LOUISIANA STRENGTHENS PERSONAL FREEDOM OF GUN POSSESSION

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 7, 2012

Louisiana Constitutional Amendment
Beefs Up the Right to Bear Arms
By Joe Palazzolo

There’s a significant development in Louisiana to add to our ballot-measure roundup.
Voters in the state approved an amendment to the state constitution
that strengthened the right to bear arms.

Before voters approved the amendment by a vote of 73%-27% on Tuesday,
the state constitution used to say this:

“The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged,
but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws
to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person.”

Now it says this:

“The right of each citizen to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry,
transfer, and use arms for defense of life and liberty, and for all other
legitimate purposes is fundamental and shall not be denied or infringed,
and any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”

The upshot is Louisiana will have a much harder time regulating concealed weapons
in the future. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at UCLA, suggested on his blog
Volokh Conspiracy that existing state laws such as a ban on stun guns
could fall victim to the amendment. The state prohibition on granting
concealed carry licenses to 18-to-20-year-olds could also be vulnerable.

The amendment could also endanger a ban on carrying concealed weapons
on university campuses in the state. As we reported in September, five states
now allow students to carry concealed weapons on college campuses:
Colorado, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin.

[All emfasis has been added by David.]