Louisiana: Governor Jindal Announces Support of Constitutional Amendment

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal addressed the NRA’s annual meeting on Friday and declared his support for Senate Bill 303, a strong “iron-clad” constitutional amendment that would fortify the right to keep and bear arms for all Louisianans.  The state Senate passed SB 303 by a 31 to 6 vote on April 9 and sent it to the state House of Representatives where it was referred to the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee for further consideration. 

The bill will be heard in committee on Wednesday, May 2.  It is important that you contact your state Representative soon and urge him or her to support SB 303.

Introduced by state Senator Neil Riser (R-32), SB 303 would improve the current provision in the state constitution and provide Louisianans the strongest and most comprehensive constitutional language of any state, guaranteeing your right to keep and bear arms in Louisiana for future generations.

The language of SB 303 reads:

“The right of individuals 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 must be subjected to strict scrutiny.”

This amendment is necessary because the Louisiana Supreme Court eviscerated the current right to keep and bears arms provision in 2001, action which has left Louisianans with little protection from overreaching state-imposed gun control or in the event the Heller or McDonald cases are overturned.

In fact, the current Louisiana provision has been so weakened by the state court that it would likely only prevent a complete across-the-board ban on firearms.  By classifying the use of arms as a fundamental right that can only be restricted after strict scrutiny, which is the highest level of legal protection given to other fundamental rights such as life and free speech, SB 303 would strengthen Louisiana’s state constitution and provide a critical defense against future efforts to infringe on Louisianan’s right to keep and bear arms.

Again, please contact your state Representative TODAY and respectfully urge his or her support for SB 303.  For your state Representative’s contact information, please click here.