The regular session of the Louisiana Legislature got underway March 14 and continues through June 6. While the big question concerns how lawmakers plan to balance the state’s gaping billion-dollar-plus budget hole, a variety of bills concerning guns and drugs are being monitored by criminal-defense lawyers and other legal observers.
FIREARMS
Near two-dozen bills on the table involve handguns and concealed-carry rights. For example, Rep. Barry Ivey, a Republican from Baton Rouge, filed a bill to amend the Louisiana Constitution to allow anyone 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit unless they already are banned legally from carrying a firearm. The amendment would require a two-thirds vote of lawmakers and statewide voter approval. A similar bill filed by Ivey does not require a constitutional amendment, and would only need a majority vote of the Legislature and the governor’s approval.
Conversely, a bill filed by New Orleans Rep. John Bagneris, a Democrat, falls in the gun-control category. It seeks to impose a 10-day waiting period for purchasing a firearm. Violators would face fines of $1,000 to $5,000 and imprisonment for one to five years.
MARIJUANA
Meanwhile, as marijuana-law reform is sweeping the nation, Louisiana continues to take baby steps. Last year, a narrow medical marijuana law allowing prescriptions for a handful of conditions met the approval of lawmakers, and this year promises more of the same.
Sen. Fred Mills, a Republican from Parks, successfully sponsored last year’s bill that legalizes the drug for those with glaucoma, chemotherapy and spastic quadriplegia. Mills has authored a new bill that includes people suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions. Another Mills bill would let medical marijuana patients from other states legally possess the substance in Louisiana as long as it was in a form allowed under current state law.
“THE BOX”
Another bill on the radar of defense louisiana dwi lawyer, observers of the criminal-justice system and the business community concerns hiring practices. Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, would create a “Ban the Box for State Contracts Act,” which would cease to allow certain contractors from asking about a job seeker’s criminal history on an application. People with prison records already have a tough enough time re-entering society without being forced to check a box to disclose a forgettable part of their past.