Open Carry?
- Thread starter Phaetos
- Start date
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BTW, when we goin' shootin, verm? (Today we could practise some water drills)
You wouldn't believe how close I live to that range and still haven't been there!
Water drills?
LouisianaCarry
Tactibilly
When I posted that it was raining so hard I could barely see my pond. It looked like it was going to last all day. I was just joking about shooting out in it. Just sayin I am ready anytime you are.
There's no daily rates or anything. You either have to be a member or a member's guest. I can bring you, though. Just let me know.
When I posted that it was raining so hard I could barely see my pond. It looked like it was going to last all day. I was just joking about shooting out in it. Just sayin I am ready anytime you are.
There's no daily rates or anything. You either have to be a member or a member's guest. I can bring you, though. Just let me know.
Oh, Duh! I drove down to Natchitoches yesterday morning and was back home and in bed by noon. I had no idea it rained. I have no qualms about shooting my Saiga in the rain, in fact I used to tease some friends with ARs about it, telling them "let's see you do that with your fancy AR!".
LouisianaCarry
Tactibilly
This is what I was referring to, sorry if I was unclear.
http://www.ag.state.la.us/ShowDoc.asp?DocID=3165
Office of the Attorney General
State of LOUISIANA
Opinion No. 78 795
June 19, 1978
FIREARMS & FIREWORKS 47 A R.S. 14:95.1, 40:1379.1 Acts 1956, No. 345, s 1,
1958, No. 2 1958, No. 379, ss 1, 3, 1968, No. 647, s 1, 1975, No. 492
The carrying of an exposed handgun is not illegal, except as provided in LSA
R.S. 14:94.1. Parishes and/or Municipalities may not enact ordinances
regulating the carrying of illegal handguns because the state has pre empted
the legistlative control and has implicitly authorized the carrying of
unconcealed weapons.
Honorable James H. Brown, Jr.
State Senator
32nd District
Baton Rouge, LOUISIANA 70804
Dear Senator Brown:
Your request for an opinion of the Attorney General has been forwarded to the
undersigned for disposition. Your questions, as I appreciate them, are:
1. Is it legal to carry an exposed handgun?
2. Do Parishes and/or Municipalities have the power to regulate the
carrying of exposed handguns?
LSA R.S. 14:95 provides as follows:
s 95 Illegal carrying of weapon
A. Illegal carrying of weapon 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
(2) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any firearm, or other
instrumentality customarily used as a dangerous weapon, at any time by an
enemy alien; or
(3) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any tools, or dynamite,
or nitroglycerine, or explosives, or other instrumentality customarily used
by thieves or burglars at any time by any person with the intent to commit
a crime; or
(4) The manufacture, ownership, possession, custody or use of any
switchblade knife, spring knife or other knife or similar instrument having
a blade which may be automatically unfolded or extended from a handle by
the manipulation of a button, switch, latch or similar contrivance.
****
B. Whoever commits the crime of illegal carrying of weapons shall be fined
not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six
months, or both.
C. On a second conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned with or
without hard labor for not more than five years.
D. On third and subsequent convictions, the offender shall be imprisoned
with or without hard labor for not more than ten years without benefit of
parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
E. The enhanced penalty upon second, third, and subsequent convictions
shall not be applicable in cases where more than five years have elapsed
since the expiration of the maximum sentence or sentences, of the previous
conviction or convictions, and the time of the commission of the last offense
for which he has been convicted; the sentence to be imposed in such event
shall be the same as may be imposed upon a first conviction.
F. The provisions of this Section except Paragraph (4) of Sub section (A)
shall not apply to sheriffs and their deputies, state and city police,
constables and town marshals, or persons vested with police power when in the
actual discharge of official duties. (Amended by Acts 1956, No. 345, s 1;
Acts 1958, No. 21, s 1; Acts 1958, No. 379, ss 1, 3; Acts 1968, No. 647, s 1,
emerg. eff. July 20, 1968; Acts 1975, No. 492.) (Emphasis supplied)
In State vs Fluker, 311 So.2d 863 (1975), the defendant had been
arrested for carrying a handgun in a holster on his hip. The weapon was
exposed except for that portion in the holster, and it was fully recognizable
as a weapon. The LOUISIANA Supreme Court, in reversing Fluker's conviction,
stated that 'by making the offense of concealment a crime of specific intent,
the legislature has abandoned the old rule that a partially hidden weapon is a
concealed weapon in favor of a more realistic proscription that contemplates
that a weapon, although not in 'full open view,' is nonetheless not a concealed
weapon, if it is sufficiently exposed to reveal its identity.
If the weapon is carried in a manner that reveals its identity, its carrier
cannot be presumed to have intended to conceal it and, accordingly, is not in
violation of the statute ...... The appropriate test to be applied in
prosecutions for illegal carrying of weapons is whether, under the facts and
circumstances of the case as disclosed by the evidence, the manner in which
defendant carried the weapon revealed an intent to conceal its identity.'
Therefore, the carrying of an exposed handgun is not illegal, except as
provided in LSA R.S. 14:95.1.
LSA R.S. 14:95.1 provides:
s 95.1 Possession of firearm or carrying concealed weapon by a person convicted
of certain felonies
A. It is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of first or second
degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated battery, aggravated or simple rape,
aggravated kidnapping, aggravated arson, aggravated or simple burglary, armed
or simple robbery, or any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous
Substances Law which is a felony or any crime defined as an attempt to commit
one of the above enumerated offenses under the laws of this state, or who has
been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or
of any foreign government or country of a crime which if committed in this
state, would be one of the above enumerated crimes, to possess a firearm or
carry a concealed weapon.
B. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this Section
shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than three nor more than ten
years. If such conviction is for the crime of carrying a concealed weapon,
such sentence shall be without the benefit of probation, parole, or
suspension of sentence and be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars.
C. Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Section shall not apply
to the following cases:
(1) The provisions of this Section prohibiting the possession of
firearms and carrying concealed weapons by persons who have been convicted
of certain felonies shall not apply to any person who has not been
convicted of any felony for a period of ten years from the date of
completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
(2) Upon completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of
sentence the convicted felon shall have the right to apply to the sheriff
of the parish in which he resides, or in the case of Orleans Parish the
superintendent of police, for a permit to possess firearms. The felon
shall be entitled to possess the firearm upon the issuing of the permit.
(3) The sheriff or superintendent of police, as the case may be,
shall immediately notify the Department of Public Safety, in writing, of
the issuance of each permit granted under this Section. Added by Acts 1975,
No. 492, s 2.
In answer to your second question it can be analogized that when the State
provides that it is unlawful for a person to carry a concealed weapon, LSA R.S.
14:95 A (1), unless they hold a bonafide law enforcement commission, R.S.
14:95(F) or possess a concealed handgun permit, R.S. 40:1379.1, it is
equivalent to stating that it is lawful to carry an exposed weapon (firearm).
In City of Shreveport V. Curry and City of Shreveport V. Bukhett, 357 S.2d
1078, (LA. 1978) which held that a city ordinance proscribing frog gigging out
of season was unconstitutional as not being a reasonable exercise of Police
Power and as such a violation of the defendant's right to due process; the
Court stated in dicta that '. . . a municipal ordinance which goes further in
its prohibitions than a state statute is valid so long as it does not forbid
what the state legislature has expressly or implicitly authorized . . .'
(Emphasis supplied)
It is the opinion of this office that the state statutes aforementioned have
the purpose of establishing a general scheme to control weapons (handguns) and
that a fair reading of those statutes show this would constitute an area in
which the state has pre empted the legislative control and has implicitly
authorized the carrying of unconcealed weapons.
Therefore, an ordinance enacted by a Parish and/or Municipality requlating
the carrying of exposed handguns would be without effect as being in conflict
with State Law.
We hope this opinion has adequately answered your questions. If we may be of
any further assistance in this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to
call upon us.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely
William J. Guste, Jr.
Attorney General
By: L. J. Hymel Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 78 795, 1978 WL 32078 (La.A.G.)
END OF DOCUMENT
http://www.ag.state.la.us/ShowDoc.asp?DocID=3165
Office of the Attorney General
State of LOUISIANA
Opinion No. 78 795
June 19, 1978
FIREARMS & FIREWORKS 47 A R.S. 14:95.1, 40:1379.1 Acts 1956, No. 345, s 1,
1958, No. 2 1958, No. 379, ss 1, 3, 1968, No. 647, s 1, 1975, No. 492
The carrying of an exposed handgun is not illegal, except as provided in LSA
R.S. 14:94.1. Parishes and/or Municipalities may not enact ordinances
regulating the carrying of illegal handguns because the state has pre empted
the legistlative control and has implicitly authorized the carrying of
unconcealed weapons.
Honorable James H. Brown, Jr.
State Senator
32nd District
Baton Rouge, LOUISIANA 70804
Dear Senator Brown:
Your request for an opinion of the Attorney General has been forwarded to the
undersigned for disposition. Your questions, as I appreciate them, are:
1. Is it legal to carry an exposed handgun?
2. Do Parishes and/or Municipalities have the power to regulate the
carrying of exposed handguns?
LSA R.S. 14:95 provides as follows:
s 95 Illegal carrying of weapon
A. Illegal carrying of weapon 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
(2) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any firearm, or other
instrumentality customarily used as a dangerous weapon, at any time by an
enemy alien; or
(3) The ownership, possession, custody or use of any tools, or dynamite,
or nitroglycerine, or explosives, or other instrumentality customarily used
by thieves or burglars at any time by any person with the intent to commit
a crime; or
(4) The manufacture, ownership, possession, custody or use of any
switchblade knife, spring knife or other knife or similar instrument having
a blade which may be automatically unfolded or extended from a handle by
the manipulation of a button, switch, latch or similar contrivance.
****
B. Whoever commits the crime of illegal carrying of weapons shall be fined
not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than six
months, or both.
C. On a second conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned with or
without hard labor for not more than five years.
D. On third and subsequent convictions, the offender shall be imprisoned
with or without hard labor for not more than ten years without benefit of
parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.
E. The enhanced penalty upon second, third, and subsequent convictions
shall not be applicable in cases where more than five years have elapsed
since the expiration of the maximum sentence or sentences, of the previous
conviction or convictions, and the time of the commission of the last offense
for which he has been convicted; the sentence to be imposed in such event
shall be the same as may be imposed upon a first conviction.
F. The provisions of this Section except Paragraph (4) of Sub section (A)
shall not apply to sheriffs and their deputies, state and city police,
constables and town marshals, or persons vested with police power when in the
actual discharge of official duties. (Amended by Acts 1956, No. 345, s 1;
Acts 1958, No. 21, s 1; Acts 1958, No. 379, ss 1, 3; Acts 1968, No. 647, s 1,
emerg. eff. July 20, 1968; Acts 1975, No. 492.) (Emphasis supplied)
In State vs Fluker, 311 So.2d 863 (1975), the defendant had been
arrested for carrying a handgun in a holster on his hip. The weapon was
exposed except for that portion in the holster, and it was fully recognizable
as a weapon. The LOUISIANA Supreme Court, in reversing Fluker's conviction,
stated that 'by making the offense of concealment a crime of specific intent,
the legislature has abandoned the old rule that a partially hidden weapon is a
concealed weapon in favor of a more realistic proscription that contemplates
that a weapon, although not in 'full open view,' is nonetheless not a concealed
weapon, if it is sufficiently exposed to reveal its identity.
If the weapon is carried in a manner that reveals its identity, its carrier
cannot be presumed to have intended to conceal it and, accordingly, is not in
violation of the statute ...... The appropriate test to be applied in
prosecutions for illegal carrying of weapons is whether, under the facts and
circumstances of the case as disclosed by the evidence, the manner in which
defendant carried the weapon revealed an intent to conceal its identity.'
Therefore, the carrying of an exposed handgun is not illegal, except as
provided in LSA R.S. 14:95.1.
LSA R.S. 14:95.1 provides:
s 95.1 Possession of firearm or carrying concealed weapon by a person convicted
of certain felonies
A. It is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of first or second
degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated battery, aggravated or simple rape,
aggravated kidnapping, aggravated arson, aggravated or simple burglary, armed
or simple robbery, or any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous
Substances Law which is a felony or any crime defined as an attempt to commit
one of the above enumerated offenses under the laws of this state, or who has
been convicted under the laws of any other state or of the United States or
of any foreign government or country of a crime which if committed in this
state, would be one of the above enumerated crimes, to possess a firearm or
carry a concealed weapon.
B. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this Section
shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than three nor more than ten
years. If such conviction is for the crime of carrying a concealed weapon,
such sentence shall be without the benefit of probation, parole, or
suspension of sentence and be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars.
C. Except as otherwise specifically provided, this Section shall not apply
to the following cases:
(1) The provisions of this Section prohibiting the possession of
firearms and carrying concealed weapons by persons who have been convicted
of certain felonies shall not apply to any person who has not been
convicted of any felony for a period of ten years from the date of
completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
(2) Upon completion of sentence, probation, parole, or suspension of
sentence the convicted felon shall have the right to apply to the sheriff
of the parish in which he resides, or in the case of Orleans Parish the
superintendent of police, for a permit to possess firearms. The felon
shall be entitled to possess the firearm upon the issuing of the permit.
(3) The sheriff or superintendent of police, as the case may be,
shall immediately notify the Department of Public Safety, in writing, of
the issuance of each permit granted under this Section. Added by Acts 1975,
No. 492, s 2.
In answer to your second question it can be analogized that when the State
provides that it is unlawful for a person to carry a concealed weapon, LSA R.S.
14:95 A (1), unless they hold a bonafide law enforcement commission, R.S.
14:95(F) or possess a concealed handgun permit, R.S. 40:1379.1, it is
equivalent to stating that it is lawful to carry an exposed weapon (firearm).
In City of Shreveport V. Curry and City of Shreveport V. Bukhett, 357 S.2d
1078, (LA. 1978) which held that a city ordinance proscribing frog gigging out
of season was unconstitutional as not being a reasonable exercise of Police
Power and as such a violation of the defendant's right to due process; the
Court stated in dicta that '. . . a municipal ordinance which goes further in
its prohibitions than a state statute is valid so long as it does not forbid
what the state legislature has expressly or implicitly authorized . . .'
(Emphasis supplied)
It is the opinion of this office that the state statutes aforementioned have
the purpose of establishing a general scheme to control weapons (handguns) and
that a fair reading of those statutes show this would constitute an area in
which the state has pre empted the legislative control and has implicitly
authorized the carrying of unconcealed weapons.
Therefore, an ordinance enacted by a Parish and/or Municipality requlating
the carrying of exposed handguns would be without effect as being in conflict
with State Law.
We hope this opinion has adequately answered your questions. If we may be of
any further assistance in this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to
call upon us.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely
William J. Guste, Jr.
Attorney General
By: L. J. Hymel Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 78 795, 1978 WL 32078 (La.A.G.)
END OF DOCUMENT
LouisianaCarry
Tactibilly
Again, sorry if I was unclear.
Tell you what, I am determined to get alot more answers from the AG, also. I have about 14 questions, and a way to get them answered. I'll let everyone know when it happens.
Tell you what, I am determined to get alot more answers from the AG, also. I have about 14 questions, and a way to get them answered. I'll let everyone know when it happens.
I've Had Enough
After reading all of these replies, I'm disgusted by half of you so called "gun-rights advocates." It seems you all have no freakin' clue the purpose of our Second Amendment, nor the effects that open carrying have at deterring crime. Can you imagine the drastic reduction in crime if 1 out of 3 people open carried on the streets? Many of you sheep are probably thinking that crime would go up. Wrong! Just read John Locke's Book "More Guns Equals Less Crime." LouisianaCarry, I commend you. It seems that you've spent a lot of time defending your reasons for open carrying. I do it too here in Hammond. It's not about manhood. Actually, it's not even about self-defense. If that were the exclusive purpose, I'd conceal it. It's about educating all of you sheep who don't have a freaking clue what your constitutional rights are, and that a right not excersided is a right lost. And I'll keep educating all I can, even the police who don't know the law. I'll leave with a quote:
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined."
-Patrick Henry
After reading all of these replies, I'm disgusted by half of you so called "gun-rights advocates." It seems you all have no freakin' clue the purpose of our Second Amendment, nor the effects that open carrying have at deterring crime. Can you imagine the drastic reduction in crime if 1 out of 3 people open carried on the streets? Many of you sheep are probably thinking that crime would go up. Wrong! Just read John Locke's Book "More Guns Equals Less Crime." LouisianaCarry, I commend you. It seems that you've spent a lot of time defending your reasons for open carrying. I do it too here in Hammond. It's not about manhood. Actually, it's not even about self-defense. If that were the exclusive purpose, I'd conceal it. It's about educating all of you sheep who don't have a freaking clue what your constitutional rights are, and that a right not excersided is a right lost. And I'll keep educating all I can, even the police who don't know the law. I'll leave with a quote:
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined."
-Patrick Henry
Whoa, thats pretty strong first post, we're all on the same side here, its just that some of use don't have the time or the resources to open carry and then get arrested by some LEO that doesn't know the law and spend a couple of hours in jail. I'm not old enough to CC, and if I knew it wouldn't be a hassle i'd OC, others time I just don't feel like dealing with it. Does that mean just because I don't have a pistol on my hip I can't educate people on the second amendment,,, no it doesn't. So I don't OC, you don't have to go around saying your disgusted with people that don't.
LouisianaCarry
Tactibilly
He was probably more perturbed at people who say OCers are compensating for their small members.
Welcome to the site, w0059356!
Welcome to the site, w0059356!
Last edited:
What a heart felt first post. Thank you and welcome!
Psychic Bacon
Well-Known Member
Since this post got dredged up, any replies to your questions LC?
LouisianaCarry
Tactibilly
No! I haven't been able to get ahold of my cousin. He is something of a world traveler, and I only have his home number. I never can catch him, and he doesn't have a machine. I did just see another cousin of mine, and gave him my number and asked him to have my mayor cousin call.
(In case I have not explained it before, a cousin of mine is the mayor of a small town by the LA/AR border. The AG only answers questions from officials like mayors, town council leaders, etc., so I need his signature on these questions to get them answered.)
Psychic Bacon
Well-Known Member
Gotcha. Thanks for the update.
