2025 September Newsletter 
Editor's Report
Second Amendment Tax Holiday set for September 5th - 7th
The Louisiana Department of Revenue has officially announced that the state’s annual Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday will take place from Friday, September 5 through Sunday, September 7, 2025. During this three-day period, eligible consumer purchases of firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies will be exempt from state and local sales taxes.
The sales tax exemption, authorized under Louisiana Revised Statute 47:305.62, applies to purchases made by individual consumers, not businesses or commercial entities. Qualifying purchases must occur between 12:01 a.m. on Friday, September 5 and midnight on Sunday, September 7.
Eligible Items
Items qualifying for the sales tax exemption include:
- Firearms legally available for purchase in Louisiana such as pistols, rifles, shotguns, and revolvers
- Ammunition used in firearms
- Hunting-related supplies such as:
- Archery equipment (bows, crossbows, arrows, etc.)
- Hunting apparel (camouflage clothing, gloves, jackets, thermal wear)
- Safety gear and optics (impact-resistant shooting glasses, scopes, range finders)
- Firearm accessories (cases, slings, holsters)
- Miscellaneous hunting gear (decoys, tree stands, blinds, hearing protection)
Knives and tools marketed for hunting use, game bags, hunting boots, and pirogues are also included.
Ineligible Items
Certain items are excluded from the exemption, including:
- Hunting animals (e.g., dogs)
- Animal feed
- Off-road vehicles, golf carts, and vessels like air boats
- Furniture or household-use chairs
- Non-hunting knives and tools
- Toys or recreational equipment not specifically marketed for hunting
Conditions
Consumers may qualify for the exemption by:
- Buying and taking possession of eligible items during the holiday
- Paying for layaway purchases
- Making final payments on previously placed layaway items
- Ordering eligible items for immediate delivery, even if shipment is delayed, as long as the customer does not request the delay
Rain check and return provisions are also included. For example, purchases made with a rain check issued before the holiday are eligible, but not those using rain checks issued during the holiday. Returned items can be exchanged tax-free for identical items, but a new purchase will be taxed if it involves a different item after the holiday period.
Stories from the Field
West Point Cadet and Louisianian Addison Antwiler Chosen 2025 Black Knight Women's Rookie of the Year
Army West Point Athletics celebrated the accomplishments of the 2024-25 season with the annual Black Knight Awards presented by USAA.
The Black Knight Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of cadet-athletes, teams, and staff members across all of Army's athletic programs. The event serves as an opportunity to honor excellence in competition, academics, leadership, and service, while reflecting on another memorable year for the Black Knights.
Addison Antwiler was selected as 2025 Women's Rookie of the Year.
Addison started her shooting career with the St. Tammany Parish 4-H Shooting program in Small Bore Rifle and Air Rifle under the tutelage of LSA Director, George Petras. While attending Mandeville High School, she competed with the JROTC program there, excelling in Air Rifle competition. In preparation for University Competition, Addison move to the Civilian Marksmanship competition program. She now competes at West Point with the Black Knights Rifle Team.
The Mandeville JROTC program received a grant from the LSA's Junior Shooting Program. This grant was funded from your donations!
Eyes on the Anti-Gunners
McCloskeys Win Back AR-15 rifle 5 years after Black Lives Matter Protest Confrontation
The Missouri couple who went viral in 2020 for pulling guns on Black Lives Matter protestors outside their leafy St. Louis mansion scored a major legal win last week by regaining possession of their weapons.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey collected their AR-15 rifle from Missouri officials Friday, five years after it was seized by law enforcement following the protest debacle.
“It only took 3 lawsuits, 2 trips to the Court of Appeals and 1,847 days, but I got my AR15 back!” Mark posted on X Friday. “We defended our home, were persecuted by the left, smeared by the press, and threatened with death, but we never backed down.”
McCloskey paired the announcement with a photo of himself brandishing the weapon outside his home – and even donned the same pink polo and khakis he wore that fateful June day.
Legislative Update
Musings on a More Modern Second Amendment
With the Louisiana Legislature on hiatus, and the US Congress and Senate on summer break, there is nothing new to report on the legislative front.
I was planning on canceling this section of the LSA Monthly for September, but then I read an excellent article by Dr. Will Dabbs on the Second Amendment in the Field Ethos online journal. It is a short read, and very enjoyable. It is entitled, Commas Save Lives.
The article focuses on why our Founding Fathers structured the Second Amendment the way they did. This structure has caused a lot of strife over the years with the anti-gunners trying mightily to convince a weary public that the Second Amendment was written to ensure that the US had a national guard. But, in fact, Dr. Dabbs makes a cogent and convincing argument against such nonsense.
In fact, Dr. Dabbs argues that the fledgling nation had just overthrown a tyrannical government led by King George III who used the worlds’ most powerful standing army to ensure that colonist would not become free men.
James Madison recognized two things: (1) that standing armies had become an unfortunate necissity in by the late 18th century for any nation that wished to not be overrun and (2) tyrants had no issues with using their army to squelch a free people.
If James Madison was writing the Second Amendment today using modern English he might write it this way.
In 1798 English:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
In 2025 English:
“Because a professional standing army is necessary for the security of any nation, and because a tyrannical government can use that army against the will of the people, an individual’s right to be armed and defend himself against threats, including his own government, shall not be infringed.”
So, the next time a blue-haired, nose ring-wearing progressive screams in your face that you don’t need an AR-15 to hunt deer, remind them that the Second Amendment was written so that we might defend ourselves against tyranny, not against hordes invading whitetail deer.
News from the LSA
Louisiana Fields Team at 2025 National High Power Rifle Matches at Camp Perry
Since 1907, Camp Perry located near Port Clinton, Ohio has been the site of the National Matches. Every July and August thousands of civilians and military personnel compete in both rifle and pistol disciplines for coveted awards.
Every year LSA members make the long journey north to compete in this prestigious event.
2025 was no different with over ten LSA members and Louisianians competing in the High Power Rifle Matches.These matches are conducted by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). Competitors fire at distances from 200 to 600 yards from the standing, sitting, and prone positions. The AR-15 is the most popular rifle with special matches being held for M1 Garand rifles, 1903 Springfield rifles, M1 Carbines, M14s, and a variety of vintage and modern military sniper rifles.
LSA board members Sam Beane and Mike Burke were the first to arrive. They competed in the CMP Cup Matches and fired some respectable scores. They also had the pleasure of shooting with Texas Junior members William and Matthew in the team match.
After the Cup matches were completed, LSA members Gary Schwabe, Charles Leblanc, Chance Cavin, Danny McGregor, LSA secretary Dwayne Vidrine, and Junior Coach Tony Geeck arrived for the next series of matches.
First up was the President’s Rifle Match. Close to 900 riflemen competed in this event. The top 100 receive the very prestigious President’s 100 award. Louisianian Jon Wood not only made the top 100, he also was in the top 20 and competed in the shoot-off for the President’s rifle match winner. LSA member Chance Cavin also was in the top 100. Dwayne Vidrine and Sam Beane were both very close but missed the cut by just one point each. Dwayne is a former President’s 100 award recipient.
Throughout the year, LSA and Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA) members work together to grow the High Power programs and support our Junior programs. Former Louisiana resident and TSRA member Conrad Young was tied for first place after a very exciting top twenty shoot-off. He and another shooter competed in a sudden death shoot-off in which Conrad shot a 10.9 but the other shooter shot an X. Congratulations to Conrad for finishing second overall in the President’s rifle match.
This match was followed by the National Trophy Individual Matches. Jon Wood and Chance Cavin both earned gold achievement pins with scores of 488-17 and 491-14 respectively.
The Hearst Doubles were fired the next day. Sam Beane and Dwayne Vidrine fired outstanding scores of 291-7X and 289-6X.
One of our favorite matches, the six-man team match was postponed one day due to rain. Team members Mike Burke, Danny MacGregor, Sam Beane, Gary Schwabe, Dwayne Vidrine, and Charles Leblanc represented the state well.
The most exciting match of the year is the Infantry Trophy match. Six team members each start with 64 rounds and fire as many times as possible in 50 seconds from 600 yards on eight targets, move forward and fire as many times as possible in 50 seconds at 500 yards, and then again at 300 yards. The LSA team shot well and had the best score of any past LSA team that the author could find.
The next series of matches were fired using older rifles such as Garand rifles, M1 carbines, 1903 Springfield rifles, and M1As.
Chance Cavin won the M1 carbine match in a field of 274 competitors.
Jon Wood won the four-gun aggregate (Garand/Modern Military/Vintage Bolt/Springfield).
Team MacGregor and Geeck won a bronze medal in the Vintage Sniper match.
Monthly High Power Rifle matches are held near Donaldsonville, Gonzales, and Bogalusa. LSA also supports a junior program for high power rifle. If you are interested in competing, please contact Mike Burke at 337-380-8120.
Garand Raffle for Junior Shooters
Get your 2025 M1 Garand Raffle Tickets!
Tickets for the 2025 M1 Garand Raffle to Support Junior Shooting programs in the State are now available. The drawing will be held October 18, 2025. Winner need not be present to win.
All donations stay here in Louisiana and are spent solely on Junior Shooting programs.
Future Events
The LSA maintains a calendar of events that may be of interest to gun owners, shooting competitors, and friends of the Second Amendment. To see a list of events, visit our Meeting/Events Information page.
Join, Renew, or Donate
As you are no doubt aware, the LSA has a new enterprise system for maintaining our membership files and records. If you are confused on how to join or renew, follow this simple checklist below.
- If you are a current member (or a member who has expired for less than 30 days), you can renew your membership here. You will log into your account and pay your dues.
- If your membership has lapsed by more than 30 days, you cannot log into the members areas to pay your dues. You must go through the same process as someone who is joining the LSA for the first time. To do that, click here and fill out the form. This is inconvenient, but it is a security feature so that non-members do not have access to the members area of the website. Sorry.
- If you want to join the LSA for the first time, click here. An annual membership is only $15 and your support helps to protect your Second Amendment Rights here in Louisiana.
- If you wonder if your membership has lapsed or is current, try logging into your account here. If you can't log in, you have probably been moved to the non-member section. You can also shoot me an email and I can confirm your information for you.
If you would like to donate to the LSA, please click here.
If you would like to donate to the Junior Shooting Fund, please click here.
