Louisiana; Last State to Remove Ban on Legal Gun Carriers Eating in Some Restaurants

It appears that Louisiana will be the last state to allow people with gun permits to eat in the same restaurants as less law abiding members of society.  New York, California, and Massachusetts, those staunch promoters of restrictive firearms law, have never barred the practice, nor have they had any of the problems imaginatively projected for southern states that have recently reformed their law, such as North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

The states show considerable variation in those laws.  Laws in highly restrictive states, such as New York and New Jersey, do not have any restriction on permit holders drinking while they are carrying.  States such as Arizona and Tennessee do not allow permit holders to carry in restaurants and consume alcohol while doing so.

Arizona, Alaska, New Mexico, and South Carolina require the firearms to be carried concealed; Montana requires that they be carried openly.

This article in the Washington Post does not mention that legal carrying in restaurants that serve alcohol has been the norm in most of the nation for decades.   The writer may be ignorant of the fact that it has always been the law in the restrictive North Eastern states. 

The comments indicate similar ignorance from many readers.  They excoriate the "South" for instituting policies that the Northeast has followed for generations.

From JMcCSF:

 "Thank God I fled the Deep South, America's armpit"

Followed by ovocop: 

 No, it's armpit is West Virginia. The South is its butthole.

To which kevinp2 makes the obvious reply:

  Ah, the tolerant and inclusive crowd have arrived.

I am sure the Washington Post writer will do better in the future.  She is being schooled by the comments.  The Washington Post recently came under new ownership.

Governor  Jindal has said that he will sign the bill into law on May 15, 2014.  The bill, HB72 was passed 79 to 19 in the House and 37 to 2 in the Senate on the 13th of May.   Governor Jindal is promptly signing it into law.

The previous law may have been unconstitutional under the liberal right to keep and bear arms amendment passed by Louisiana voters in 2012.   Many observers expect other restrictive gun laws in the state to be ruled unconstitutional.


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