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Committee splits on child‑access firearms law; bill fails in committee and is deferred
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Summary
Senate Bill 344, which would require secure firearm storage or safety devices to prevent access by minors and other prohibited persons, drew emotional testimony from families and sharp pushback from gun‑rights groups. The committee failed to report the bill and then deferred it.
Senate Bill 344, introduced by Senator Barrow, would require firearms to be secured by a safe or safety device when minors or prohibited persons may gain access; the bill also trimmed some criminal penalties in favor of education and training for certain younger users in earlier amendments.
Sponsor remarks highlighted Louisiana’s high rate of firearm deaths among children and recent local tragedies as motivations for the bill. "Children in Louisiana are dying at the sum of the highest rates in the country from firearms," Senator Barrow said, and she described recent unintentional shootings and data showing alarming child‑fatality figures.
Supporters included families who recounted personal loss and public‑safety organizations and faith‑based groups; Tom Costanza of the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops framed the bill as protecting vulnerable people while affirming constitutional rights.
Opponents — including the Louisiana Shooting Association and the Louisiana Shooting Association vice president — argued the bill would burden lawful defenders who need quick access to firearms, could conflict with constitutional protections, and impose enforcement problems and costs (safe devices and biometric safes were noted as expensive). They also argued existing criminal negligence and disturbing‑the‑peace statutes already address many incidents and that training rather than criminalization is a better long‑term approach.
The committee called a roll‑call on whether to report the bill with amendments. The motion to report failed on the roll call and the chair moved to defer the bill; the committee then deferred SB 344.
Outcome: Motion to report SB 344 with amendments failed; the committee deferred the bill.
