In need of carry advice in New Orleans

[artz]

My Georgia license is valid in Louisana and...
I might be headed to New Orleans for a roadtrip in a few days. I have never been to the French Quarter and Bourbon st. What I need to know concerns carry. By law, am I legal or illegal to carry conceal in bars/restaurants ?
I do not plan to leave the beaten track of the main streets. Any places and areas to avoid ? Any advice whatsoever ?...
I am all ears...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SIXTO]

Can you conceal an AR?

[P95Carry]

Art - no direct info for you but - have you checked on http://www.handgunlaw.us (is that the right extension - think so).

Also am thinking there must be a site for LA state laws etc - also worth a look.

[artz]

Chris, thanks for the link. I read the answer is that I can't be in the area of a restaurant that is serving alcohol. If the bar is separate from the restaurant, I'm OK.

If any one has any personal experience with certain places and areas, I would appreciate a heads up.

[peacefuljeffrey]

My only advice would be, "Don't go to New Orleans, or to any place where a significant number of people from New Orleans has settled."

Nothing but trouble.

[JimmyC4]

If you're headed to New Orleans, be sure to dress properly...

[retsupt99]

Really...
Do you have a gun?
Is it a big gun?
Do you have a BUG?
Is your BUG a big gun?
Are you good with it?
Do your friends have guns?
Are these same friends going with you?
Have you taken a self-defense course?
Do you have track shoes?
I would tell you how long it takes to walk from one of the FQ to the other...but no one has ever made it...so I don't know...

Final advice...Find some other place to visit!

Stay very alert...stay safe!

ret

[dr_cmg]

Art, I lived for 14 years in the Big Easy. The French Quarter and Bourbon Street are as dangerous as off the beaten track in other cities. For the most part you are safe in the Quarter because there are so many people around. The major danger there is pickpockets and panhandlers. New Orleans was not a safe city when I lived there. The last full year I lived in NO, 1994, there were 421 murders in the city itself. The population at that time was not quite 500,000. That same year there were 39 murders in Boston. The pop was a little over 500,000. The Boston police chief almost lost his job. The New Orleans police chief got a raise.

Since Katrina New Orleans is a more dangerous city than it was. The number of murders for this year will not be as high as 1994, but the number of people living there is only about 200,000. So the murder rate is up.

Even though I lived in New Orleans for 14 years and know the city I don't plan on going back anytime soon. I was last there in 2004 and had been back 8 or 10 times since leaving in 1995. After Katrina the only reason I would go there would be as a part of a relief team or in case of an emergency with friends or family there.

The places to avoid are Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish, Jefferson Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Lafourche Parish, Plaquemines Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Livingston Parish, Ascension Parish, St. John The Baptist Parish, St. Mary Parish, and Assumption Parish.

[Kankujoe]

Come on guys... nothing wrong with a little reality training... besides Cajun food is good!!

[artz]

Actually, I'll be staying in McCoombs, MS. I believe. Jennifer will be working in McCoombs a few days and I was invited. She wants to go back to bourbon ST. so I'll probably tag along. We are not bar hopping. Just going to eat at a restaurant and see the sights.
I'm thinking of 2 guns to have on my person for this escapade.

[Biloxi Bersa]

Artz:

It's McComb, not McCoombs. Located on I-55 a couple hours north of NOLA.

I'm about 90 miles away from NO. Read the daily news and we get the 4 stations (CBS, ABC, NBC and PBS affiliates). I was in Slidell (north shore across the lake) today at the firing range.

I am a frequent visitor to the Big Easy. But be seriously forewarned. It is a very dangerous city. The National Guard is on patrol with NOPD (Not Our Problem Dude). The French Quarter is a little safer because it is loaded with tourists and the city wants to maintain an image of being safe for tourists. However, one wrong turn or one block too far and you'll be in trouble.

Situational Awareness is the key to staying safe.

[myusername]

I am assuming you want to carry concealed. Open carry is legal but don't even try it in the city.

You can not carry concealed in a Bar but you can in most restaurants that have a bar. It goes by which alcohol permit they have. Go to lsp.org for the laws. There is one old law not mentioned in the concealed carry laws that makes it illegal to bring a gun into any place that serves alcohol. If you have a permit and are carrying concealed than this old law would probably never be looked at.

There is a thread from a few weeks ago that I posted the statutes in.


If you have to be 18 or over to enter then it is using the Bar permit and you can not carry there.

I would see the mansions uptown, there is a walking tour there. The D Day museum if it is open, the Confederate Museum. In the quarter I would go down royal and go to the galleries, antique shops, etc.
I would try not to shoot the guys that want to bet you where you got your shoes even though I want to.

Go to Cafe Du Monde and get some beignets. Some restaurants in the quarter are great but it is a hassle sometimes to go. Galatoire's is great.

Any of you locals know when they started having the safety ranger people wandering around? It looks like they took a bunch of meter maids and gave them different shirts.

[Conaso]

To DR_CMG - Why did you post a warning for Ascension and Assumption Parishes? Although I no longer live in LA, these areas are far from where Rita and Katrina hit. I grew up in Assumption Parish and didn't consider it to have dangers anywhere near to that of N.O. I'm going down to LA for XMAS, should I avoid anywhere south of I10and I12?

[PapaScout]

I love NOLA (well, at least the french quarter). Stop at Coops by the french market and have some rabbit, sausage, and shrimp jambo and a nice Turbodog for me, k? :)

[ccw9mm]

In need of carry advice in New Orleans

Any places and areas to avoid ?

Trick question, or an opportunity for reality-based, force-on-force training.

To be fair, it has been a long time since I've been there. But, from friends who recently left, from stories from survivors of Katrina and the aftermath, and from the reports of hellacious immoral refusal of the politicos / law enforcement community to stand behind the people of N.O., it's really a terribly risk place to be when unfamiliar. Got friends? Might be the best plan, going with folks you know/trust who are deeply familiar with the surroundings, where to go/avoid, etc.