Second Amendment advocates decried what has been called “common-sense” gun control legislation moving through the Louisiana Legislature as too broadly defined—and, therefore, dangerous.
Spurring much of the conversation at today’s Ronald Reagan Newsmakers Lunch
was Senate Bill 274, which would hike the legal age for purchasing assault rifles from 18 to 21. The bill narrowly passed through Senate Judiciary Committee C last week. Sen. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, cited recent mass shootings as his reason for sponsoring the proposal, which drew foreseeably staunch opposition from the National Rifle Association.[1][2]
The lunch, sponsored by the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge, originally featured four speakers: Erin Luper, state director for the NRA, along with a trio of conservative state legislators—Sen. Neil Riser of Columbia; Rep. Blake Miguez of Erath; and Rep. Sherman Mack of Albany. However, Mack could not attend due to commitments at the Capitol.
Both lawmakers in attendance harbor a keen interest in gun rights: Miguez is a world-champion shooter, while Riser authored the “Right to Keep and Bear Arms” section of the state constitution. Luper, meanwhile, has spent this legislative session testifying in the committee rooms of the Capitol, where a number of weapons-related bills have been filed.
All three speakers agreed the proposed legislation could be detrimental to the state because of the lack of a specific definition for an assault weapon, saying it unnecessarily infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens between 18 and 21 years old.
“You can have an assault spoon, an assault fork,” Miguez says. “And where does it stop? Guns to knives to cars to forks, and it’s not the guns—it’s the person using that gun.”
Luper argues the state already has a thorough vetting process for
