A Fat Tuesday shooting that occurred in the wake of the Rex and Zulu processions and injured seven parade-goers could be the catalyst for stiffer gun laws in Louisiana. When lawmakers convene their regular session next month, on the agenda is a bill that would create new penalties for firing off a weapon in large crowds.
The legislation by Rep. Juan LaFonta, a Crescent City Democrat, was dropped in the hopper this morning as House Bill 44. It would prohibit the possession or discharge of a firearm at a public gathering of 50 or more people.
But there are exceptions for hunting, law enforcement, private residences, constitutionally protected areas and historic reenactments. The proposed penalties include imprisonment at hard labor for up to seven years, with at least five served without benefit of parole, and as much as a $5,000 fine.
... written by a guest , March 13, 2009 - 05:36 pm
Again lawmakers miss the mark. If this were put into effect the outlaws would still ignore the law. If this were in effect, it would prevent law abiding responsible gun owners who have a concealed-carry permit from protecting themselves and others around. What good are tighter restrictions on the possession of firearms when the outlaws do abide by them? One of the gunmen in this shooting was already on parole, and should not have been in possession of a firearm. Did the laws stop him from having a gun?
... written by a guest , March 14, 2009 - 01:35 am
What's Mardi Gras without a few shootings?
... written by a guest , March 14, 2009 - 06:28 am
It is already illegal to posses a firearms at a parade.
... written by a guest , March 15, 2009 - 07:57 pm
Excellent point. But the difference with Rep. LaFonta's legislation is that it creates a new crime for "discharging a firearm at a public event," while also retaining the present law, which forbids only possession, as you point out.
-JEREMY ALFORD
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David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
Is it a crime for citizens to photograph, video, or take notes of a police officer in the line of duty, or a right protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Locally, such activity, as witnessed recently, will at the very least result in a night spent behind bars.
At Thursday's State of the Economy luncheon, LEDA President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux said PXP has already quietly hired 180 people for its Broussard expansion.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
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