As gun owners in Louisiana celebrate passing Constitutional Carry in Baton Rouge, the victory serves as a shining example for Pennsylvania to push forward its own gun rights revolution.
Below is a recent newsletter article examining the case study of how the National Association for Gun Rights mobilized grassroots gun owners to pass the bill and how patriots in the Keystone State can do the same in PA.
“With the signature of newly-elected Governor Jeff Landry in March of 2024, Louisiana became the 28th state to pass Constitutional Carry into law.
Residents and non-residents in Louisiana will be able to practice the simple right that law-abiding gun owners should be able to carry a firearm, open or concealed, for self-defense without government “permission” on July 4th, 2024.
This victory is a testament to the unwavering dedication and grassroots strategy of the National Association for Gun Rights and its committed members in the Bayou State over the past several years.
Louisiana’s Long Constitutional Carry Journey
Thanks in part to the efforts of Pro-Gun Champion Danny McCormick in the House, Constitutional Carry nearly became law in 2021 when his bill passed both the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities.
However, Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards vetoed this bill and sent it back to the Legislature.
While the Legislature had the ability to override the Governor and institute Constitutional Carry that year, six “RINO” Republicans in the Senate ended any hopes of victory when they cowardly voted against the veto override, even though they previously supported the bill.
But NAGR and Rep. McCormick didn’t quit.
NAGR doubled-down and launched an aggressive grassroots blitz to light a fire under these six senators to stop thwarting the will of their pro-gun constituents.
Ultimately, the next election cycle in November (2023) saw only one of the six RINOs return to Baton Rouge.
Just as importantly, Jeff Landry won his gubernatorial race while returning his NAGR Candidate Survey, pledging to sign Constitutional Carry into law.
The Grassroots Wouldn’t Be Denied a Right Any Longer
Constitutional Carry (SB 1) was filed by State Senator Blake Miguez several days ahead of Louisana’s “Second Extraordinary Session,” which was called by Gov. Jeff Landry to address increased criminal activity in Louisiana.
What better way to lower crime rates than to force criminals to think twice about whether their victim is carrying or not by passing Constitutional Carry?
On the very first day of this special session, NAGR staff delivered more than 80,000 petitions from supporters in Louisiana.
The message to legislators was loud-and-clear: Don’t gut Constitutional Carry with any anti-gun amendments.
Within just a few weeks, SB 1 sailed out committee hearings and passed both the Senate and House unscathed.
It was clear that the petitions were making a difference on whether legislators were going to pass a clean version of Constitutional Carry or gut the bill with anti-gun amendments.
Louisiana Speaker pro tempore Rep. Mike Johnson even held up a stack of thousands of petitions from his constituents on the House Floor in support of Constitutional Carry in order to push back against gun grabbers who were pushing to defeat the bill.
The tsunami of petitions, the hundreds of calls melting the phone lines, and the thousands of emails all served as the artillery file backing up the NAGR staff who were lobbying legislators and testifying during committee hearings at the capitol.
Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without pro-gun Champion Representative Danny McCormick and the pro-gun patriots paving the way over the years by forcing roll call votes on Constitutional Carry and supporting NAGR’s efforts to punish politicians standing in the way.”
Louisiana blazed the trail to Constitutional Carry in 2024, proving that determined citizens can secure their Second Amendment rights – now it’s Pennsylvania’s turn.