With the newspapers filled with stories about shootings, either deliberate or accidental, and the leading cause of death among the young no longer disease but bullets, facts seem to get in the way of the call in Louisiana’s Legislature to reduce or eliminate restrictions on firearms.
It’s the wrong way to go, particularly when it comes to concealed carry permits.
The goal of “permitless carry” is an invitation to more deaths.
Fortunately, Gov. John Bel Edwards and the law enforcement community that he hails from — the governor is the brother, son and grandson of sheriffs — don’t want repeal of state requirements for training in how to safely handle guns. Edwards vetoed permitless carry in 2021.
We wish that common sense among lawmakers were a more effective barrier to the repeal of restrictions on training: House Bill 131 by state Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, allows issuance of concealed-carry permits without such requirements. It also lowers the age for concealed carry to 18, from the current 21.
Law enforcement agencies should resist this invitation to mayhem; after all, even in cases where officers are not directly endangered by shooters, they must clean up the bodies in our neighborhoods.
And if the process does go forward, we urge the governor to once again veto it.
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