free Zone” on their premises. Michigan State Rep. Gary Eisen introduced HB 4975, which would revoke governmental immunity from lawsuits arising from injuries sustained on government property where guns are banned. He is also sponsored HB 4976, which would make a government, business or individual that designates a property a “Gun-Free Zone” responsible for the safety of individuals who enter it. In Tennessee, a Republican state senator introduced SB 1736, which would allow any Tennessean with a valid gun permit to sue a property owner in the event of injury or death provided the incident occurred while in a “Gun-Free Zone.”  Click here to know how to prepare for a personal injury consultation. Similar legislative efforts have also been proposed in Arizona, Florida, and Missouri. You can get lawyers help for wrongful death cases, in case you need help with wrongful death cases.

Is it time for Louisiana to join the debate? Should the LSA lobby for legislation that would hold state and local government as well as private business owners responsible for disarming concealed carry holders? What do you think?

If you’re reading this article, then you highly likely value your constitutional right to bear arms. Our Second Amendment is in need of a voice now more than ever. We are that voice; we are the gun lobby! If we choose to stand by with a passive approach, our rights will continue to be chipped away leaving us without one of the natural rights for which our country was created.

Join us in Washington, DC on November 2^nd, 2019 at the Second Amendment Rally and make your voice heard. The Second Amendment Rally is a grassroots event, organized and funded by grassroots activists, open to all supporters of the Constitution and lovers of liberty.

Current Announced Speakers (More to be announced!)

• Eric Blandford (IV8888)
• Craig Deluz (FPC)
• Dianna Muller (DC Project)
• Jonathan Patton (TGC)
• Mike Sodini (WTTA)
• Chris Cheng (Topshot)
• Joshua Prince (Lawyer)
• Erich Pratt (GOA)
• Kevin Dixie (NOC)
• Kenn Blanchard (Black Man with a Gun)
• Gabby Franco (competitive shooter)
• Cheryl Todd (Gun Freedom Radio)
• Matt Larosiere (Firearms Policy Coalition)
• Maj Toure (Black Guns Matter)
• Rob Pincus (2nd Amendment Organization)
• Jeff Knox (Firearms Coalition)
• Anthony Colandro (Gun For Hire)
• Amy Dillon (Legacy Defense)
• Kerry Slone (We the Female)
• Cam Edwards (Bearing Arms)
• Tim Harmsen (Military Arms Channel)
• Todd Fossey (Integrative Defense Strategies)
• Edgar Antillon (Guns for Everyone)
• Alexander Roubian (NJ 2A Society)
• Timothy Knight (2A Grassroots Activist)
• Anthony Garcia (Save The Second)

Date & Location

The 2nd Amendment Rally will take place on Saturday November 2nd, 2019 in Washington, DC. The rally begins in front of the Capitol Building (WEST LAWN – National Mall Side) at 12:30PM. Hotels, lodging, and parking are readily available throughout the greater Washington, DC and surrounding areas. 

You can signup and get more information here.