Anyone from Louisiana? Need do's and dont's

[davidw]

I will be flying from Florida (home state) to Louisiana in March and taking my EDC. Does anyone have a link to laws from that state that tells me where I can or can't carry there as well as any other particulars one should know about carrying there?

Thanks

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[metallic]

LSP - Sections - Concealed Handgun Permit Unit

Scroll down to the list of prohibited places for places off limit. Also, restaurant carry is legal here, but you need to avoid the bar area of the restaurant. This is a gray area in the law, however, as some people interpret restaurants to be off limits.

Also, we require permit holders to inform they are carrying if interacting with LEO in the course of them doing their job. We are also required to allow them to disarm us as well.

Also, be careful if drinking. Your permit is not valid if your BAC is over .05.

[davidw]

Thanks Metallic, I'll check it out. Appreciate the response.

[davidw]

Metallic, what about businesses that may have a sign saying "No firearms". I know here in Florida they carry no weight and you can still carry there. However if the business or private entity asks you yo leave you must do so right away or face armed trespassing charges.

[metallic]

Louisiana is the same way, so you're in the clear.

[davidw]

Louisiana is the same way, so you're in the clear.

Actually, after reading, I don't think that it is the same as Florida. I think they may have a right to put up a sign and it must be obeyed. I base this on:

R.S. 40:1379.3 (N)
"The provisions of R.S. 40:1379.3 (N) shall not limit the right of a property owner, lessee, or other lawful custodian to prohibit or restrict access of those persons possessing a concealed handgun pursuant to a permit issued under this Section. No individual to whom a concealed handgun permit is issued may carry such concealed handgun into the private residence of another without first receiving the consent of that person."

[Ghost Host]

Be careful of restaurants, I believe the rules have changed. I did check(Google) and 14:95.5 does exist. The following was posted (two days ago) on Defensive Carry Concealed Carry by Gary Slider:

Louisiana - No Carry Where Alcohol Served

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I spent 40 minutes today on the phone with Sgt. Clay Reavis of the Concealed Handgun Unit Louisiana Dept of Public Safety. I have been receiving emails and reading on other web sites stating carry in restaurants like Friday's, Red Lobster, Applebee's etc was legal in Louisiana and that Handgunlaw.us was wrong to list LA as No restaurant carry allowed. Sgt. Reavis called me after I sent him an email.

Sgt. Reavis explained to me that there has been a lot of questions about this and that Criminal Law (Pasted Below) does not allow a permit/license holder to carry in any part of any establishment where they sell alcohol for consumption on the premises. This means establishment that sells beer etc for consumption on the premises. No carry is allowed.

I wanted to make sure this info got out as I would hate to see someone get arrested and maybe lose their permit/license to carry after reading info posted on other websites. Sgt Reavis told me he will try to update the FAQ page on the LA site adding this very FAQ. He does have other duties besides running the Concealed Handgun Unit and he told me it will take some time.

Here is the email I ask him to send me and I got his permission to post his name and #:

LRS 14:95.5 Possession of firearm beverage outlet

Possession of firearm on premises of alcoholic beverage outlet
A. No person shall intentionally possess a firearm while on the premises of an alcoholic beverage outlet.
B. "Alcoholic beverage outlet" as used herein means any commercial establishment in which alcoholic beverages of either high or low alcoholic content are sold in individual servings for consumption on the premises, whether or not such sales are a primary or incidental purpose of the business of the establishment.
C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the owner or lessee of an alcoholic beverage outlet, or to an employee of such owner or lessee, or to a law enforcement officer or other person vested with law enforcement authority acting in the performance of his official duties.
D. Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.
Acts 1985, No. 765, §1.

Sgt. Clay Reavis
Louisiana State Police
Concealed Handgun Permit Section
225-925-4867
__________________

[davidw]

Ghost Host:

Your state law section RS 40:1379.3 in which we find the prohibited places to carry does not mention anything like the officer described to you.

RS 14:95 in part states:
§95. Illegal carrying of weapons

A. Illegal carrying of weapons is:

(1) The intentional concealment of any firearm, or other instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon, on one's person; or

According to this section it is illegal to conceal a weapon. In this section I do see what he describes but I don't think it pertains to permit holders. I think he may be confused.

[ppkheat]

I will be flying from Florida (home state) to Louisiana in March and taking my EDC. Does anyone have a link to laws from that state that tells me where I can or can't carry there as well as any other particulars one should know about carrying there?

Thanks

There are quite a few recent threads that go into detail about CC in Louisiana. Try going to the advanced search and type in Louisiana for thread titles.

BTW here is the LSP website link for CC info, be sure and read this:

LSP - Sections - Concealed Handgun Permit Unit

A couple of quick points:
1. New Orleans isn't necessarily a gun friendly place, but you probably knew that already.
2. If you have a CCW you have a duty to inform leo (on the LSP website above)
3. Restaurant carry wherever alcohol is served is, I suppose "iffy", to me there is some ambiguity in the law.
4. There are some school zones in the French Quarter and depending on where you are you could inadvertently wander through one while you're walking around.
5. Good luck

[davidw]

A little more research turns up the following from RS14:94.4
http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=78743

§95.4. Consent to search; alcoholic beverage outlet
D. An "alcoholic beverage outlet" shall not include a restaurant if a majority of its gross receipts are from sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

[Bob The Great]

Yeah, the restaurant carry thing is a problem resulting from poor law-making. As I understand it, RS 14:95 was an older law passed before CCW was legal. When adding the CC statutes, the older law was not changed, but additional language was added in the list of prohibited places.

The new language clearly applies only to establishments possessing a Class A liquor license. If you do some digging, you will find that one of the requirements of a Class A liquor license is that children under 18 are not permitted on the premises. This provides a quick litmus test for us - if you can take your kids inside, you can carry and not violate the prohibited places list.

This would make things very simple if not for the additional RS 14:95, which prohibits any carry in any business that sells any alcohol. This is a legal problem that unfortunately will have to have a test case or be repealed by the legislature. Personally, I think a good lawyer could make the case that these conflicting laws are unreasonable and set up a trap for otherwise legal citizens.

Otherwise the carry laws are fairly straightforward. If you're down here for Mardi Gras, be aware that you cannot carry at any parade. You also cannot carry into someone else's house without their consent or into any business that has a gun-buster sign posted. Luckily, those seem to be rare.

Handgunlaw.us maintains a decent reference page for traveling.

[metallic]

Yeah, the restaurant carry thing is a problem resulting from poor law-making. As I understand it, RS 14:95 was an older law passed before CCW was legal. When adding the CC statutes, the older law was not changed, but additional language was added in the list of prohibited places.

The new language clearly applies only to establishments possessing a Class A liquor license. If you do some digging, you will find that one of the requirements of a Class A liquor license is that children under 18 are not permitted on the premises. This provides a quick litmus test for us - if you can take your kids inside, you can carry and not violate the prohibited places list.

This would make things very simple if not for the additional RS 14:95, which prohibits any carry in any business that sells any alcohol. This is a legal problem that unfortunately will have to have a test case or be repealed by the legislature. Personally, I think a good lawyer could make the case that these conflicting laws are unreasonable and set up a trap for otherwise legal citizens.

Otherwise the carry laws are fairly straightforward. If you're down here for Mardi Gras, be aware that you cannot carry at any parade. You also cannot carry into someone else's house without their consent or into any business that has a gun-buster sign posted. Luckily, those seem to be rare.

Handgunlaw.us maintains a decent reference page for traveling.

I was under the impression that the gun buster signs don't carry any legal weight.

[Bob The Great]

I was under the impression that the gun buster signs don't carry any legal weight.

This is what the law says:

Additionally, property owners, lessees, or
other lawful custodians have the right to prohibit or restrict access of permittees possessing a
concealed handgun.

It does not specify any particular requirements for prohibiting access (like TX's 30.06 sign), so I am assuming that recieving notice via a gun-buster sign would be sufficient.

[metallic]

This is what the law says:



It does not specify any particular requirements for prohibiting access (like TX's 30.06 sign), so I am assuming that recieving notice via a gun-buster sign would be sufficient.

Guess there's a certain shopping area across the river that I'm going to have to start avoiding from now on. Thanks for the heads up.

[Bourge]

You can carry in a school zone as long as you have no business at said school. For example: if my friend live across the street from a school I can carry because my business is at his house and not the school.