New Orleans police and other city officials returned to the Capitol this week to urge a carveout for the French Quarter and downtown New Orleans from a new law that will allow people to carry concealed firearms without a permit come July.
The bill they were there to support, however, no longer included any carveouts.
Under pressure from gun-rights groups, Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, substituted new language with a more modest goal: applying existing laws that bar people who are drunk or high from concealing their handguns, even if they have permits, to those who carry concealed guns without permits under the new law.
The only carveout in his bill now is that fines for negligent carrying of a firearm in the French Quarter, including while intoxicated, would be increased from $500 up to $1,000.
His bill, SB 419, passed the Senate Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs on a 4-2 vote. Talbot said he still hopes to address police concerns over the new concealed-carry law’s impact on the Vieux Carre as it moves forward.
“I voted for every pro-gun, Second Amendment bill there ever has been,” Talbot said. “It’s about safety and about police...You’re going to have more criminals walking around with guns, and I can tell you this: Beware if you go to the French Quarter.”
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick, making her first appearance before the Legislature, argued Wednesday that the permitless concealed-carry law will strip officers of a tool to approach people suspected of carrying guns illegally, even as it allows anyone 18 or older with no training to hide them.
“If you are pro law enforcement, you do not take tools away from the police. You give them tools,” Kirkpatrick said.
NOPD Deputy Chief Nick Gernon, who once commanded the 8th District, which includes the French Quarter and Central Business District, urged an exemption for tourist-heavy areas.
“Our concern is that allowing folks to come into this environment with 18 million visitors each year...without that minimal level of training creates a situation that becomes untenable,” Gernon said.
Gun-rights groups came out against Talbot’s original bill, which had included a French Quarter carveout and also proposed barring concealed firearms without a permit at school or pro sporting events statewide. On Wednesday, they attacked his substitute bill as redundant, calling it a misguided effort to treat some gun owners differently.
They pointed to a provision in the new permitless concealed carry law that will allow police to continue to stop and question someone suspected of carrying a concealed gun while intoxicated and also requires them to notify law enforcement when approached.
Gun rights advocates still objected to a provision in Talbot's revised bill that upped the stakes for those caught drinking and packing.
Kelby Seanor, state director of the National Rifle Association, argued the French Quarter was not so unique when it comes to guns and alcohol. Seanor pointed to other cities with entertainment districts that allow open-carry of alcohol, in states with permitless concealed carry of firearms, that haven’t created carveouts.
“We’re already trying to repeal back parts of constitutional carry without even letting the law go into effect,” Seanor said. The bill allowing permitless concealed carrying was passed in February and signed by Gov. Jeff Landry on March 5. It goes into effect in July.
City Council President Helena Moreno also spoke at Wednesday's hearing, lamenting the loss of a New Orleans carveout in Talbot’s bill.
On Bourbon Street, “When you fire a shot to hit one person, you’re likely going to hit many more. That’s what we’re trying to prevent,” Moreno said. “I just don’t want to be back here next year begging for this carveout because something terrible has happened.”
