BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The bill that would have allowed adults to conceal carry a firearm without training or a permit was dropped at the legislature Tuesday. State Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, voluntarily deferred his own bill after a number of amendments made it onto the bill that he did not support.
The bill started out as a proposal to allow people 18 and older to conceal carry a gun without training or a permit. The legislation is part of a national movement to pass the bill dubbed “Constitutional Carry” which has been passed in all the states surrounding Louisiana.
“Forcing law-abiding citizens to pay a tax while asking the government’s permission can be nothing less than infringing on that right,” McCormick said.
The bill had been amended in a previous committee to raise the age to 21. The legislation has been vetoed by the governor in years past and has faced opposition from law enforcement who fear it could put officers in danger.
“We’re going to allow 21-year-olds or whoever to purchase a semiautomatic handgun. That’s incredibly dangerous if you don’t know how to use it correctly and not require any level of training, just makes absolutely no sense to me,” said State Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria.
More amendments were proposed that would have added back in the mandatory training but make it 4.5 hours and online. McCormick pulled his bill, stating his supporters would not have been happy with the bill anymore.
“My supporters wouldn’t want any required training or a government list that their name would go on,” McCormick said.
McCormick can try for his bill again next year as this session must end on Thursday at 6 p.m.
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