Senate passes bill adjusting school-zone carrying rules, expands reciprocity for out-of-state permit holders

The Louisiana Senate on April 28 approved Senate Bill 101, a measure that revises the state’s illegal-carry law, clarifies the definition of schools for the statute’s purposes and extends certain reciprocity and treatment to out-of-state concealed-carry permit holders.

Sponsor Senator Amiguez said the bill removes vocational technical institutes from the law’s definition of “school” unless the institute is located on a K–12 or higher-education campus, clarifies duplicate provisions in statutes and extends the ability for out-of-state concealed-carry permit holders to carry within the 1,000-foot school-zone area in the same manner as in-state permit holders. The sponsor said the changes are intended to make enforcement more consistent after the state’s earlier adoption of constitutional-carry policies.

Senator Presley and other senators asked what problem the bill solves. The sponsor said the measure aligns disparate carrying rules between permit holders and constitutional-carry holders and aims to resolve pending lawsuits by out-of-state permit holders claiming unequal treatment. The sponsor emphasized the bill does not alter prohibitions for carrying on actual school property (K–12 or higher-education campuses) and retains heightened penalties for illegally carrying within 1,000 feet of a school.

Senators debated the public-safety implications of easing some restrictions around schools and noted the bill’s intent is to make the law clearer. After floor discussion the Senate passed SB101 by recorded vote, 28 yeas and 11 nays.