Naturally, groups like the National Rifle Association have been hard-at-work promoting constitutional amendment no. 2 to the state's voters, calling it the "Gold Standard for Gun Rights."
According to NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, the pro-gun group says Louisiana's existing gun law is "defective."
Referencing the law's current language, NRA argues:
The present Louisiana Constitution says that the right to bear arms shall not be "abridged," except that "this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit" carrying a concealed weapon. This wording is so faulty that it leaves open the possibility of regulation by the state of carrying concealed even in one's own home. Further, the Louisiana Supreme Court has said that the right may be restricted if a majority in the legislature thinks it "reasonable" to do so. When it comes to rights, the standard to restrictions must be higher."
What's interesting is that if passed, the new law would become subject to what is called "strict scrutiny" — the greatest protection afforded a constitutional right — which is typically reserved for rights that are considered "fundamental," like the right to vote and the right to free speech.
Though not against the right to bear, the Council for A Better Louisiana is against amendment no. 2, according to its website.
For one, CABL calls out NRA's claim that under the current law, the state Legislature could conceivably enact stricter regulations against gun owners. Considering Louisiana's stance on the issue, that scenario is very unlikely
In a release outlining its positions on the various amendments included on November's ballot, CABL lists thee three major changes included in amendment no. 2, and explains the bottom-line reason for its opposition to those changes:
1. It broadens the current right to “keep and bear” arms to include the right to acquire, possess, carry, transfer and use firearms.
2. It removes language in our constitution that allows the Legislature to pass laws dealing with carrying concealed weapons.
3. It adds language saying that any restriction on the fundamental right to bear arms is subject to “strict scrutiny” by the courts.
So what is our specific concern? Basically, it’s that if this amendment passes, one could foresee a situation where a student or someone else charged with carrying a firearm on a college campus could challenge the constitutionality of the gun-free campus restriction, thus leaving it to the courts to decide under a new and much higher standard of scrutiny if our current law is too restrictive. Would that happen? No one knows, but CABL feels strongly, in agreement with our universities, that the combination of guns and still maturing students is not a good mix. Opening the possibility that that might occur is not a risk we wish to take.
For more on NRA's stance in favor of amendment no. 2, click here.
Go here to read CABL's argument against amendment no. 2, and its stance on the remaining eight amendments to be voted on in November.
JUNE 19 Former Saint Steve Gleason, who is paralyzed by ALS, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Atlanta radio station's skit making fun of him and the disease, this Picayune post reports. What did he say? He said he'd accepted the apology of the DJs who did it, notes that at least the incident has got people talking about ALS, and asks anyone who is burning to take action about it to do so -- by helping him fight ALS.
JUNE 19 Blogger Ian McGibboney takes a look at the Gleason incident in this post. He makes a good argument about the difference between having free speech and being free from consequences for your speech (which none of us is). He also admits that many of us got upset before we listened to the skit -- but lets us know that the reality is far worse than we can imagine. It was the incredibly bad judgment, even more than the actual speech, that probably got those DJs fired, he opines.
JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
JUNE 19 Here's Gov. Jindal's post in Politico, in which he asks the GOP to get over losing to Obama (again) and stop "the bedwetting." (Uh, what?) He gives his Republican buddies what is probably a nerd's idea of a coach's motivational talk, which starts with a list of accomplishments that they can't seem to exploit and ending with an absurd description of liberals that sounds like a character treatment for a Fox "News" movie scripted by Gordon Liddy. Sure, he's preaching to the choir, but even the choir's not this gullible.
JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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