Louisiana Lawmakers Reject Mandatory Storage Bill

I, like many of you, think guns should be stored properly when not in use.

I, like most of you, oppose laws that mandate guns should be stored away when not meeting a legal definition of “in use.”

The reasons for that are many, but mostly it’s because I don’t want the government telling me what I have to do with my property in my own home, all without any consideration for me, my situation, or my children.

That’s never stopped anti-gunners from trying to sell mandatory storage laws to the public.

In Louisiana, a very pro-gun state, they tried. 

They failed.

A bill proposed by Louisiana State Senator Regina Ashford Barrow that would have criminalized unsecured firearm storage when minors or prohibited persons could access the weapons was rejected by the Senate Judiciary C Committee. The bill was opposed by Republican lawmakers and representatives of the Louisiana Shooting Association, who argued it was unnecessary and too broad.

Why it matters

The failed legislation highlights the ongoing debate over gun control and child safety measures in Louisiana, a state with high rates of gun deaths, particularly among young people. The outcome reflects the political challenges of passing stricter firearm regulations in the state.

The bill would have imposed fines and jail time if someone didn’t have a gun properly stored and a minor gained access.

To some, that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but let’s understand that it didn’t limit itself to the misuse of a firearm. If, say, the adults of my household were gone, and my daughter had to use a gun to protect herself from a home invader, under laws like this, I could be arrested for allowing her access to the gun.

Now, I don’t let my daughter have access to it in reality, this is a hypothetical, but when he was the same age, I would have let my son. My daughter, who has autism, isn’t really mature enough to have that trust. My son, though, was more mature than his years. He was worthy of that trust. Just to be clear, this isn’t about gender, but the individuals.

And that’s kind of the point. Some kids can be trusted with a firearm if needed. Others can’t.

These laws don’t differentiate in any way, much of the time.

Even if they did, they don’t seem to accept that the parents are often victims themselves. Not only did their child do something horrible, possibly resulting in them losing their kid, but now they’re facing charges? And if it’s bad enough, is a special law even needed in Louisiana?

In Georgia, the father of the alleged Appalachee shooter was just convicted of allowing his kid access to a gun, and we don’t have a mandatory storage law here. We clearly didn’t need it. The kid had access to a gun he shouldn’t have had access to. He killed a bunch of people (allegedly, as his trial is still pending), and the father was held responsible for allowing that access despite knowing his kid was troubled.

Good for Louisiana for killing this. These measures are nothing more than anti-gun chest-pounding that ignores reality entirely.

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