With New Orleans Set to Host the Super Bowl in 2025, Louisiana Lawmakers Have a Choice: Replicate Missouri’s Extreme Permitless Carry Law or Stand Up to the Gun Lobby

As the Kansas City and greater Missouri community continue to reel from mass shooting at the Superbowl parade, Louisiana lawmakers are beginning their special legislative session by considering advancing Senate Bill 1, which would allow permitless carry in the state. This extreme legislation would put Louisianians at risk of even more gun violence. Research shows that states that have weakened or eliminated their carry permit requirement, like Tennessee and Missouri, have experienced a 13-15 percent increase in violent crime rates. Louisiana lawmakers must reject this deadly attempt. 

Gun violence at parades is sadly all too familiar to communities across the country.  Reports indicate the shooting in Kansas City started as an interpersonal dispute. In the “guns everywhere” vision for Louisiana that the gun lobby is pushing for, lawmakers would be putting public safety on the line by potentially arming arguments. With New Orleans set to host the Superbowl in 2025, an expansion in public carry by people who have never been trained or gone through a background check is a recipe for disaster. 

Law enforcement in Louisiana strongly opposes permitless carry because it greatly hinders their ability to protect citizens. When the bill was proposed two years ago, law enforcement gathered in opposition to permitless carry and East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux III argued that “this is an absolutely terrible bill, not only for the men and women who wear this badge and serve the public, but it’s a terrible bill for the public as well. This poses an exponential threat to every law enforcement officer in this state.” 

Missouri passed permitless carry in 2017, and time and again state lawmakers bought the gun lobby lie that “more good guys with guns” would stop gun violence. But as we can see, cities like Kansas City face the harsh repercussions of the gun lobby’s false narrative. Passing permitless carry could put Louisiana on a similar, dangerous path. 

Everytown’s research shows that as a whole, law enforcement experts, firearm trainers, and military personnel overwhelmingly agree that people who carry concealed weapons in public should take firearm training, including live-fire training. For over a century, states have recognized the public safety benefits of requiring a permit to carry concealed guns. Yet over the last decade, the gun lobby has been promoting legislation to allow people to carry concealed guns in public places without a permit, background check, or safety training, dismantling the system of responsible gun ownership. 

If you would like to speak to a policy expert or Student Demand Action or Moms Demand Action volunteers who are greatly involved in this fight, please don’t hesitate to reach out.